The State Audit Office of Viet Nam (SAV) delegation led by Deputy Auditor General Dr. Ha Thi My Dzung, paid a working visit to New Zealand and Australia from April 14-23, 2023. As part of their trip, the delegation attended IMPACT 2023 – the International Meeting of Performance Audit Critical Thinkers held on April 19-20, 2023. The event was hosted by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in collaboration with the ACT Audit Office and featured over 200 delegates from Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI), relevant Australian ministries and sectors as well as leading international experts.
The delegation of the State Audit Office of Viet Nam attended IMPACT 2023
The conference covered an overarching theme of "The Auditor of the Future" with two sub-themes: Technology as a tool and Technology and its impact on the auditors.
On April 19, 2023, representatives of SAI Indonesia, the Office of New York State Comptroller, the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Australian Minister of Finance shared their experiences in attracting future auditors, necessary skills for auditors in today's digital world; cybersecurity and challenges faced by public sectors; auditing in the era of artificial intelligence and Australia's achievements in enhancing accountability, transparency and anti-corruption measures.
To adapt to the rapidly changing context, future auditors need to be possess a comprehensive set of skills, integrity, and professional competence that enable them to overcome the limitations of traditional financial audits. With digital technology transforming governmental operations and increasing data complexity and volume, it is essential that agencies have the ability to process this information effectively.
On April 20, 2023, SAV's delegation continued their participation in discussions on the main topics related to audit impacts from the different perspectives including those of SAIs; relationship with Parliament; building impact of audit from perspectives of Parliament, public audit offices and auditees.
Overview of IMPACT 2023 from 19-20, April 2023 in Canberra, Australia
As public audit continues to evlove, there has been an increase in interest and involvement from Parliament and the general public with regard to SAIs’ audit activities and reports, which requires SAIs to continuously innovate the content and form of audit reports to meet quality requirements within specified deadlines. In light of the post-COVID19 context, most SAIs have demostrated flexibility by adapting themeselves accordingly, emphasizing on reporting results achieved related to integrity, issuing public procurement management framework as well as centralized approach towards conflicts of interest management.
In addition, SAV's delegation attended discussion sessions on four sub-themes: Environmental audit and Sustainability – SAIs’ experience in applying the governance, social and environmental reporting model (ESG) and sustainability audits; Data Analytics – SAIs’ experience in using analytics and technology to improve audit results; Environmental Management Framework – The importance of effective coordination mechanisms, the roles and benefits of the legal system; Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence – Impact on auditing while searching for modern tools that can help auditors identify gaps in risk management with the support of current and emerging artificial intelligence technologies.
During the conference, Deputy Auditor General, Dr. Ha Thi My Dzung had bilateral meetings with several SAIs on the sidelines of the event. Notably, she met with Mr. Grant Hehir - Auditor General of Australia and Ms. Rona Mellor - Deputy Auditor General of Australia.
Dr. Dzung expressed her pleasure and appreciation to ANAO for hosting the IMPACT 2023. She briefly introduced SAI's establishment and development before expressing her wish that both offices would futher promote bilateral cooperation by sharing knowledge and experience on audit quality assurance, data analytic and application of information technology in audit activities. Additionlly, SAV has set its aims to strengthen the role within ASOSAI and make greater contribution. As such, SAV hopes that the ANAO could support SAV's candidacy for membership of ASOSAI Audit Committee tenure 2024-2027 at the upcoming ASOSAI Assembly in 2024. Dr. Dzung conveyed the kind regards from Auditor General of Vietnam Mr. Ngo Van Tuan to Mr. Grant Hehir and cordially invited him and colleagues at ANAO to pay a working visit to SAV in the coming time.
The bilateral meeting between SAV and ANAO
During the course of the meeting, Mr. Grant Hehir expressed his pleasure and welcomed SAV's leaders and auditors to the exchange of experiences on areas where ANAO excels, particularly data collection and analysis as well as application of information technology in audit activities. Additionally, he expressed his hope to have the opportunity to visit SAV for a working visit in the near future./.