International Journal of Government Auditing – July 2004
China
Audit Findings on SARS Prevention and Treatment Funds
SARS—severe acute respiratory syndrome—hit China unexpectedly at the beginning of 2003. To combat this disease, which was little known at that time, the Chinese government allocated by July 31, 2003, 14.039 billion yuan (US$1.69 billion) in special funds. At the same time, the government received donations totaling 4.152 billion yuan (US$ 510 million) from home and abroad for the prevention and treatment of SARS.
In August 2003, right after the disease had been brought under control, the National Audit Office of China (CNAO) audited these funds and donations covering all relevant government units in 30 provinces and announced its findings in December 2003.
The audit found that management and application of special funds and donations for SARS prevention and treatment were generally competent, and no serious irregularities were detected. Departments of planning, civil affairs, finance, and control used effective fund management measures and maintained proper monitoring procedures to ensure standardized funds application. However, the auditors reported problems in some departments, including decentralized allocation of funds, untimely funds allocation, incomplete procedures for receiving donations, and delays in book entries and submission of donations to special financial accounts. As soon as the problems were reported, the related departments took prompt measures to rectify them, and problems such as untimely book entry and submission to special financial accounts have been resolved on the whole.
CNAO Hosts Second International Audit Training Program in Beijing
The CNAO hosted its second International Audit Training Program from April 5-22, 2004. Thirty-four participants from 23 countries in Asia and Africa and from China’s Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions were invited to attend the program. Mr. Li Jinhua, Auditor-General of China, greeted all of the participants and presided over the program’s opening ceremony on April 6.
The program consists of two segments. In the first, 11 intensive courses, with topics ranging from the legal system of audit in China to environment and performance auditing, were offered to participants in CNAO’s well-equipped Huairou Training Center. In the last half of the program, participants were divided into groups to visit some of the CNAO’s resident audit offices in Shanghai, Nanjing, Chongqing, Kunming, and Guangzhou, where they had the opportunity to observe field audits and exchange ideas with their Chinese colleagues.
For more information, contact: International Department, National Audit Office of China, fax: ++86-10-6833 09558; e-mail: cnao@audit.gov.cn.