Director of Audit led delegation to Beijing

The Director of Audit, Prof. Nelson Lam, led a delegation of the Audit Commission (Audit) on 5 June to start a two-day visit to Beijing.  The delegation, comprising also the Deputy Director of Audit, Mr Ken Liang, and Principal Auditor, Mr Anthony Lo, and accompanied by two officers of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, visited the National Audit Office (NAO), the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council and the Beijing Municipal Audit Bureau to give briefings on Audit’s work and to gain an understanding of the latest development of auditing work on the Mainland.

On the first day of the trip, the delegation visited NAO and met the Auditor General, Mr Hou Kai. Prof. Lam briefed Mr Hou on Audit’s recent work, while Mr Hou shed light on the latest trend of audit work on the Mainland.  The officials discussed, among other issues, the participation of our colleagues in United Nations audit projects as part of the NAO team, and also the strengthening of cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong in areas of auditing, personnel exchange and training.

"It is my first time visiting Beijing as the Director of Audit since assuming the position last year.  This is a meaningful occasion for me to lead my colleagues of the Audit Commission to visit NAO.  I have to express my heartfelt gratitude to NAO for giving our staff the precious opportunity to take part in United Nations audit projects as part of the NAO team.  From this meeting, we have gained from our motherland the spirit and practical skills in auditing, which we will definitely bring back to Hong Kong and put into solid practice.  On top of that, tapping into the advantage of 'one country, two systems' of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, we will reach out and connect with the world, with the strong support of our motherland, to showcase the auditing excellence of our nation," said Prof. Lam.  Mr Hou shared with the delegation the essence of the first meeting of the Central Auditing Commission under the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, and said, "NAO pays close attention to the development of auditing work in Hong Kong and will offer even stronger support in areas such as capacity building.  The auditing work in Hong Kong should be delivered in such a way as to fit better into the grand scheme of national development and make greater contribution to the enhancement of governance, strengthening of development momentum, addressing of people's concerns and difficulties, and safeguarding of social harmony for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."

The delegation paid a visit in the next morning (6 June) to HKMAO and met the Director-General of the Department of Exchange and Cooperation, Mr Wu Wei.  Prof. Lam gave a brief introduction on the Audit’s latest work, and exchanged views with Mr Wu on applying the spirit of the 20th National Congress and the "two sessions" to auditing work, hereby enhancing the supervisory role of auditing in public service.  "The Audit Commission will fully and faithfully implement the Central Government's principle of 'one country, two systems' in delivering our duties and stay fully committed to supporting the governance of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region," said Prof. Lam.

In the afternoon of the same day, the delegation visited the Beijing Municipal Audit Bureau and met its Director General, Ms Ma Lanxia.  The officials exchanged views on issues of mutual interest about auditing.  As the tour concluded, the delegation returned to Hong Kong at night.

Prof. Nelson Lam (front row, second left) led a delegation of Audit
Commission for a visit to National Audit Office and met Auditor General,
Mr Hou Kai (front row, middle)

The delegation of Audit Commission had a discussion session with
National Audit Office on various topics in auditing