In Japan, the Public Finance Law and the Budget define the term "public works cost". The term "public works" is thus defined as the projects (activities) financed by the public works cost. Accordingly, public works are central government departmental undertakings and subsidised local government construction projects such as those for rivers, roads, harbours, airports, houses, parks, dams, railways, seaside facilities, farmland reclamation and reafforestation. Further, public corporations and joint stock companies which are wholly or partly owned by the government, construct toll roads, airports, residential housing and other community facilities which may also be categorised as public works.
The basic purpose of public works and projects is to promote balanced national land development through building infrastructure. Public works are also undertaken to stimulate the national economy and provide a safe and comfortable living environment for the people.
(a) Living Standards
It is generally believed that national infrastructure investment is still insufficient in Japan. This is mainly because infrastructure modernisation, despite the large public investment, still lags behind
consumer demand largely because of its relatively short history since the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Public housing, sewerage and urban parks have been highlighted as areas of top priority for future development in order to raise living standards in Japan.
(b) Regional Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure construction, such as trunk highways, is considered necessary in order to promote national and regional industrial development. There have been marked disparities in economic development between the major cities and rural areas. Therefore rural development projects, such as road construction and industrial buildings, continue to be a significant issue in government economic policy. Rural development is anticipated to solve urban-rural gaps, especially between urban over-population and rural under-population.
Public works are also considered to be the major stimulus of economic growth in Japan. To achieve one of the government's major economic goals, i.e. sustained economic growth with zero inflation, public works investment plays a vital role in the national economy.
In the international scene, Japan's enormous trade surplus vis-a-vis the United States and European countries has continuously caused trade friction between Japan and these countries. In view of this imbalance, Japan is expected to stimulate domestic demand and thus decrease its trade surplus. Public works and projects are significant catalysts in the creation of the necessary domestic demand.
In Japan, public works and projects can be divided into the following categories according to the nature and extent of government participation in their construction and administration :
Various government ministries and agencies - such as the Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Ministry of Transport plan and undertake public works and projects. These ministries and agencies of the central government also operate and maintain the completed facilities.
Local governments (prefectures and municipalities) receive subsidies from central government ministries and agencies to undertake public works and projects in conjunction with their own funds. Local governments also operate and maintain the completed facilities.
Government-owned public corporations carry out public works and projects over a wide range of development undertakings, including toll roads, residential housing, airports and railways. Unlike non-profit works and projects undertaken by the central and local governments, public corporations undertake such activities along normal commercial lines, with provision for the repayment of principal and interest incurred through borrowings from both public and private financial institutions. In many cases, the central government subsidises public corporations' interest payments on these loans.
The central government invests, either directly or indirectly, in public companies which carry out major public works and projects. Two typical examples are :
hi Japan, the central government integrates public works planning in the long-term National Economic Plan and National Development Plan. The long-term public works plan is divided into several five-year-term plans according to the type of public works, e.g. road building, flood prevention and sewerage construction. The government incorporates overall construction goals and financial inputs in these five-year plans, which are divided into constituent projects.
The annual public works budget is established in compliance with these five-year term plans. The annual budget, which is shown item by item, gives a detailed picture of the relevant five-year-term plan. Each ministry and agency administers Diet-approved funds for each budgeted project according to its urgency, effect and location. The possibility of supplementary funding and socio-economic impact are also taken into consideration, particularly in the administration of large-scale projects.
Prior to the implementation of a particular project, the project executor studies its financial, economic, technical and environmental feasibility. In studying a project's economic feasibility, the project executor examines :
In studying a project's technical feasibility, the project executor examines :
In studying a project's environmental feasibility, the project executor examines the likely impact on the physical environment and other relevant factors, such as the protection of historical and cultural assets.
Project authorisation levels differ according to the scale and importance of the public works and projects. For example, the authorisation levels and associated processes for road construction vary among the following projects :
4.3.1. National Super-Highways
National super-highways form Japan's core automobile transportation network and connect major regions which are politically, economically and culturally important. The Transport Minister and Construction Minister decide the details of any new super-highway car routes approved by Cabinet, with the Construction Minister carrying out the plans for actual construction.
