Opening Ceremony of the 8th Meeting of the Big Data Working Group of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions

On the morning of September 10th, in Ninh Binh , the State Audit Office of Vietnam organized the 8th Conference of the Big Data Working Group of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI WGBD) with the theme: "Data Governance - A New Effective Tool in Auditing - From a Data Quality Perspective".

The delegates attending the conference.

Attending the conference were representatives from Vietnam, including Mr. Bui Quoc Dung, Deputy Auditor General of Vietnam; representatives from the Ministry of Information and Communications, Viettel Military Telecommunications Group, and others.

International delegates included Mr. Ma Wen Hui, Deputy Auditor General of China; and 43 delegates from 21 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and 3 international organizations: the Organization of English-Speaking Supreme Audit Institutions in Africa (AFROSAI-E), the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), and the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions IT Working Group on Information Technology (EUROSAI IT).

In his opening remarks at the conference, Mr. Bui Quoc Dung, Deputy Auditor General of Vietnam, shared: "Over the years, INTOSAI WGBD has made significant progress, especially in sharing knowledge on high-quality auditing through the use of advanced technologies, making useful contributions to the INTOSAI community in general and its members in particular."

In the context of the new trends of international integration, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and emerging issues, the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAO) is increasingly striving to further improve the quality of audits; actively promoting its role as the national financial and public asset audit agency; and contributing more to the community of supreme audit institutions in the region and internationally. To meet the requirements of the new situation, the SAO has developed and promulgated fundamental mechanisms and policies as a basis for the implementation of information technology (IT) activities; and has initially built the database architecture of the SAO of Vietnam.

The implementation of the project to build a database architecture, develop a synchronized IT infrastructure, establish a data center meeting technical standards, and apply IT to serve management, operation, and audit activities, as well as ensuring information security at each level, is a groundbreaking step for the State Audit Office of Vietnam. It aligns with the digital transformation process and marks the beginning of a new auditing field based on Artificial Intelligence, employing new audit methods, directly accessing IT systems and original data, and organizing systematic, nationwide Big Data verification and comparison.

Deputy Auditor General of Vietnam, Bui Quoc Dung, emphasized: Having participated as an observer since 2020, by October 2023, the State Audit Office of Vietnam had become a full member of INTOSAI WGBD and has made positive contributions to the Working Group's activities.

Most recently, the State Audit Office of Vietnam participated in the 7th Annual Meeting of the Working Group, held in Egypt with 70 delegates from 26 member/observer countries. They shared insights on the topic of "Application of Big Data in Auditing," presenting many practical and valuable articles and presentations, both in terms of professional knowledge and practical experience.

Following the success of the 7th Conference, at this conference, the State Audit Office of Vietnam, in collaboration with the State Audit Office of China - the Chair of INTOSAI WGBD, organized the 8th Conference with the theme "Data Governance - A New Effective Tool in Auditing - From the Perspective of Data Quality".

On the first day of the working session, delegates heard reports from representatives of the Chinese auditing body – the INTOSAI WGBD Chair – on the progress of the WGBD Working Group; from representatives of the Brazilian auditing body on the progress of the research project on "Application of Big Data in the Health and Social Security Services Sector"; and from representatives of the Indian auditing body on the progress of the research project on "Artificial Intelligence in the Audit Process".

Within the framework of the conference, 18 representatives from supreme audit institutions and international organizations, along with 4 experts from Vietnam, have registered to present papers at the conference, aiming to share knowledge and experience on challenges, opportunities, successful lessons, and valuable experiences to improve data governance in particular and big data auditing in general. In addition, the conference will include numerous bilateral networking activities, practical programs in Hanoi, and a cultural program in Ninh Binh province.

The successful organization of the 8th INTOSAI WGBD Conference will contribute to enhancing the position of the State Audit Office of Vietnam on the international stage, promoting the building of a network of experts, and creating a foundation for future cooperation projects on big data.

Nguyen Thom - Duc Lam