State Audit Office of Việt Nam General Auditor Hồ Đức Phớc chairs the 55th meeting of the Governing Board of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions. — VNS Photos Hồng Minh

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam held the 55th meeting of the Governing Board of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) with all the agenda discussed and approved by members, State Audit Office of Việt Nam (SAV) General Auditor Hồ Đức Phớc has said.

Speaking after the meeting on Monday, Phớc said all 24 reports in the agenda were discussed and approved including new issues such as the report on co-operation on environmental auditing, the report on public procurement audit and the report on information technology audit.

The teleconference involved 12 members of the ASOSAI Governing Board, namely Việt Nam, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, and Thailand, along with Kazakhstan and Turkey – two members of the Audit Committee, and the Development Initiative of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). Việt Nam holds the ASOSAI chairmanship for 2018-2021.

In his opening address, Phớc said the meeting, to be held online, demonstrated the efforts of supreme audit institutions, especially the National Audit Office of China – Secretary-General of ASOSAI, to prepare for the meeting amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision to hold the meeting online instead of in Bangladesh showed the flexible and proactive response of ASOSAI and the supreme audit members as the COVID-19 pandemic is still complex worldwide, he said.

According to Phớc, using information technology to organise meetings, seminars and training courses had ensured ASOSAI's activities in 2020 taken place effectively.

During the meeting, the ASOSAI Governing Board discussed capacity-building activities in the organisation, its co-operation with regional organisations, its targets and priorities for 2022-27, the work plan of the ASOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing for 2020-22, a report on the 12th ASOSAI Research Project, a report from the special committee considering establishing an ASOSAI working group on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the organisation’s role in helping members cope with COVID-19.

Members of the Governing Board of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions vote to approve the minutes of the 54th meeting held in Kuwait in 2019.

Participants also reviewed challenges from emerging issues and shared solutions ASOSAI members have carried out.

Director of the SAV’s Department of International Co-operation, Trần Kim Lộc, gave a report on the co-operation on environmental auditing of ASOSAI in Southeast Asia in 2020-21 focusing on auditing the management of water resources in the Mekong River basin associated with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“In 2012-13, supreme audit institutions (SAIs) of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Việt Nam successfully conducted parallel audits on matters of water resources in the Mekong River basin,” Lộc said.

Following the results of the audits, although recommendations were made at the national level to solve the problems, the issue of the Mekong River remained a major challenge and concern, Lộc said.

“With the expectation of calling the attention of countries and the international community on environmental issues and sustainable development in the region, while seeking sustainable solutions for the Mekong River Basin, SAV Việt Nam will co-ordinate with a number of SAIs in Southeast Asia to conduct a collaborative audit on the topic of auditing water resources management in the Mekong river basin in association with the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

SAV Việt Nam, with the participation of a number of supreme audit members in Southeast Asia, will perform the auditing in 2021, which is expected to bring sustainable analysis, evaluation and solutions to improve the living environment of the countries of the Mekong River basin. — VNS