4.3.2. National Highways
National highways make up nationwide major automobile transportation networks along with national super-highways. The Construction Minister, by administrative decree, decides the details of any new routes of National Highways (for cars and pedestrians). The Construction Minister also builds and repairs new and existing national highways.
4.3.3. Prefectural Roads
Prefectural roads comprise major regional automobile transportation networks. Individual prefectural governors approve the routes of prefectural roads (for cars and pedestrians). Most of the prefectural road construction projects are based on the Construction Minister's approval since these are largely subsidised by the central government through the Ministry of Construction.
4.3.4. Municipal Roads
The heads of the municipal governments (usually the mayor) approve the routes of municipal roads and implement municipal road construction and expansion projects. As large-scale municipal road construction and expansion projects are subsidised by the central government, their implementation is subject to approval by the Construction Minister. Central and local government roads in Japan form a co-ordinated nationwide network. Accordingly, the Construction Minister, particularly where subsidised prefectural and municipal roads connect with national roads, closely co-ordinates their construction with national road projects.
5.1.1. As stated earlier, the Japanese Government establishes public works long-term plans which are subdivided into five-year plans, such as those for roads, rivers and sewerage. These five-year plans, among other things, provide the total budget for the plan, which is allocated to each fiscal year's budget at the time of approval by the legislature (Diet). Since the budget for each fiscal year is based on the changing economic and financial situation, the amount of the budget allocated to each of the five fiscal years varies according to these changes. However, the total budget allocation to the five fiscal years generally corresponds with the planned total budget for the five-year period.
5.1.2. Within the framework of the national budget of the central government, which is divided into the General Account and thirty-eight Special Accounts, public works and projects are provided for in both the General Account and the Special Accounts, the latter being established for specific items of expenditures to be met by specific revenues. Central government road construction and management projects, for example, are budgeted in the Road Construction Special Account since the expenditure from this account is specifically met by taxes on gasoline, petroleum and gas. There are other Special Accounts for public works such as harbours and airports, but public works such as rivers, housing, sewerage construction and reclamation projects are budgeted in the General Account.
5.1.3. The Ministry of Finance Fund Operation Fund provides public corporations and public enterprises with long-term low-interest loans for their public works and other projects. Such loans, which are financed through designated surpluses from Special Accounts and premium surpluses from Postal Life Insurances, are provided under the Government Investment and Loan Programme. Although this programme is submitted to the Diet with the national budget for approval, it is simply a reference document requiring no separate approval. The annual budgets, project implementation plans and fund procurement plans of public corporations and public enterprises are subject to both ministerial and Diet approval.
5.2.1. The Japanese Public Finance Law in principle prohibits the central government from meeting current expenditures through public bonds or other forms of borrowing. However, there is provision for the government to finance public works expenditures by bonds or borrowings within the Diet-approved upper limits. Accordingly, the government meets public works expenditures under the General Account by issuing bonds and borrowings, in addition to using tax and other revenues.
5.2.2. Local governments are obliged to provide part of the resource funds for specific central government works and projects. The Flood Control Special Account resource fund, for example, mainly comprises funds transferred from the Central Government's General Account and funds provided by local governments. The Harbour Construction Special Account resource fund comes mainly from the General Account and local governments. The State Land Reclamation Special Account resource fund comes from the General Account, local governments and borrowings from the Ministry of Finance Fund Operation Fund.
5.2.3. Public corporation funds come from various sources depending on the projects implemented. For example, the Japan Highway Public Corporation (JHPC), which mainly builds toll highways, relies on toll revenue, bonds (purchased by the Fund Operation Fund, Postal Life Insurance and private banks) and city bank loans for its project resource fund. The Water Resource Development Corporation, which builds and manages dams and other water resources conservation facilities, relies on the Fund Operation Fund, urban loans and bonds purchased by Postal Life Insurance for its project resource fund. The New Tokyo International Airport Authority's airport construction and management resource fund comes from airport tax and other facility fees, government investment and bonds purchased by Postal Life Insurance and city banks. The Housing and Urban Development Corporation -which builds, sells and rents houses - relies on sales and rental revenues, Fund Operation Fund loans, bonds purchased by Postal Life Insurance and city bank loans for its resource fund.
