Functions and mandates

Audit Department No. III is a subordinate department of the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) whose mandate is to assist the Auditor General in performing functions of financial audit, compliance audit and performance audit in managing and using state budget, money and assets of ministries, ministry-level bodies, governmental agencies and other central bodies (hereinafter referred to as the central ministries and sectors) under fields of science-technology, education-training, culture-society, sport, and information-propaganda; groups of political organizations, social-political organizations, social-political-professional organizations, and social-professional organizations who use state budget; associations, federations and other organizations who are partially funded by the state budget.

Duties and powers

1. Tracking and capturing the situation of the management and use of state budget, money and assets of central ministries and sectors under its audit scope to facilitate audit work; developing its annual audit plan to submit to the Auditor General for approval; carrying out the audit plan assigned by the Auditor General;   

2. Performing audits on national target programs under its audit scope in accordance with approved audit plan and as assigned by the Auditor General;

3. Studying and using internal audit results of agencies and organizations where internal audit system is available, and taking responsibility before the Auditor General for using those results;

4. Proposing Audit Departments and Regional State Audit Offices to send results of audits on budget settlements of central ministries and sectors, and of provinces and cities under central authority as a basis for the audit on annual state budget for settlement;

5. Reviewing and taking responsibility before the Auditor General and the law for audit minutes and audit reports prepared by its audit teams before submitting to the Auditor General;

6. Summarizing audit results and results of implementing audit recommendations of annually audited entities under its audit scope to report to the Auditor General;

7. Collaborating with Department of General Affairs and related units to prepare comments on annual state budget estimates, central budget allocations and annual state budget settlements for the Auditor General to present to the National Assembly;

8. When performing audit tasks, the Audit Department No. III has the powers:

a) Requesting audited entities and related organizations and individuals to provide complete and accurate information in a timely manner to facilitate audit work; request related agencies to coordinate in fulfilling assigned tasks; to request state agencies, mass unions, social organizations and citizens to support and facilitate task implementation;

b) Requesting audited entities under its audit scope to implement SAV’s audit conclusions and recommendations for errors in financial statements and violations of legal compliance; proposing implementating measures to overcome those shortcomings found by SAV in audited entities’ performance;

c) Checking the implementation of SAV’s audit conclusions and recommendations in audited entities under its audit scope; 

d) Advising the Auditor General to request authorized state agencies to ask audited entities to implement audit conclusions and recommendations for errors in financial statements and violations of legal compliance; proposing penalties in accordance to the law for units failing to implement or not implement all SAV’s audit conclusions and recommendations in a timely manner; 

đ) Proposing the Auditor General to request authorized state agencies to impose penalties on organizations and individuals for law violations that have been clarified in audit activities;

e) Proposing the Auditor General to request authorized state agencies to impose penalties on organizations and individuals for obstructing audit activities or providing false information and documents for audit teams, audit groups and auditors;

g) Proposing the Auditor General to seek experts’ professional opinions if necessary;  

h) Proposing the Auditor General to consign or hire auditing enterprises/ companies to audit agencies and organizations under its audit scope;

i) Based on audit activities, advising the Auditor General to propose the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government, the Prime Minister, the People’s Council, the People’s Committee and other State Agencies to amend and supplement mechanisms, policies and laws accordingly.

9. Collaborating with Department of Audit Policy and Quality Control to develop standards, procedures and methodologies on state audit and internal audit in assigned audit fields; proposing the Auditor General to amend, supplement and complete standards, procedures and methodologies on state audit and internal audit applied in its audit activities;

10. Managing auditing records/ working papers prepared by the Department; safeguarding confidential documents, accounting data and information on audited entities’ activities in accordance with state laws and regulations set by the Auditor General; 

11. Managing officials and staffs in accordance with the regulations of the State and of the Auditor General on the decentralized management; implementing tasks on emulation, reward, discipline, storage, propaganda and scientific research in accordance with the regulations of the State and the Auditor General; reporting its work results to the Auditor General on a monthly, quarterly, yearly or extraordinary basis; managing its assets and equipment;

12. Performing a number of other tasks and powers as assigned or authorized by the Auditor General.