(KPL) The State Audit Organization officially opened its 2026 Annual Nationwide Meeting on April 6 in Vientiane, aiming to reinforce financial discipline and transparency across the country. The event is presided over by Viengthavisone Thephachanh, President of the SAO and Member of the Party Central Committee, and aligns with the newly approved 10th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2026–2030).

The meeting brings together leaders from regional audit offices, technical departments, and training institutes to evaluate past performance and chart the roadmap for 2026.

Strong Fiscal Recovery in 2025

During the opening session, Sengphet Sihavong, Director General of the Audit Quality Assessment Department, reported that the SAO achieved 100 percent of its 2025 audit targets, reviewing 154 entities. The audits recovered a total of 5,303.17 billion kip ($310,000 USD), funds previously outside the formal budget or lost to mismanagement.

The meeting also noted the historic inclusion of the State Audit function in the 2025 Constitution, granting the SAO greater independence and authority.

2026 Agenda: High-Risk Sectors Under Scrutiny

President Viengthavisone highlighted several high-risk areas for immediate focus:

Mining Operations: Oversight of gold mining projects exceeding authorized land concessions.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs): Investigating unpaid concession fees, including a $6 million debt from the Boten SEZ developer.

Resource Exports: Ensuring all mineral export revenues are properly declared and remitted.

Banking & Credit: Tightening oversight of state-managed loans and foreign exchange.

From Auditing to Action

Closing the first day, President Viengthavisone called for a shift from merely identifying problems to enforcing solutions.

“The audit work is difficult, complex, and often involves direct confrontation. However, we can no longer allow a gap where we find issues but cannot resolve them,” he said.

He outlined an 8-point directive for 2026 emphasizing ethics, modernization, revenue recovery, specialized expertise, strict enforcement, accountability, inter-agency cooperation, and unified oversight with the State Inspection Authority.

The second day of the meeting will focus on the practical implementation of these directives to ensure strong financial accountability under the 10th National Development Plan.

KPL