5.3.1. After Diet approval of the central government's General Account and Special Account budgets, the Cabinet allocates the budgets to the head of each ministry and agency who prepares spending plans for the Finance Minister's approval. In both ministries and agencies headquarters and branch offices there are Contract Officers who are responsible for concluding expenditure incurring contracts and Disbursement Officers who are responsible for disbursing funds required for such contracts.
5.3.2. The head of each ministry and agency allocates the Diet-approved expenditure budget showing the yearly contract conclusion plan for ach Contract Officer. It is a general requirement that the contract conclusion plan, which binds Contract Officers in both contract amount and timing of payment, be approved by the Finance Minister particularly in the case of public works and projects. The contract conclusion plan, providing details such as project implementation priority, is normally formulated by project executing divisions. Contract Officers and Disbursement Officers, who are normally in accounting divisions, therefore conclude contracts and disburse funds based on the approved contract conclusion plan.
5.3.3. Although payment in the Japanese public sector is generally made after project completion, in many cases payment for public works and projects are made in advance or during construction. Payments during construction are made only to the extent of the work actually completed. Final payment is made after technical inspection and examination on completion of the project. After final payment, the completed public works facilities are handed over from contractors to the contracting agencies.
5.3.4. All contract payments are recorded in official books of account. Based on these account records, the Disbursement Officer prepares monthly Statements of Account (Disbursement) in compliance with the Account Verification Regulation and sends these statements to the Board of Audit along with other records such as payment vouchers, contract authority, design sheets, bills and receipts. The Disbursement Officer also submits a consolidated monthly Disbursement Report to the head of the ministry or agency involved, who prepares a further Disbursement Report and submits it to the Finance Minister. Each head also prepares a final expenditure statement at the end of the fiscal year and submits it to the Finance Minister. Based on the final expenditure statements received from the various ministries and agencies, the Finance Minister prepares the central government's total expenditure statement and submits it to the Diet after audit by the Board of Audit.
5.3.5. The accounts of the public corporations and public enterprises involved in public works and projects are kept in accordance with the laws establishing these bodies, Cabinet orders, finance regulations and internal ordinances. These bodies submit to the Board of Audit its required financial statements such as a consolidated trial balance with monthly totals and balances. Also prepared are statements of assets and liabilities, balance sheets and profit and loss statements for every financial year. These statements are submitted to the relevant minister for approval and then audited by the Board of Audit.
The central government, local governments and public corporations generally contract out public works and projects to private firms. In many cases they also contract out construction planning and designing to private firms. These organisations, technical specialists supervise project implementation and examine physical output. These public bodies have :
6.2.1. Preparation of Detailed Designs and Quantity Tables
Since most of the public bodies contract out construction planning and design to private firms, the government establishes and publishes detailed design standards. Therefore, in preparing a detailed construction design, the contractor of a public body complies with the published standards, taking the conditions at the construction site into consideration. After completion of the detailed construction design, the contractor calculates the quantities of materials to be used, also complying with the published standards. Where necessary, the public body and contractor liaise closely on points not specified in the design and quantity standards. The public body examines and approves the detailed design and quantity documents prepared by the contractor.
6.2.2. Preparation of Tender Documents
The Japanese Public Accounting Law stipulates that public works contracts should be awarded by public tender. In inviting tenderers to bid for such contracts, the public body provides specifications, designs and contract drafts. Where necessary, the public body also shows tenderers project sites.
Based on these documents and site observations, tenderers estimate the construction cost and lodge individual bids. Unlike public tendering in some countries, the Japanese Government has not so far introduced a system under which the public body selects the successful tenderer based on an evaluation of both price and non-price factors such as technical levels. Under the present system, therefore, bidders are requested to submit only their proposed prices.
6.2.3. Tender Invitation and Evaluation, Types of Tenders and Qualification of Tenderers
In Japan, public bodies in principle should decide the successful bidder by competitive Open Tender (OT). However, a public body can decide the successful bidder by Limited Open Tender (LOT) when there are only a few bidders or when the nature of the construction (or any other project) does not favour OT. Further, a public body can decide the successful bidder by Arbitrary Tender (AT) when :
Under Open Tender (OT), public body issues a public tender notice and invites bidders to bid for a particular construction undertaking or any other projects. Although no bidding qualification is imposed except as provided by government regulations, the public body can eliminate specific bidders as prescribed.
