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HOW DOES STATE AUDIT COME INTO BEING? What is its role in the national political system? What role does it play in national governance? How can the national auditing system better guarantee audit to play the fullest role? The answers to these questions determine the development course of state audit, and these are questions to which the audit organs of various countries must seek answers. The Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts and the Beijing Declaration on Promotion of Good Governance by Supreme Audit Institutions, both released by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), reflect a growing understanding of the importance of state audit and transformation from merely stressing independence to recognizing its essential role in achieving good national governance through supreme audit institutions. China has made its due contribution to this through its innovative practices in state audit. Under the leadership of the CPC, and with the guidance of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, a state auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics has emerged reflecting these principles to guide state audit to become full of vigor and innovative vitality and plays an important role in promoting national governance and guaranteeing the healthy development of the national economy and society. Some of my international colleagues, who are also my friends, speak highly of the achievements China has made in this regard, including Mr. Josef Moser, former Secretary General of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and former President of Austrian Court of Audit, and Mr. Gene Dodaro, former Comptroller General of the United States. They have also urged me to sum up and tell them more about China’s state audit, including the theory, system, methods and experience. In accordance with the “mutually beneficial experience shared by all” concept upheld by the INTOSAI, my Chinese colleagues and I have tried to work on a book entitled Study on the Auditing System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics based on research, study and practice of our auditing system for better communication. Hereby, I am writing this prologue for the book.

System, a product of the development of human civilization, undoubtedly is a foundation for building up the relationship of human society in regard to politics, economy, culture, etc., under certain historical conditions. The history of the development of human society is, in a sense, a witness to continuous efforts featuring constant exploration, repeated tests of ways and means for addressing errors that invariably appear in work, and bold reforms, with the ultimate aim being introduction of a new system conducive to further self-development. China has made great achievements since the reform and opening up, a program introduced in late 1978, thanks to the innovation in its system. The auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, an important part of the overall socialist system with Chinese characteristics, developed from scratch and has gone on to achieve full maturity. During this process, China’s state audit has developed to cover public funds, state-owned assets, state-owned resources, and leading officials’ economic performance. As a result, the potential risks, outstanding problems and institutional obstacles are revealed in a timely way and dealt with effectively. All these point up to the fact that state audit has become an important force in promoting and improving national governance, becoming the cornerstone and important guarantee for the modernization of the national system of governance and its associated capabilities.

The state auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is based on national conditions, hence reflecting distinctive national characteristics of the times. It came into being and saw various improvements on the basis of China’s historical heritage, cultural traditions, and economic and social development and endogenous evolution over a long period. It is well adapted to China’s national situation and fundamental political and economic systems. The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics provides an appropriate theoretical basis for the introduction, development and further improvement of the auditing system. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics constitutes a systemic basis for the introduction and development of the current audit structure, and determines the mode of China’s auditing system. Meanwhile, China’s excellent traditional culture and socialist core values combine to serve as the necessary cultural basis. From this, one sees that the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is rooted in confidence in the road adopted in regard to theory, system, culture and practice, ensuring continued strong vitality.

The auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics originates from practice, and is the condensation and sublimation of audit practices stretching over a long period. China’s auditing system has a history of over 3,000 years, and auditing has been conducted under the leadership of the Communist Party of China for nearly 100 years and the auditing system of the People’s Republic of China has been established for almost 40 years. Its great practical experience involves rich thought and profound rules. A careful study shows that national governance has created different needs to meet the demands of the goals and changing modes in different periods, with the business scope of state audit, institutions and work functions determined and adjusted based on the objective need of national governance; no matter what it has done, it has effective national governance as its clear goal. Judging from the basic elements of national governance, this calls for comprehensive exploitation, management and control of people, money, materials and events, with power and responsibility reflected in each element. State audit, as an important tool in national governance, is conducted always with a strong sense of audit responsibility, a work attitude involving “things, officials and capital, all open to auditing”. In other words, auditing should be conducted to ensure it can play its due role in “exercising power, choosing the right person for the right position, and managing money matters”, and to achieve national governance and safeguard public interests through supervising and restricting the exercise of power. The formation of the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a result of the self-reflection of China, and especially the valuable experience China has gained in the transformation of its economic system, and the auditing system is also based on summarizing and abstracting valuable experience indispensable for auditing, and filtering elements unsuited to the auditing system and, on this basis, further improving its ability to benefit national governance through innovation.

The auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics pays attention to the historical inheritance and absorption and reference ensuring an open and inclusive system. All rivers run into sea, and tolerance is a virtue. Chinese people have, since ancient times, been advocating “self-examination”, “emulating those better than oneself”, and “learning from the strong points of others and making up for one’s own weakness”. For a nation, system consciousness is of special significance. In the introduction and improvement of its auditing system, China never forgets to learn, with an open mind, from the successful auditing experiences of other countries, and traditional thinking of rich ideals and value and information reflected in other country’s systems and theories. Meanwhile, China works hard to monitor the latest auditing practice of major developed countries so as to learn from their successful experience for use in improving our own auditing system unique to the nation. From this we see China has traversed a road featuring absorbing anything and everything, independence, and scientific development.

This book is divided into five chapters: The Birth and Development of the Auditing System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics; Foundation of the Auditing System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics; Basic Framework of the Auditing System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics; Features, Effects and Experience of the Auditing System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics; and Development of the Auditing System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Prospects. It comprehensively tells how the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics was introduced and developed, and the way it has involved historical law and logic; the purpose is to make a profound and systematic analysis of China’s auditing system at the time when China is in the transitional period of its economy and society. It also outlines the blueprint concerning auditing system reform in a period when China is working hard to deepen its reforms and implement the rule of law. This is a sister book to the Study on the Auditing Theory of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Both have been created on the basis of understanding of the essence of China’s state audit; they come down in one continuous line, and complement each other. With different study objects, they meet in the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

This book was written, but revised several times, over three years. During this period, we profoundly sought knowledge of the historical process concerning the introduction and development of the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics so as to create a book of great value to the lofty mission of the state audit, and thus making due contribution to the modernization of the national governance system and capabilities.

In this colorful and exciting world of ours today, we dedicate this book to all my dear fellow auditors.

October, 2016