Reflecting Audit Findings in Budget
The Board explains the contents of the Audit Report to the Diet and other financial authorities in order that the audit results can be properly reflected in the future budget compilation and execution.
(1) Submission and Explanation of the Audit Report to the Diet
The Audit Report is submitted, with the final accounts of the expenditures and revenues of the State, through the Cabinet to the Diet for deliberation of the State’s final accounts.
Deliberation on the State’s final accounts is held by the Committee on Audit and Oversight of Administration in the House of Representatives and the Committee on Audit in the House of Councilors. The effectiveness of the audit can be fully achieved only when the Audit Report is sufficiently utilized in the Diet, which is the representative organ of the public, and when investigation into causes and measures for improvement in respect to matters incorporated in the Annual Report are thoroughly realized.
The senior officials of the Board always attend the above-mentioned deliberations of the Committees to explain the contents of the Audit Report or relevant audit activities and to present Board’s opinion. As such, the Audit Report is an essential document for the deliberations in these Committees.
The senior officials of the Board also attend the Committees on Budget and other Diet Committees to explain the contents of the Audit Report or to express the Board’s opinions as required.
In preparing the audit plan and implementing its audits, the Board fully takes into consideration requests from the Diet and its deliberation in order to respond to the expectations of the Diet and the public.
(2) Explanation to financial authorities
In order to better reflect the results of the Board’s audit in the budget compilation and the financial administration, the Board holds regular meetings with the Budget Bureau and Financial Bureau of the Ministry of Finance every year to provide explanations of the findings in the Audit Report and to express opinions on items of interest discovered during the audit to serve as sources of reference for budget compilation and financial administration.
At these meetings, the Board hears, in return, the background and intention of the budget compilation or is provided with details of budget execution by the financial authorities for its reference for the audit.
<The Training Courses for the Auditees>
In order to enhance and reinforce the auditees’ internal audit and internal check system and prevent recurrence of the audit findings, the Board organizes the following training courses and briefings.
The internal audit of each ministry and agency is expected to work for better budget execution together with the external audit by the Board.
(1) The briefing of the Audit Report
The Board holds “the briefing of the Audit Report” for (1) deputy vice-minister of each ministry, (2) senior directors of accounts divisions of each ministry, (3) the relevant accounting officers of each ministry, (4) auditors and board members in charge of budget execution of State-Financed bodies and (5) accounting managers of prefectures.
Detailed explanation on the audit findings at the briefing contribute to the auditees’ better understanding and prevention of recurrence of the reported findings.
(2) The training course for personnel of auditees
In order to contribute to the improvement in the capability of the auditees’ officials, the Board organizes the following training courses for the accounting officials and internal auditors of each ministry and agencies, independent administrative agencies and local governments on accounting practices and relevant laws and regulations, as well as audit techniques.
- ・Courses for Internal Auditors of Ministries and Agencies
- ・Courses for Internal Auditors of State-Financed bodies
- ・Course for Accounting Officials of Prefectural Governments
- ・Courses for Internal Auditors of Local Governments
- ・Courses for Internal Auditors of Prefectural Governments (General Audit Courses and Construction Audit Courses)
These courses are held in the Annaka Training Center.
The Board also dispatches its staff members as lecturers to the training courses organized by auditees such as ministries, agencies and local governments for prevention of the recurrence of the audit findings on the condition that dispatched lecturer does not hinder his/her audit activities.
(3) Internal audit related services
The Board conducts unified researches and analyses on auditees’ internal control such as internal audit and has a meeting with officials in charge of internal audit in ministries, agencies and so on in order to promote improvement and strengthening of internal audit.
]