State Audit of Vietnam and South Africa share experiences, aiming to promote cooperation

According to a VNA correspondent in Pretoria, at the invitation of the State Auditor General of South Africa, Tsakani Maluleke, on April 19, a delegation of the State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) led by Party Central Committee member and State Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan had a working session and exchanged experiences with the State Audit Office of South Africa.

Photo caption — *State Auditor General of Vietnam Ngo Van Tuan receives a souvenir from South African State Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke. Photo: Hong Minh/VNA reporter in Pretoria, South Africa*

Welcoming the high-ranking delegation of the State Audit of Vietnam to visit and work in the "Rainbow Country", Ms. Maluleke said that this is a great opportunity for the State Audit of South Africa and the State Audit of Vietnam to share knowledge, and at the same time review the common challenges, as well as the common opportunities of the two auditing agencies. Introducing the long history, functions and tasks of the State Audit of South Africa, Ms. Maluleke said that the achievements of the State Audit agency have contributed significantly to solving the socio-economic challenges that South Africa is facing. Ms. Maluleke emphasized that established in 1911, the State Audit of South Africa has a constitutional mandate and as the supreme audit institution of South Africa, this agency ensures the consolidation of the country's democracy by enabling oversight, accountability and governance in the public sector through auditing, thereby building public trust.

“I believe that both agencies will become stronger if we continue to strengthen our relationship and continue to seek opportunities to learn from each other. I am very excited about the opportunity to learn from Vietnamese auditors, especially how you handle financial irregularities during the audit process and also want to learn from you on the aspect of environmental auditing. For our part, we are ready to share lessons and experiences in IT auditing, an area that Vietnam is interested in,” said the State Auditor General of Vietnam, Ngo Van Tuan, thanked the State Auditor General of South Africa for the warm welcome. He reviewed some information and socio-economic achievements that Vietnam has achieved in recent times, and introduced the State Audit system of Vietnam. According to Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan, although it was only established in 1994, the State Audit of Vietnam has actively participated in multilateral organizations such as the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), and is one of the four founding members of the Southeast Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASEANSAI). The State Audit of Vietnam is also the Chairman of ASOSAI for the 2018-2021 term and the Chairman of the ASEANSAI Strategic Planning Committee.

Sharing with his South African counterpart, Mr. Ngo Van Tuan emphasized: “In the course of its operations, the State Audit of Vietnam has always strived to perfect the legal framework by issuing 39 standards according to INTOSAI standards and many regulations to ensure the independence of the auditing agency”. He also said that the State Audit of Vietnam has strengthened performance audits and compliance audits, focusing on hot topics that are prone to negativity, corruption and topics serving the supreme supervision of the National Assembly.

Mr. Ngo Van Tuan highly appreciated the active participation of the State Audit of South Africa, with a history of 112 years, in other international and regional organizations, especially the participation of South Africa in many working groups of INTOSAI, and expressed his desire to promote cooperation and exchange of experiences between the two state audit agencies. At the meeting, the two State Auditors General agreed to promote bilateral cooperation activities and further enhance exchange and experience sharing activities between the two agencies, especially in areas that are strengths of each state audit agency.

State Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan proposed that the two sides increase the exchange of delegations, including high-level delegations, organize joint workshops, and exchange delegations to exchange and share professional auditing experiences, especially in enhancing the capacity of auditors and applying INTOSAI auditing standards to auditing activities. He also expressed that within the framework of multilateral cooperation, the State Audit of Vietnam hopes to receive support and cooperation from the State Audit of South Africa at the INTOSAI forum. State Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan respectfully invited South African State Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke and his South African colleagues to visit and work in Vietnam, especially in 2024, when the State Audit of Vietnam celebrates its 30th anniversary. The delegation also had a working session with South African Deputy Auditor General Vonani Chauke. The two agencies also had discussions and shared practical experiences in auditing quality control and anti-corruption, shared lessons learned in implementing INTOSAI auditing standards, and enhanced the expertise of auditors. The State Audit of Vietnam delegation shared many experiences in handling financial violations during the auditing process.