Sharing international experiences in utilizing audit results to support the activities of the National Assembly
In order to understand the needs and strengthen the cooperation between the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (CAAF) and agencies of the National Assembly within the framework of the mission with the State Audit Office of Viet Nam (SAV), in the afternoon of March 17, 2023, CAAF delegation led by Ms. Caroline Jorgensen, CAAF Vice President, had a working session with the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly. Receiving and chairing the meeting with the delegation was Mr. Le Minh Nam, Standing Member of the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly.
Attending the meeting were Deputy Director General of the Department of Finance and Budget Nguyen Minh Tan, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation, SAV Nguyen Viet Hung, and officials and experts of CAAF.
Making his speech at the meeting, Standing Member of the Finance and Budget Committee Le Minh Nam shared a number of issues, about which CAAF delegation is concerned, regarding the coordination between the National Assembly and SAV in improving oversight capacity; the utilizationof SAV audit results to support the National Assembly’s activities; the Finance and Budget Committee’s role in transparently disclosing audit results and following up on audit recommendations, etc.
Mr. Le Minh Nam stated that SAV is an institution established by the National Assembly which operates independently and abides only by the law. SAV's task is to perform audits and report to the National Assembly for consideration and decision-making on financial and national budget-related matters, including the process of promulgating legal documents and the management of public finances and assets.
SAV has the independent right to develop the audit plan, yet before the audit plan can be put into action, it must be reported to the National Assembly. In addition, SAV performs a number of tasks at the request of the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee.
Mr. Le Minh Nam emphasized that, over the past time, SAV has made positive contributions in carrying out its mandate of supporting the National Assembly in its functions of legislative, oversight, and decision-making on important issues pertaining to the nation’s finance and budget. "SAV provides information not only to the Finance and Budget Committee but also to other committees of the National Assembly, particularly the provision of SAV's performance audit results that assess the effectiveness and efficiency with respect to various fields, therefore, the National Assembly committees need to use the information from audit activities," stated Mr. Le Minh Nam.
According to Mr. Le Minh Nam, in the coming time, there will be an interconnection network so that the National Assembly can utilize SAV audit reports more comprehensively and the Committees of the National Assembly can use the audit reports in a more convenient way.
Regarding the publicity and transparency of audit results and follow-up audit recommendations, Mr. Le Minh Nam shared that the State Audit Law stipulates that the audit report is valid for implementation, so the legal validity and influence of audit results have far-reaching impacts on the management as well as on society.
Recognizing that the audit conclusions are currentlly not being implemented to the fullest, Mr. Le Minh Nam said that the role of the Finance and Budget Committee, in the process of verifying reports submitted to the National Assembly, the Committee is closely related to reviewing this content. In the resolutions on approving the final settlement, the Finance and Budget Committee advise the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the National Assembly to include a number of contents requiring the auditees to seriously implement SAV audit results and recommendations. At the discussion and verification sessions, the Committee also question ministries, sectors, and localities about the implementation of the audit conclusions and recommendations. Resolutions of the National Assembly also require the government to direct the strict implementation of audit conclusions and recommendations.
According to Mr. Le Minh Nam, it is expected that in early April 2024, the Finance and Budget Committee will organize the hearing on the follow-up of audit recommendations. "We will review the whole process of following up on the audit conclusions and recommendations over the past time, including outstanding issues to report to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for consideration and settlement in a more comprehensive manner from all perspectives in both the legal documents as well as the implementation" Mr. Le Minh Nam said.
Making his speech at the meeting, Standing Member of the Finance and Budget Committee Le Minh Nam shared a number of issues, about which CAAF delegation is concerned, regarding the coordination between the National Assembly and SAV in improving oversight capacity; the utilizationof SAV audit results to support the National Assembly’s activities; the Finance and Budget Committee’s role in transparently disclosing audit results and following up on audit recommendations, etc.
Mr. Le Minh Nam stated that SAV is an institution established by the National Assembly which operates independently and abides only by the law. SAV's task is to perform audits and report to the National Assembly for consideration and decision-making on financial and national budget-related matters, including the process of promulgating legal documents and the management of public finances and assets.
SAV has the independent right to develop the audit plan, yet before the audit plan can be put into action, it must be reported to the National Assembly. In addition, SAV performs a number of tasks at the request of the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee.
Mr. Le Minh Nam emphasized that, over the past time, SAV has made positive contributions in carrying out its mandate of supporting the National Assembly in its functions of legislative, oversight, and decision-making on important issues pertaining to the nation’s finance and budget. "SAV provides information not only to the Finance and Budget Committee but also to other committees of the National Assembly, particularly the provision of SAV's performance audit results that assess the effectiveness and efficiency with respect to various fields, therefore, the National Assembly committees need to use the information from audit activities," stated Mr. Le Minh Nam.
According to Mr. Le Minh Nam, in the coming time, there will be an interconnection network so that the National Assembly can utilize SAV audit reports more comprehensively and the Committees of the National Assembly can use the audit reports in a more convenient way.
Regarding the publicity and transparency of audit results and follow-up audit recommendations, Mr. Le Minh Nam shared that the State Audit Law stipulates that the audit report is valid for implementation, so the legal validity and influence of audit results have far-reaching impacts on the management as well as on society.
Recognizing that the audit conclusions are currentlly not being implemented to the fullest, Mr. Le Minh Nam said that the role of the Finance and Budget Committee, in the process of verifying reports submitted to the National Assembly, the Committee is closely related to reviewing this content. In the resolutions on approving the final settlement, the Finance and Budget Committee advise the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the National Assembly to include a number of contents requiring the auditees to seriously implement SAV audit results and recommendations. At the discussion and verification sessions, the Committee also question ministries, sectors, and localities about the implementation of the audit conclusions and recommendations. Resolutions of the National Assembly also require the government to direct the strict implementation of audit conclusions and recommendations.
According to Mr. Le Minh Nam, it is expected that in early April 2024, the Finance and Budget Committee will organize the hearing on the follow-up of audit recommendations. "We will review the whole process of following up on the audit conclusions and recommendations over the past time, including outstanding issues to report to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for consideration and settlement in a more comprehensive manner from all perspectives in both the legal documents as well as the implementation" Mr. Le Minh Nam said.
The scene of the working session
Making a speech at the meeting, CAAF representative also shared information about the relationship between the Office of Auditor General of Canada and the Canadian Parliament as well as how the Office of Auditor General of Canada's audit findings and recommendations have been put into practice.
Emphasizing CAAF's contributions as a connecting bridge between the audit offices and the National Assembly, Ms. Caroline Jorgensen wished to strengthen the cooperation relationship between CAAF and the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly in order to improve the efficiency of coordination between SAV and the National Assembly.
Agreeing with the abovementioned proposal, Standing Member of the Finance and Budget Committee Le Minh Nam wished that CAAF would share Canadian good practices, international experiences in utilizing audit results to support other activities of the National Assembly; through the exchange of documents, the organization of seminars, and training courses to improve capacity and skills in exploiting audit reports to improve the effectiveness of supervision and questioning by the National Assembly./.