Under Limited Open Tender (LOT), public body designates a limited number of bidders (preferably more than ten bidders) and invites bidding without issuing a public tender notice. The public body decides the qualification of bidders and sends tender notices only to designated bidders.
Under Arbitrary Tender (AT), public body selects a contractor at its discretion in those cases prescribed by the government. The public body issues no public tender notice in such cases.
Based on the government accounting regulation, ministries and agencies establish the qualification of bidders as above, grading bidders both in OT and LOT according to individual grading standards. For example, the Ministry of Construction grades public works bidders into grades A-C according to business size, financial status, construction performance over the last two years and security record.
The Ministry of Construction further prescribes contract price ranges applicable to each of the established grades. For example, contract prices above specified amounts are applicable exclusively to A grade bidders and contract prices below specified amounts are applicable also to C grade bidders. The ministry also evaluate bidders' previous technical performance on projects similar to the present one. The MOC has recently established technical evaluation standards to facilitate the evaluation of bids.
The relevant Contract Officer should establish estimated construction or project cost using the technical division's cost estimates. Based on detailed design specifications, the technical division work out the labour hours and material quantities necessary for construction. The technical division also refers to relevant labour cost surveyed by a public work committee and material price directories published by semi-official research institutes.
6.2.4. Award of Contracts
Contract is awarded after bids are opened. The successful bidder is the one quoting the lowest price within the price estimated by the Contract Officer. In principle, only the lowest bidding price is taken into consideration in deciding the award of a contract. Where no bidder quotes a price within the price estimated by the Contract Officer, bidding continues until a bid is made which comes below the estimated price.
6.2.5. Supervision of Contracts
Construction starts after the contract is awarded to the contractor. To ensure that the construction is executed in compliance with design sheets and specifications, government inspector conducts inspections during and on completion of the construction. The inspector observes construction execution, controls construction processes and tests materials used from time to time. On completion of construction, the inspector checks in detail whether the contractor strictly followed the design sheets, specifications and other construction documents. The contractor hands over the completed structure to the government after the final examination. The government's final contract payment is then made.
The accounting and reporting systems above are supplemented by internal controls which operate through the various accounting officers appointed under the relevant legislation. Accounting errors and frauds in contract administration are minimised through:
In addition, the internal audit sections of ministries and agencies examine the accounting records and supporting documents. The Ministry of Construction, for example, has internal audit sections at the head office accounting department and in regional construction bureaus with administrative inspectors attached to both sections.
Both government bodies and their contractors are responsible for controlling quality of public works and projects. As mentioned previously, government bodies, for example, appoint construction inspectors. In addition, contractors are responsible for assigning properly trained and competent staff, with any necessary technical qualifications, at the individual construction sites.
Before the start of construction, central government and contractor agree on its duration. Based on this agreed time frame, the contractor submits a detailed construction schedule for the government's approval. The government inspector monitors the progress of the construction based on the approved schedule. The contractor appoints a representative to the construction site who controls the progress of the construction and specifically arranges :
The government inspector liaises with the contractor's representative and controls progress of the construction. The contractor is normally entitled under the contract to extend the construction duration when he is unable to complete the construction due to reasons beyond his control, such as bad weather and natural disasters. However, the government is entitled to enforce the penalty clause in the contract when the contractor does not complete the construction without legitimate reason.
The government needs to procure funds for payments on the due dates. Accordingly, Disbursement Officer prepares an annual payments schedule divided into quarters. This payments schedule, reflects the construction schedule and is submitted to the relevant minister who then forwards it to the Ministry of Finance for approval. Following approval, the minister allocates funds on a quarterly basis to the Disbursement Officer, who closely watches project progress and makes payments to the contractor in accordance with the progress .
Since most Japanese public sector construction is undertaken by outside contractors, construction machinery and equipment are not procured by public bodies. Instead, contractors procure the necessary machinery and equipment, costs of which are borne by public bodies in the form of 'depreciation cost' or 'rent'. Public bodies should estimate the machinery cost assuming the most efficient use of the machinery and equipment.
As in the case of machinery and equipments, contractors procure the necessary construction materials based on contract provisions for specifications, standard makes and amount of individual items. The public bodies estimate the material costs and include them in the total cost. The unit prices of individual items are made available in journals published by semi-official price resarch institutes.
