On February 20, 2010 the Sate Council issued the regulation on the implementation of the Audit Law which will become effective on May 1 this year, requires close audit to all fiscal funds and all government-related construction projects in a bid to ensure sound use of public money.
The revised regulation is stipulated in accordance with the current Audit Law of the People s Republic of China which took effect in June 2006, composes of 7 chapters with a total of 58 articles covering General Provisions, Audit Institutions and Auditors, Duties of Audit Institutions, Powers of Audit Institutions, Audit Procedures, Legal Responsibilities and Supplementary Provisions. Compared to it older one, the new regulation mainly specifies with explicit and detailed provisions in terms of the scope of audit supervision, powers of audit institutions and the supervision on audit institutions.
It prescribes the scope of track audit on the use of fiscal funds, the audits on construction projects, special audit investigations as well as the review to public accounting firms.
The regulation also specifies the extent of audit institutions power regarding the detailed procedures on the investigation of accounts and savings, procedure and time limit to block relevant materials and assets. The range of publicly published audits is also expanding, and those circumstances to conduct the audit without prior notice are clearly identified, according to the regulation.
Besides, the regulation provides that audit institutions of various levels should strengthen both internal and external supervision to ensure accurate and impartial auditing.
