International Journal of Government Auditing – January 2012
Vietnam
New Head of SAI
In August 2011, Dinh Tien Dung was appointed Auditor General of the State Audit Office of Vietnam by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, succeeding Vuong Dinh Hue who became the Minister of Finance.
Dinh Tien Dung
Mr. Dinh was born in 1961 in Ninh Binh and has a master’s degree in economics. He has broad leadership experience in finance and accounting, as well as other fields, at both the central and provincial levels. Previously, he was Chief Accountant in the Corporation–Ministry of Construction of Vietnam. In October 1997, he was appointed Director of the Finance and Accounting Department of the Ministry of Construction and, in June 2003, he was named Deputy Minister of Construction. In May 2008, he was elected as Vice-Secretary of the Dien Bien Provincial Communist Party and in July of that year became Chairman of the Dien Bien Provincial Communist People’s Committee. In October 2010, he was elected Secretary of the Ninh Binh Provincial Communist Party.
Modifications Proposed to the State Audit Law
Since 2006, Vietnam’s State Audit Law has provided regulations on the organization and operation of the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV). Over the 6 years of the law’s implementation, audits have increased in scope and quality and the SAV’s role has become more clearly defined. However, the law’s limitations have become apparent. For example, the SAV’s legal status does not reflect its position as the highest state financial inspection agency. This leads to insufficient awareness—in government sectors and among the public—of the SAV’s position, roles, functions, and tasks. Also, for the purpose of audit activities, the relationship between SAV and agencies of the National Assembly has not been specified. In addition to these limitations, the SAV functions and tasks as set forth in the State Audit Law have not
- completely covered the inspection and supervision of management and use of the state’s budget, money, and assets;
- focused on auditing the management and use of national resources;
- audited the management and use of the state’s capital and assets in enterprises where the state does not hold dominant shares;
- audited tax and public debt frequently; or
- specified preaudit tasks.
In order to overcome these and other identified limitations of the State Audit Law, the SAV submitted a proposal for modifying the law in the National Assembly’s upcoming session.
To guarantee the quality of the modifications that the SAV will propose, SAV will gather opinions from civil servants and auditors regarding the practical requirements of auditing work. The SAV will also gather opinions from agencies of the National Assembly, ministries, government sectors, localities, and related organizations and individuals on the feasibility of any proposed modifications to the State Audit Law. The SAV will work with these groups to reach consensus on the nature and implementation of the proposed modifications.
For additional information, contact the SAV:
E-mail: vietnamsai@hn.vnn.vn
Web site: www.kiemtoannn.gov.vn