In order to facilitate the efficient execution of public works and projects, the Japanese Government establishes a public works budget arid management and control systems. The main features are:
The financial arrangements for the operation, maintenance and utilisation of public works depend on whether the works are closely related to the welfare of the general public or whether the beneficiaries of the works can be directly specified. Accordingly, two principal categories may be identified from the viewpoint of cost recovery and revenue:
National highways and some state rivers come into this category . National highways are built and maintained by the central government and used by the general public free of charge. Similarly, beneficiaries of central government rivers (ship owners and water consumers) built and maintained by the Ministry of Construction bear none of the building or maintenance costs. However, the building and maintenance costs of prefectural canals are borne by the inhabitants of those prefectures through local taxes.
National super highways and public housing come into this category. Accordingly, user fees for national super highways built and maintained by Japan Highway Public Corporation are collected by that corporation and used for repayment of bonds and other borrowings, interest payments and expenditure on toll road maintenance. Similarly, the annual maintenance and depreciation costs of houses built by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation are recovered through the rents charged to tenants.
9.1. Although the Japanese Government does not presently have any foreign-aided projects, the Japan Board of Audit audits Official Development Assistance projects of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government aid agencies such as the Japan International Co-operation Agency and the Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund.
9.2. Besides auditing Japanese Government aid agencies, the auditors visit project sites in recipient countries to review project outputs. Since the Board of Audit is not entitled to audit recipient countries, the Board seeks the co-operation of those countries' governments in reviewing project outputs. The Board among others checks :
While conducting project reviews in recipient countries, the Board checks:
The Board of Audit audits central government revenue and expenditure accounts and other accounts as provided by law. Through its audit, the Board supervises government accounting activities and rectifies inappropriate practices. The Board may also audit, if it deems necessary or at the request of the Cabinet, bodies subject to government funding or in receipt of financial aid or those in which the government has invested. Similarly, the Board's auditing activities may extend to government contractors for the government's construction projects or for the supply of goods and services.
Like the case of other government activities, the Accounts Verification Regulation of the Board of Audit requires auditees to submit regularly statements of accounts with vouchers and other supporting evidence for public works and projects. As part of such audits, the Board of Audit may send its auditors to the auditees1 offices when necessary for on-the-spot field audits.
Further, the Board of Audit may request auditees to submit books, documents and reports. The accounting officers may be questioned by the auditors either orally or in writing and requested to report to the Board of Audit for the provision of relevant information.
Where the Board of Audit finds improper accounting during the course of an audit, it can demand that auditee take remedial measures to recover financial loss and take measures to prevent recurrence of the improper practices. The Board is also entitled to present its opinions or request remedial measures when the improper practices are caused by bottlenecks in laws, regulations, administrative systems or administration. Such a request may be made even before the end of its annual audit or publication of the audit report. This ensures that the Board audit findings are promptly reflected in the Government administrative activities.
In addition to the audit mandates stated above, the mandate of the Board extends to matters of loss indemnification and disciplinary action. In those cases where an officer of the central government or a government-related body has caused a financial loss, the Board determines the extent to which the officer is responsible for the loss. On the advice of the Board, the head of the audited organisation may issue an order of indemnification against the employee.
Further, where the Board is of the opinion that the financial loss has been caused either deliberately or by gross negligence, the head of the audited organisation may be advised to take disciplinary action against the officer concerned.
The Board of Audit supervises government accounting and rectifies improper accounting through the following viewpoints :
The Secretary General establishes annual audit guidelines and outlines major points for audit. These guidelines take current financial and socio-economic issues into consideration and identify the main points for audit. Based on the audit guidelines, individual audit divisions make their own yearly audit plans and obtain their approval from the Director General of the Bureau, Secretary General and the Audit Commission. The divisional yearly audit plans highlight major audit areas, audit methods and audit manpower allocation based on the analysis of :
The annual audit of public works and projects by the Board of Audit is conducted along the following lines:
(a) In-Office Documentary Audit
The auditee agencies regularly submit monthly or quarterly statements of accounts with vouchers and other supporting evidence to the Board of Audit in accordance with the Board-enacted Accounts Verification Regulation. The evidence includes individual contracts, cost estimates, design specifications, relevant vouchers and receipts.
