Sustainable development, environmental protection in ASOSAI 14 spotlight

General Auditor of Vietnam Ho Duc Phoc highlighted the 40-year path of development of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) at an opening ceremony of its 14th Assembly and a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the Charter for ASOSAI in Hanoi on September 19.

Over its 40 years of development, ASOSAI has always been the leading regional organization for public audits and administration, and its mission, vision and core values of "Professionalism, Cooperation, Consistency, Creativity" remain unchanged, he said.

The theme “Environmental Audit for Sustainable Development” is an important agenda item of the ASOSAI Assembly, reflecting the commitments and contributions of the ASOSAI community to the UN’s pursuit of sustainable development and global environmental protection, he said.

As the ASOSAI 14 chair, the SAV will do its utmost to secure the strong and sustainable development of ASOSAI, supporting the growth of Asia and the world economy, said Mr Phoc.

The leader of the Vietnamese audit sector said ASOSAI has made continued efforts to become a regional model organization of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) with the aim of increasing values and benefits for (Supreme Audit Institutions) SAI members. It has committed to developing and supporting its member SAIs and enabling them to benefit from knowledge sharing and capacity building initiatives in order to enhance their contribution to the Asian nations. 

Assuming the ASOSAI 14 chair, the State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) is well aware of its responsibility in working with other members to promote its achievements and the cooperation among members of ASOSAI and the INTOSAI, to enhance the solidarity, capability and development of the supreme audit community.

It has recently been established that socio-economic development and environmental protection must go hand in hand for the sake of sustainable development.

This is especially true at a time when the region, and the world, is facing global challenges regarding environmental protection and sustainable development. In this spirit, the 51st ASOSAI Governing Board meeting in Indonesia in February 2017 approved the theme for the 14th ASOSAI Assembly to be “Environmental Audit for Sustainable Development” on the basis of an agreement between 46 member SAIs.

President of INTOSAI Harib Al Amimi, said the combination of countries of different sizes, languages and cultures, has seen ASOSAI emerge as an active professional body and has allowed it to thread together the global initiatives into a regional context.

The strategic planning, capacity development and training initiatives of ASOSAI have evolved tremendously over the past 40 years, he said, adding that the Assembly marks the 40^th anniversary of the Charter for ASOSAI, an important document which sets forth the targets and administration of ASOSAI, a regional organization of INTOSAI.

Meanwhile, the Chairwoman of ASOSAI 13 and head of Malaysia SAI, Madinah Binti Mohamad, said the Assembly is an excellent forum for deliberating upon issues and developments in the field of public audits, learning from each other’s experiences and reinforcing the importance of value and the benefits of supreme audit institutions across the Asian region.

She highlighted the history of ASOSAI, its path of growth and how it has adapted to the emergence of new perspectives among its members.

So many things have already been accomplished since the inception of ASOSAI, particularly in enhancing the capacities of member SAIs through training and knowledge sharing as well as fostering professional and technical cooperation with other regional groups, she added.

She noted that it is imperative that SAIs listen to citizens’ petitions. ASOSAI’s role is not only to shed light on public management by analyzing and verifying data but also to assess impacts on public finance, anticipating risks and suggesting improvements.

The ASOSAI Assembly, which is held every three years, is the venue for all heads of ASOSAI member supreme audit agencies to discuss and decide on major issues, necessary documents, regimes, and policies in order to achieve the association’s objectives and further its development. It also serves as a forum for sharing experience in the field of state audits.

This year’s event sees the largest ASOSAI gathering to date, with the participation of around 250 delegates from 46 supreme audit institutions in Asian countries.