achievements of implementation and exertion of auditing powers. Audit relations mainly include internal relations among audit institutions at higher and lower levels, and between auditors and audit institutions, audit institutions and external institutions or individuals such as other supervision and inspection organs, procuratorial agencies, and auditees.
The preceding analysis concludes that the first two aspects, as the basis of establishment of auditing system, determine the type and design base of the auditing system. Generally speaking, the auditing system is a design and arrangement made through combining the requirements in the first two aspects with the features of auditing, while the specific contents of the auditing system mentioned in the third aspect must embody the requirements for combination. Therefore, the auditing system is a standard system and mechanism, featuring legality and enforceability, established by the State to regulate audit relations. Accordingly, we must design the auditing system based on the requirements of national governance for auditing, and the need to exert the role and functions of auditing, and regulate and standardize all audit relations, in a vision to provide a foundation and guarantee for effective audit activities.
3. ABOUT THE AUDITING SYSTEM OF SOCIALISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
The auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, a general designation of relevant government audit standards in the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, accurately reflects all interrelated work procedures or action guidelines formed through practice. The auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a specific institutional system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, with the fundamental political system as the highest guide and the basic political, economic, and social systems as the basis. It involves the audit law system and audit system, as well as various specific audit standards conducive to implementation. Three basic concepts should be highlighted.
First, the fundamental characteristics of the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics are to adhere to the CPC’s leadership and to independently exercise audit power according to law. The CPC is the leadership core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Adherence to CPC’s leadership is the primary political precondition for establishment and improvement of the auditing system. This determines that government auditing is an integral part of the supervision system of the Party and the State, so its fundamental objective is to safeguard the fundamental interests of the masses; this also determines the definition, reason, and object of auditing, and ensures that audit work always adheres to the correct political direction. Adhering to CPC leadership over audit work means specifying the objective, direction, and emphasis of auditing in line with the central tasks of the Party and the State, strengthening the ideological and political attainments of audit institutions, leadership and cadre system development, the construction of a clean and honest government, and the building of grassroots organizations around the strategic layout of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepening reform, comprehensively implementing the rule of law, and comprehensively strengthening Party discipline building, so as to continually advance audit work. The independent exercise of audit power in accordance with the law is a basic principle determining the subjects, contents, and ways of audit. The Constitution of the PRC, the Audit Law of the PRC, and other laws define the responsibilities, authority, procedures, behavior, and results of audit, safeguarding the independence of audit plans, implementation, institutions, auditors, and funds. These are the main system contents.
Second, the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is generated and developed during the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics; hence, it must always stick to and improve the latter. The auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics consists of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the auditing system, of which the former specifies the foundation and environment for generation of the auditing system, and the latter makes clear the function of the system, that is, supervision through auditing. As noted by General Secretary Xi Jinping, “The key for what kind of ism a country implements, is to look at whether or not that ism can resolve the historical issues this country faces.”18 Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the fundamental achievement of the Party and Chinese people made through over 90 years of struggle, creation, and accumulation, and also a scientific summary of great practice of reform and opening up over the past 30 years or so. It embodies the painstaking exploration of the Party and Chinese people in the first 30 years of reform and opening up, and is a concentrated embodiment of the beautiful expectation and unremitting pursuit of Chinese people for socialism since the modern time.19 Due to a unique historical destiny, cultural traditions, and fundamental realities, China must stick to a development path suited to its own characteristics, and must always adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics. This consists of the road, theories, and systems that lead to realization of the goals guided by the theories and guaranteed by the systems. They are united in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Guided by the theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the auditing system must be developed and improved based on past practice and firmly following the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Third, the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics specifies the mechanism for government auditing to play its role in national governance, and helps to enhance the pertinence and timeliness of auditing. Existing in the entire design of the national political system, the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics has both the general properties of systems and the peculiarities of auditing. It stipulates such contents as the legal status of audit institutions, affiliations, leadership among audit institutions at different levels, and audit institution system, standardizes relations between audit institutions and individual auditors, between audit institutions and audited units, and between audit institutions and the Chinese National People’s Congress, the government, and other institutions or organizations, and reflects the objectives, needs, and operation mechanism of national governance during the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics. From the perspective of system, government audit institutions have the administrative establishment nature, but the law prescribes the independence of audit. Audit institutions must report results to the Party committees and governments at all levels and relevant departments and the audited units, as well as to the public. On the one hand, the system design is conducive to the pertinence of audit and helps auditing to better focus on the central tasks and serve the overall interests; on the other hand, it helps to enhance the timeliness of audit to enable relevant departments to make decisions on treatment and punishment of relevant responsible persons and units according to audit situation, to correct uncovered problems in a timely way, and ensure audit reports and recommendations play an important reference role for decision making in a timely manner.
4. ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYING THE AUDITING SYSTEM OF SOCIALISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
The significance of studying the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is mainly reflected in three aspects.
First is helping to deepen cognition to the principle of development of auditing of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Principles are the inherent, essential and necessary linkages for things, phenomena, and processes. Systems are the important results and represent the intellectual achievements of human practice. China has a long history of over 3,000 years in audit practice producing a wealth of ideas and profound laws. Combined with human cognition, some of these objective principles were developed into auditing theories or guiding principles, and some are further materialized into various auditing systems. The systematic and in-depth study on the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics contributes to deepening our cognition to the objective laws of auditing, to understanding and applying these laws, and to making clear the road and direction of future development, so as to promote the continuous audit improvement.
Second is helping to enhance institutional self-confidence of the auditing system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Various countries have their unique government auditing systems due to the
Xi Jinping, “Unswervingly Adhering to and Developing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” In
China Steering Committee of Compiling and Reviewing Cadre Training Materials,