(b) Field Audit
The Board of Audit sends auditors to auditee agencies' headquarters and branch offices. Board auditors physically examine constructions at construction sites. They also audit government-subsidised projects implemented by local government and other bodies.
On completion of audit, Board auditors analyse and study the audit outcomes. Depending on the results, Board auditors send official inquiries (signed by the Bureau Director General) be to audited agency in order to determine responsibility or clarify specific matters. The Board may also seek expert opinions from external authorities where complex technical or scientific issues are involved.
The Board of Audit discusses whether individual audit findings should be reported in the Board annual Audit Report. The draft findings of each Audit Division are considered by the Audit Report Committee of the Bureau to which each Division belongs. The findings are checked by Audit Division different from the proposing Division to secure impartiality. Those draft findings cleared by the Bureau Audit Report Committees are forwarded to the Co-ordination Committee, chaired by the Deputy Secretary General and attended by Secretariat staff members in charge of non-audit Board administrative activities such as accounting, personnel management and research. The Co-ordination Committee, after considering each draft in the context of general reporting criteria, forwards the drafts eligible for inclusion in the annual Audit Report to the Secretary General for approval. Those approved by the Secretary General are forwarded to the Audit Commission, consisting of three Commissioners and chaired by one of them, the President, for final approval before inclusion in the formal annual Audit Report.
The Board of Audit performs both compliance audits (examination on whether statements of accounts fairly represent the budget execution and financial position)and regularity audits (examination whether auditees complied with applicable laws and regulations). In addition, the Board examines whether the project has been implemented economically and efficiently and whether project has achieved its goals and produced expected effects. The Board has increasingly emphasised this type of audit in recent years.
As stated earlier, the Board audit is basically post-audit (i.e. audits after revenue is collected and expenditure incurred). Therefore, the Board does not question the adequacy of proposed investments at the time of the particular investment decision. However, the Board does go back and examine the adequacy of the investment decision when it finds that the subsequent project implementation has delayed or has not achieved the original project goals.
13.2.1. Like the case of investment audit, the Board does not audit at the time of project planning or design. In Japan, detailed design and project implementation are normally undertaken by different contractors after the planning stage.The Board examines project planning and design during or after project implementation. In auditing expensive projects, the Board conducts post-evaluation on whether planning is adequate, whether the project is consistent with relevant projects and whether planning is appropriately revised according to the changing project implementation environment.
13.2.2. The Board examines public works design mainly from the viewpoints of economy and safety. For example, the Board in one case has pointed out the inadequacy of steel bar reinforcement at the bottom of an overpass bridge abutment which consequently failed to secure the stability of the whole structure necessary at the time of an earthquake. The Board has in another case of building construction commented upon inefficient design which led to excessive use of steel and hence avoidable extra expenditure.
Before inviting bids for public works and projects, the public entity concerned calculates the cost of individual items in detail and then works out the total project cost. The contract is awarded to the bidder who quotes the lowest price within the limit of the estimated total project cost. In case of public works, the total cost is calculated based on the cost estimation standards established by individual ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport. In many cases, local governments and public enterprises follow the cost estimation standards of the central government, such as those established by the Ministry of Construction.
The cost estimation standards generally stipulate :
In the calculation of public works labour cost, a public works committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Construction and other government bodies every year researches and discloses prevailing labour market rates. These rates, which are established district by district and by type of construction, are used by public bodies nationwide for estimating labour cost. Similarly in the case of material cost, a semi-official body publishes a list of prevailing market prices.
In examining the appropriateness of the contract price or estimated price, the Board auditors particularly examine whether:
Apart from this type of audit, i.e. the examination of whether cost estimation strictly followed the established standards and prices, the Board also examines appropriateness of the established standards and prices themselves. In this type of audit, the Board auditors specifically examine whether the established standards and prices reflect actual construction processes and methods and prevailing market prices. When the Board auditors find cases for improvement, they request remedial action.
As stated previously, the Board of Audit does not examine contracts before their conclusion. However, the Board examines concluded contracts to determine whether contract clauses follow the prescribed standards, particularly in regard to advance and partial payments. Three points are relevant in this context:
Propriety audits are concerned with whether the implementation of contracts for public works and projects has followed the steps prescribed in relevant legislation and regulations.
