Chương I Luật Kiểm toán Nhà nước 2005: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Coverage of Regulation

This Law regulates on the legal position, mandates, tasks, powers and organization of the State Audit; tasks and powers of the State auditors, the audited entities and relevant individuals and organizations; the activities and assurance for the activities of the State Audit.

Article 2. Objects for application

1. The audited entities;

2.The State Audit;

3. Other organizations and individuals concerning to state audit activities.

Article 3. Purposes of audit

State audit activities are aimed at serving the check and supervision of the State on management and utilization of the State budget, money and assets; contributing to practicing thrift, fighting against corruption, losses and wastes, detecting and preventing any legal violations; enhancing efficiency in using the State budget, money and assets.

Article 4. Explanation of terms and expressions

In this Law, the terms and expressions hereunder shall be understood as follows:

1. Audit activities of the State Audit shall mean the check, evaluation and certification over the accuracy and integrity of financial statements; their compliance with law; and the economy, effectiveness and efficiency in management and use of the State budget, money and assets;

2. Financial statement audit shall mean the style of audit aiming at checking, evaluating and certifying the accuracy and integrity of financial statements;

3. Compliance Audit shall mean the form of audit aiming at checking, evaluating and certifying the compliance with law, and any rules and regulations upon which the audited entities are required to follow;

4. Performance Audit shall mean the type of audit aiming at checking and evaluating the economy, effectiveness and efficiency in management and use of the State budget, money and assets;

5. Audit evidence shall mean any document and information concerning to audit having been collected by the State auditors, and is basic to audit evaluation, certification, conclusion and recommendation;

6. Audit reports of the State Audit shall mean documents prepared and published by the State Audit in order to evaluate, certificate, conclude and recommend on contents having been audited;

7. State assets shall mean those properties that are formed with and/or having their origins from the State budget, under the ownership and management of the State, and being accounting objects of the audited entities.

Article 5. Audit objects of the State Audit

Audit objects of the State Audit shall be activities relevant to management and use of the State budget, funds and assets.

Article 6. Responsibilities for the accuracy and integrity of financial statements of agencies and organisations using the State budget, funds and assets

1. To be responsible to law for the accuracy and integrity of accounting data and information on the financial statements issued;

2. To base themselves on the provisions of law to set up and maintain proper and efficient performance of internal control system;

3. To organise internal audit in line with legal provisions in order to make appraisal on quality and credibility of economic and financial information; to safeguard assets and the execution of law, regulations and policies of the State and the rules and statutes of the entity.

Article 7. Operational principles of the State Audit

1. Independence and abidance by law only;

2. Integrity and objectivity.

Article 8. The State audit standards

1. The State audit standards shall encompass regulations on performance principles, conditions on and requirements for professional ethics, capability and ability of the State auditors; regulations on audit profession and the ways of dealing with relations arisen in the course of audit upon that the State auditors are required to follow while carrying out audit activities; are the basis for checking and evaluating audit quality and professional ethics of the State auditors.

2. The National Assembly Standing Committee shall prescribe the process of designing and issuing system of state audit standards.

3. The State Auditor General shall base on the resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee to design and issue the system of state audit standards.

Article 9. Value of audit reports

1. The audit reports of the State Audit shall certify the correctness and truthfulness of financial statements and the State budget settlement reports; appraise the compliance with law, the economy, effectiveness and efficiency in management and use of the State budget, funds and assets.

2. The audit reports of the State Audit shall be among the bases which:

a) The National Assembly shall use in the process of considering and deciding on the state budget estimates, and to determine the methods of allocating the central budget, and to decide on the national important projects and works invested by the State budget resources; to review and ratify the State budget settlement and use in the oversight of execution of the State budget, the national financial and monetary policies, the resolutions of the National Assembly on the State budget, the national important projects and works, the socio-economic development programmes, and other important capital construction projects and works;

b) The Government, the state management agencies and other organisations and agencies of the State shall use during the management, operation and implementation of their duties;

c) The People's Councils shall use in the process of considering and deciding the estimates and methods of allocating and overseeing the local budgets; approving the local budget settlements;

d) The People's Courts, the People's Procuracies and investigation agencies shall use in the process of handling acts of violating economic and financial legislations;

e) The audited entities shall implement the audit conclusions and recommendations by the State Audit on irregularities in the financial statements and mistakes concerning the compliance with law; implement corrective methods over weaknesses in their activities detected and recommended by the State Audit.

3. Agencies or competent persons who use the audit conclusions shall decide themselves on the acceptance of audit conclusions of the State Audit and be responsible to law for such decisions.

Once accepted by agencies and/or competent persons, the audit conclusions shall be obliged to follow.

Article 10. The responsibilities of organisations and individuals concerning to state audit activities

1. Organisations and individuals concerned to the audit operations shall be responsible for supplying in full and on time accurate information and documents as so requested by the State Audit, the State auditors and shall be responsible to law for the accuracy, truthfulness and objectivity of the information and documents provided;

2. The competent State agencies shall bear responsibility for addressing fully and on time the audit conclusions and recommendations by the State Audit as their receiving the audit reports, and shall send the State Audit a report on the results thereof;

Article 11. Application of International treaty

In case of international treaties on state audit that Vietnam has signed or acceded to have provisions different from those regulated by this Law, the international treaties shall prevail.

Article 12. Forbidden acts

1. The State Audit and the State auditors shall be strictly banned against the following acts:

a) to cause trouble, difficulty and annoyance to the audited entities;

b) to interfere illegally into normal operations of the audited entities;

c) to take brides;

d) to misreport or to report inadequately on audit results;

e) to abuse the working position and authorities for personal interests;

f) to reveal the State secrets and professional confidentiality of the audited entities;

g) to reveal information on audit conditions and results that have not been officially disclosed yet;

h) other acts forbidden by law.

2. The following acts shall be forbidden towards the audited entities and relevant organisations and individuals:

a) to refuse the provision of information and documents necessary for the audit under the request of the State Audit and the State auditors;

b) to cause obstructions to the work of the State Audit and the State auditors;

c) to report wrongly, untruthfully, insufficiently and impartially on the information concerning the audit of the State Audit;

d) to corrupt and to bribe the State auditors;

e) to conceal acts of violating financial and budgetary regulations;

f) other acts forbidden by law.

3. Every organisation and individual shall be strictly forbidden to illegally interfere into the operations of the State Audit.