Delegation of the Audit Office of Guangdong Province
visited the Audit Commission

The Audit Commission had the pleasure to host a delegation from the Audit Office of Guangdong Province on 21 March 2023.

Led by Mr Ma Xuebin, Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Director of the Office, the delegation of four officers visited the headquarters of the Audit Commission and was received by Prof. Nelson Lam, Director of Audit, and senior officers of the Department.

Prof. Lam opened the meeting by giving a warm welcome to the delegation on behalf of the Audit Commission. He remarked that it was the first time for Mr Ma to visit the Commission as the Director of the Audit Office of Guangdong Province, and likewise, for himself to meet the guests in the capacity of the Director of Audit. Prof. Lam went on to say that it had been quite some years since the last time the Commission had exchanges in person with the Mainland counterparts. With the epidemic finally stabilised and exchanges between the Mainland and Hong Kong fully resumed, he looked forward to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in future. Prof. Lam hoped that this visit would further deepen the understanding and friendship between the two audit organisations. Mr Ma shared the latest situation of audit work in the Mainland, and Guangdong Province in particular, pointing out that following the conclusion of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2018, the Central Auditing Committee was formed, headed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, to strengthen the steer of the nation’s audit work, build an efficient audit supervision system, and give full play to the important role of audit in promoting the modernisation of the national governance system and capabilities. In the same year, the Guangdong Province also established the Provincial Auditing Committee, which has been, over the past some four years, fully committed to promoting the Province's audit work and significantly improving the effectiveness of audit supervision.

In addition, Mr Ma also put forward suggestions on deepening exchanges of audit business between Guangdong and Hong Kong, citing the deep-rooted connection grown since time immemorial between the two geographically and ethnically close parts of the country. In recent years, amidst the background of the national development strategy of building the Greater Bay Area, Guangdong and Hong Kong have established even closer relations in the fields of economy, trade, culture, finance, tourism, etc., which has laid a fertile foundation for exchanges in auditing. With a view to further deepen the exchange and cooperation of audit work between Guangdong and Hong Kong, Mr Ma put forward several suggestions, including: establishing a mechanism of regular mutual visits, intensifying training and cooperation in auditing, and holding the 7th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Audit Conference at an appropriate time within the year. Audit welcomed the suggestions, and both parties agreed to take follow-up actions to implement the suggestions. Prof. Lam added that the Audit Commission operates independent of the government framework and is directly accountable to the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Commission provides independent public sector audit services — including regularity audits and value for money audits — with an aim to help the Government and public sector organisations enhance public sector performance and accountability in Hong Kong. The Commission had, from its decades of work in conducting these two types of audits, accumulated quite some local experience for sharing.

On this opportune day of the Spring Equinox, on behalf of the Audit Office of Guangdong Province, Mr Ma presented a Chaozhou embroidery artwork titled "Yellow Spring Flowers" to the Audit Commission. Embodying the good wishes from the Office for the Audit Commission, the beautiful piece also channels the hope for the blossoming of new opportunities and the ever-growing bonding between Guangdong and Hong Kong, as the nation embarks on a new journey in 2023 with the epidemic well under control.

Prof. Nelson Lam (left), Director of Audit, met Mr Ma Xuebin (right), Secretary of the
Leading Party Members’ Group and Director of the Audit Office of Guangdong Province

The Delegation of the Audit Office of Guangdong Province had a discussion session
with the Audit Commission on various topics in auditing

     

The Delegation and the Audit Commission exchanged souvenirs to mark the visit

The Delegation and officers of the Audit Commission shared a photo moment