Value for money audits, based on considerations of economy and efficiency, examine whether the audited project could have achieved more at the same cost or achieved the same result at a lower cost. Such audits highlight cases of uneconomical cost estimation caused by mis-selection of construction material and/or cost estimation standards which do not reflect actual construction processes. During the course of audit, the Board points out that the auditee agency could have reduced or will be able to reduce, the construction cost and points out the amount of likely savings. Similarly, value for money audits, based on considerations of effectiveness, examine whether the audited project has utilised its resources effectively. Such audits highlight cases where project is not expected to be completed or the completed facilities are not used effectively. The Board may present an opinion or request remedial action on such cases.
As construction machinery, equipment and material are normally procured by construction project contractor, the costs for these are included in the contract price. Audit of these costs focuses on whether :
There are exceptional cases in which government offices themselves purchase construction materials and supply the contractor. For example, the Japan Railway Companies purchase railway gravels and supply them to various contractors. In such cases, Board auditors check the appropriateness of the quantity, quality, prices, timing and custody conditions of purchased materials.
The construction field audit physically examines completed structures by :
In examining operation, maintenance and utilisation of acquired assets, the Board audit mainly focuses on whether such assets are used for authorised purposes and are properly maintained. When the Board finds that the assets have been used for unauthorised purposes, the Board examines the causes, demands actions on present opinions to the agency. Auditee agencies in many cases contract out the maintenance of constructed facilities through the same budgetary and financial processes as those for construction. The Board auditors examine these processes from various audit view points such as regularity and 3Es.
In 1993, there were 1,243 staff employed by the Board of Audit including 764 (60%) auditors and assistant auditors who are assigned to the various Audit Division for both in-office documentary audits and external field audits. Such staff, in addition to being familiar with the work of the auditee agencies are trained or experienced in a wide range of disciplines, including law, public finance, economics, electricity, electronics, machinery, civil engineering and architecture. The number of university graduates on staff majoring in science/technology stood at 170.
The Board also invites technical officers from the Ministry of Construction and other government entities to advise auditors where necessary. However, the Board does not hire consultants from private firms.
The Board conducts in-house training courses on basic auditing and technical knowledge. Board auditors with both technical and non-technical educational backgrounds attend these training courses. In order to promote technical training, the Board holds two-week courses on civil engineering and architecture, where experts from the Board, Ministry of Construction and other public entities deliver lectures. To cope with increasing training needs , the Board established Annaka Training Centre in Annaka City on the outskirts of Tokyo in October 1992. The Centre has training facilities including a civil engineering laboratory and measurement practice room, with lodging facilities to accommodate sixty people. The Board holds almost all of its training courses at the Centre.
The Board of Audit prepares annual Audit Report on its activities, which is forwarded to Cabinet each year with the government's audited final accounts. The Cabinet then sends the Annual Audit Report to the Diet in the fiscal year immediately following the period covered by the Annual Audit Report.
In addition to the verification of the government's final accounts, the annual Audit Report contains:
The Board Annual Audit Report plays an important role in Diet Accounts Committee deliberations on the government's final accounts. The Board management staff usually attend the meetings of the Public Accounts Committee which consider matters arising from the annual Audit Report. Other Diet Committees may also invite the Board management staffto attend committee meetings and request them to explain various aspects of the Board's audit activities.
The Board of Audit follows up its audit findings by requesting auditee agencies to report on whether any losses were recovered and what remedial measures were taken. The result of these follow-up audits is reported in subsequent audit reports repeatedly until the matters in question have been resolved.
The Board's audit mandate extends to the physical examination of work in progress and completed work. Accordingly, the Board is entitled to and does contract out the physical examination where necessary.
The Board constantly audits public works and projects by examining statements of accounts, vouchers and other evidence submitted regularly by auditee agencies in accordance with the Accounts Verification Regulation. The Board also conducts on-site field audits including physical examination once or twice a year for specific public works in line with progress of such projects.
As stated previously, the Board has no manpower resource problems for the technical examination of public works audits. However, project effectiveness evaluation has been facilitated by outside training. Accordingly, the Board has sent selected auditors to various universities to study project evaluation techniques and also has invited scholars as Visiting Fellow Researchers.