As member of China’s national delegation, led by the Deputy Auditor General, Dong Dasheng, Macau’s Commissioner of Audit Ho Veng On took part in the 12th General Assembly of Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), held in Jaipur, India, from February 27 to March 3. China National Audit Office (CNAO) is one of the core member-institutions of the organization and also one of the longest serving at its Governing Board.
ASOSAI, established in 1979, has a membership of 45 SAIs, which, together, form the General Assembly, with the powers to lay down policies, to establish the rules of association and other internal rules, to elect the chairman and other members of the Governing Board and also to elect the Audit Committee’s members. The General Assembly meets every three years. China has been chairman of the General Assembly during 1991-93 and 2006-09 and is now member of the Governing Board and Working Group on Environmental Auditing (Wgea).
In this 12th General Assembly, the Governing Board and various committees debated and presented reports on the financial management and activities of ASOSAI as well as the results in the cooperation with the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions and with the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). The General Assembly also listened to INTOSAI Professional Standards Committee’s report, of which China was in charge, and to the report presented by Wgea’s members.
In presenting the Professional Standards Committee report, Dong Dasheng underlined the contribution rendered by Asian audit institutions for the development and harmonisation of global professional standards, as a result of the Declaration of South Africa (2011). Dong Dasheng also presented proposals for maintaining a coordinated development, promotion and implementation of the professional standards in Asian audit institutions. As for Wgea’s report, the Chinese delegates shared with other countries’ representatives experiences in promoting environmental auditing and briefed them on the situation of the inter-regional works in forestry up to last year. Wgea also expressed the possibility of organizing next year an international environmental audit conference dedicated to forestry and water resources in Asia. The System Audit Committee and the Administrative and Finance Committee also presented their work reports.
Before winding up the agenda, the General Assembly proceeded to the election of the next Governing Board members. China received a tally as high as 38 votes out of 42 casted so it will be accompanied in the next mandate by Bangladesh, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, Turkey and Jordan were elected to comprise the Audit Committee. Finally, the General Assembly unanimously approved Malaysia will host the next Assembly.
As delegate of CNAO, Ho Veng On took part in all works of the General Assembly and had opportunities to exchange ideas and opinions with the Deputy Auditor General Dong Dasheng, with the Director of Audit of Hong Kong, Tang Kuok-Bun, and with the highest representatives of other participating member-institutions. Ho Veng On referred that his participation in the General Assembly was of great benefit to Macau and a strong impulse to the scientific development of Macau Commission of Audit’s works, since it has been a good opportunity to be acquainted with the most recent audit techniques being applied in other countries and, above all, a great forum to learn from the representatives of all other member-institutions of ASOSAI.
Ho Veng On expressed his appreciation for the continuous support rendered by CNAO to the Commission of Audit’s international activities and training programme. Ho Veng On and Dong Dasheng also exchanged points of view on the future development of the cooperation initiated with the Protocol of Cooperation for Development of the ‘Auditor Office Programme’, Macau Edition, signed last October between the Audit Bureau of Macau and CNAO’s Information Technology Centre, with the aim of widening the coverage of audit works assisted by information technologies and intensifying the informatization of the financial audit works carried out by the Commission of Audit of Macau. Ho Veng On also expressed gratitude to his Hong Kong counterpart for the upcoming experience sharing session on construction audit that his staff will deliver at the Commission of Audit of Macau.
