On November 16, 2008, Premier Wen Jiabao took a survey and research trip to Jiangyou City, Sichuan Province. He paid a visit to the staff of Jiangyou City Audit Office who were working in temporarily assembled office rooms, and gave important instructions after listening to the report on anti-earthquake and reconstruction funds audit made by Jiangyou Audit Office.
Premier Wen pointed out that: government auditing is very important; auditors must make good use of their knowledge and expertise in order to play their due roles; strengthening audit supervision, improving economical and effective use of special funds, and urging limited funds going to the most needed areas of the people are fundamental requirements of scientific outlook on development; as the number of reconstruction projects is big and the volume of reconstruction funds is huge, after-quake audits are hard and bare great importance and responsibilities, it is necessary to increase reconstruction audits; audit institutions should carry out whole-process tracking audit over government investment projects, which is more important than post-audit in this regard, because audit could identify problems before the actual losses happen, through which audit institutions could play a better role in encouraging project funds saving for local governments.
First, auditors should adhere to the scientific outlook on development as core guidance, establish and gradually strengthen scientific auditing theory during the process of learning and practicing scientific outlook on development. Premier Wen has emphasized the importance of government auditing, and asked auditors to make good use of their knowledge and expertise on audit.
This fully exhibits the Party Central Committee and the State Council s high recognition and full support over government auditing, as well as their trust and expectations for auditors in China. Audit institutions in China should strengthen their sense of duty and responsibility, adhere to audit according to related laws and regulations; serve the overall economy; work on the main tasks; prioritize key projects; pursue truthfulness with hard and plain works , the guiding principle of government auditing, make promoting nomocracy, safeguarding people s livelihood, pushing forward reform, expediting development as the starting point and purpose of government auditing, and make safeguarding national security and national interests, promoting democracy and nomocracy, facilitating comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development as their primary tasks, so as to give full play to government audit s immune system functions to safeguard the healthy operation of national economy and society.
Second, audit institutions should strengthen their audits on key projects, funds and aspects to improve the performances of public funds and public administration. Premier Wen pointed out profoundly: urging limited funds going to the most needed areas of the people is the fundamental requirement of scientific outlook on development.
Government auditing should watch closely the implementation of measures promoting steadily and fast economic growth made by the Party Central Committee. Audit institutions in China should strengthen their audits in projects that have direct influences over people s livelihood, infrastructure projects, and eco-environment construction projects, in order to ensure related laws and regulations are strictly followed and to facilitate people benefiting policies implementation.
Audit institutions in China should also encourage performance auditing, pay due attention to the quality and performance of projects audited besides discovering losses and wasting activities. Due attention should also be given to energy conservation and environment protections, in order to facilitate the transition of economic development mode, improve the economy, effectiveness, and efficiency of public finance funds and public resources allocation.
Audit institutions in China should also conduct researches and analyses to obtain the underlying reason of audit finds discovered, so as to put forward valuable suggestions and recommendations to further improve the policy system, and to promote sound and rapid development of the economy and society.
Third, audit institutions in China should build up strong sense of accountability and make comprehensive plan and coordination, in order to conduct reconstruction audit after the Wenchuan earthquake. Premier Wen noted: the audit of after-quake reconstruction projects, which bares great responsibilities, is very much arduous.
Conducting after-quake audit is the legal responsibility of audit institutions. Audit institutions should go all out to finish this audit with high sense of responsibility toward the Party, the country, the people, the society and the history. According to the Arrangements for Reconstruction Audit after Wenchuan Earthquake approved by the State Council, audit institutions in China carried out whole-process tracking audits over the collection, distribution, management, utilization and effectiveness of after-quake reconstruction materials and funds, as well as key construction projects.
Audit institutions also checked the implementation of policies and plans regarding after-quake construction, as well as the quality of construction projects, which facilitated the smooth implementation of after-quake reconstruction.
Fourth, audit institutions should improve their audit approaches, allocate audit resources in a reasonable and comprehensive way, and organize qualified auditors to conduct tracking audits. Premier Wen required: audit institutions should carry out whole-process tracking audit on government invested projects to detect problems at earliest stage possible.
The CNAO will organize, in various levels, backbone auditors of related resident offices and local audit offices of quake stricken areas to conduct whole-process tracking audits over special investment projects, major livelihood benefiting projects, key eco-environmental construction projects and significant public emergencies, after summarizing the practices and experiences of Wenchuan earthquake relief audits.
Audit institutions will detect problems and risks during audits and ask related entities to correct accordingly, so as to avoid substantial wastes and losses in the future. Meanwhile, audit institutions will improve themselves in the process of track, in order to play their due roles in safeguarding fundamental interests of the country and people.
