Vientiane: 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).
According to Lao News Agency, the meeting brings together leaders from regional audit offices, technical departments, and training institutes to evaluate past performance and chart the roadmap for 2026.
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.
President Viengthavisone highlighted several high-risk areas for immediate focus, including mining operations with oversight of gold mining projects exceeding authorized land concessions, special economic zones investigating unpaid concession fees, resource exports ensuring all mineral export revenues are properly declared and remitted, and banking and credit with tightening oversight of state-managed loans and foreign exchange.
Closing the first day, President Viengthavisone called for a shift from merely identifying problems to enforcing solutions. He emphasized the need for strong financial accountability under the 10th National Development Plan with an 8-point directive for 2026 focusing on 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 is set to focus on the practical implementation of these directives.
