Back

Foreword

One of the main functions of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) is to encourage and to promote research and to undertake publication of research papers and professional articles in auditing and related fields. In pursuance of this objective, the first ASOSAI research publication entitled "Accountability and Control of Public Enterprises" was brought out in 1989 which was followed by a publication on "Financial Accountability and Management in Government" released in 1992. Encouraged by the success of these two research publications, the ASOSAI Governing Board, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Lu Pei Jian, the former Auditor-General of China, at its 19th meeting at Sydney, Australia in May 1993, decided to launch the third ASOSAI research project on "Audit of Public Works and Projects". The task was assigned to a team consisting of Mr. Mohd. Rusli Bin Haji Hussein, Deputy Auditor-General of Malaysia; Mrs. Zheng Li, Deputy Auditor-General of China and Mr. Dharam Vir, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. This publication is the culmination of their efforts.

On behalf of ASOSAI, I would like to express my appreciation of the work done on this project by the team of dedicated authors. I would also like to thank all the members of ASOSAI, especially those SAIs who provided country papers for this project; without their cooperation and support, this publication could not have been brought out in such a short time. My thanks are also due to the Auditors-General of Malaysia and China for making available their Deputies for this project, and also meeting the associated costs involved. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Associate Professor D.J.Hardman, Head of the Department of Financial Accounting and Auditing, at the University of Technology, Sydney for acting as adviser and technical consultant to the authors.

This publication gives an overview of the institutional framework for undertaking public works and projects in member countries of ASOSAI and the scope, objectives, organisation and methodology of audit of public works and projects by Supreme Audit Institutions in these countries and will serve as useful reference material for members of the auditing profession, both in the public and private sectors. I hope this publication will also prove to be of use to researchers, academicians, legislators and administrators in increasing their awareness of audit of public works and projects conducted by SAIs in different countries.

September 1995