The Press and Media as a Bridge for Promoting the Value of Public Auditing

Member of the Party Committee of the National Assembly, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, and Deputy Auditor General of the State Audit Office of Vietnam Ha Thi My Dung. Photo: TL

The Press – A Force Accompanying the Audit Institution

The Lima Declaration of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) affirms that the strength of a supreme audit institution comes not only from its legal independence and professional quality, but also from public support and effective communication.

This is particularly significant in the current context, as increasingly high demands are being placed on institutions responsible for overseeing and monitoring the exercise of state power in building a modern, integrity-based, and transparent national governance system. As an institution established by the National Assembly, operating independently and complying only with the law, the SAV not only audits the management and use of public finances and public assets but also plays an important role in preventing and combating corruption, waste, and misconduct; enhancing accountability; and strengthening public trust in the Party and the State.

To effectively fulfill this mission, the press and media play a particularly important role. The press not only reports on audit activities but also helps promote the value of public auditing, enabling the public to better understand why the SAV is necessary, what value auditing brings to national public finance, and how it contributes to the country’s sustainable development.

For the SAV, effective communication is itself a means of enhancing audit effectiveness. Under public scrutiny and increasing demands for information transparency, audit conclusions and recommendations can carry greater weight in implementation, while violations of the law, losses, and waste can be detected and prevented more promptly. At the same time, through the press, the image of the SAV as a disciplined, integrity-driven, professional, modern, and responsible institution can be further strengthened and promoted throughout society.

In the digital era, as the media landscape undergoes profound changes, the requirement is not merely to provide information but also to proactively communicate and shape information, guide public discourse, and build social trust through openness, transparency, and accountability. This is also a core requirement for the development of supreme audit institutions worldwide today.

A Mark of Effective Attention and Coordination

Recognizing the role of the press and media in fulfilling the sector’s political tasks, the SAV has, over the years, consistently focused on renewing its information and communication activities toward greater proactiveness, professionalism, modernization, and substantive effectiveness.

With the attention and support of the Party Committee and leadership of the SAV, the SAV’s Electronic Information Portal – an important official information channel of the sector – has been upgraded and launched with a modern and optimized interface, marking an important step forward in digital transformation, improving the quality of information provision, and enhancing the effectiveness of the SAV’s operations.

At the same time, the State Audit Newspaper has continued to receive investment in infrastructure and working conditions to accelerate its transformation toward a converged, multiplatform, and multimedia newsroom model, aiming to meet modern standards of quality and effectiveness and to fulfill its role as the official publication of the SAV.

The sector’s communication activities have increasingly ensured timeliness, quality, and effectiveness, while gradually adapting to digital journalism trends, strengthening the application of information technology, and expanding its presence in the digital environment.

To establish a favorable legal framework for communication activities, the SAV has issued Regulations on Spokespersonship and Provision of Information to the Press, clearly stipulating that official statements must ensure accuracy, timeliness, consistency, and proper authority. The regulations also specify the responsibilities of the spokesperson, authorized spokespersons, and subordinate units in coordinating the provision of information to the press. This official spokesperson mechanism has contributed to strengthening accountability and demonstrating the SAV’s commitment to building the image of a modern, transparent, and professional audit institution.

The SAV has also established and maintained close coordination mechanisms with major national press and media agencies, including Nhan Dan Newspaper, Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam, and Dai Bieu Nhan Dan Newspaper. Through these mechanisms, information on the SAV’s activities, audit results, and issues of public concern has been communicated to the public in a timely, accurate, and objective manner.

Many important events of the sector have received extensive media coverage, creating widespread public impact, including the constitutional recognition of the legal status of the SAV, the National Assembly’s adoption of the State Audit Law, Vietnam’s successful hosting of the 14th ASOSAI Congress, the SAV’s successful completion of its role as ASOSAI Chair for the 2018–2021 term, and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the SAV.

In particular, the publication of audit results has increasingly been strengthened in a transparent, systematic, and lawful manner. Audit reports eligible for public disclosure are published on the SAV’s Electronic Information Portal; press conferences announcing audit results are held periodically; and many major audit topics have been subject to in-depth media analysis, generating strong public interest.

Numerous journalistic works and in-depth series have promptly, comprehensively, and substantively covered the SAV’s activities, encouraging and promoting the practice of thrift and the prevention of waste; raising public awareness of the effective management and use of public finances and public assets; while promoting the values of public service ethics and integrity among auditors and strengthening public trust in the Party and State’s efforts to prevent and combat corruption, misconduct, and waste.

After 32 years of establishment and development, the SAV has achieved significant accomplishments across various areas, affirming its position and role as a key and effective instrument of the Party and the State in auditing and overseeing the management and use of public finances and public assets, as well as preventing and combating corruption, waste, and misconduct. These achievements have been significantly supported by information and communication activities and have also resulted from close and effective coordination between the SAV and press and media agencies.

Working Together to Promote New Development Orientations

As the country enters a new stage of development, public auditing is facing increasingly demanding requirements in terms of professional quality, governance effectiveness, and social responsibility. To meet these increasingly demanding requirements and tasks in the new context, the SAV will focus on effectively implementing the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, the Resolution of the 1st Congress of the Party Committee of the National Assembly, and the Resolution of the 8th Congress of the SAV Party Committee.

At the same time, the SAV will continue to innovate and improve the quality and effectiveness of its audit activities, focusing on key areas with potential risks of losses, waste, corruption, and misconduct, particularly major national programs, policies, and investment projects. It will also continue to strengthen institutional development, with a focus on formulating the SAV’s development orientation toward 2035, with a vision to 2045, and amending the State Audit Law to meet development requirements in the new period.

The SAV will continue to build a corps of auditors characterized by “Virtue – Knowledge – Integrity – Vision – Talent,” establish a culture of integrity as a core value of the sector, and accelerate the restructuring and streamlining of its organizational apparatus. Across the sector, digital transformation will be promoted, with the application of big data and artificial intelligence in governance, administration, and audit activities. International cooperation will also be expanded, thereby further affirming the role and position of the audit institution in ensuring the effective management and use of public finances and public assets.

In the new period, the continued support, sharing, and active cooperation of press and media agencies will contribute to promoting the SAV’s development orientations and raising public awareness of the role and value of auditing in the effective management and use of public finances and public assets.

On the occasion of the 101st Anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 – June 21, 2026), the SAV sincerely acknowledges and appreciates the responsible and dedicated support of press agencies and journalists for the sector’s development over the years. Building on a close, effective, and increasingly professional partnership, the relationship between the SAV and press agencies will continue to be strengthened, contributing to greater openness, transparency, and accountability; enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of audit activities; and making a positive contribution to building a modern, integrity-based, and sustainably developing national governance system.