Deputy State Auditor General Bui Quoc Dung
AI helps detect "ghost retirees"
Speaking at the international conference "Auditing in the new era - Improving auditing capacity with AI", Deputy State Auditor General Bui Quoc Dung emphasized that AI is reshaping every field - from production, finance, healthcare to education . And the auditing industry - the field that ensures transparency and accountability in public administration - cannot stand outside this flow.
According to Mr. Dung, AI is not only a tool, but also an opportunity to reinvent professional thinking. AI and Big Data have created a turning point. Instead of just analyzing "discrete pixels", auditors can process entire data sets to detect errors, fraud and unusual trends. Along with that, machine learning, deep learning and natural language processing (NLP) algorithms help convert huge data stores - from documents, contracts, reports - into information that can be searched, compared and analyzed.
Deputy State Auditor General Bui Quoc Dung emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) does not replace auditors, but helps them become stronger, more accurate, and more profound.
As a result, auditing no longer stops at post-audit detection, but can forecast and warn early about risks in public spending - a shift from reactive to proactive. Currently, many supreme audit institutions in the world have shifted to continuous monitoring and risk prediction. Causal analysis techniques are applied to assess policy impacts instead of just correlating data.
“In Pakistan, AI was used to detect 128,000 cases of “ghost pensioners” in pension payments - a testament to the power of data when connected intelligently,” Mr. Dung gave an example.
The Deputy State Auditor General commented that Vietnam is not outside the general trend of the world. Reality shows that the volume and complexity of public data in Vietnam is gradually exceeding what traditional auditing methods (mainly based on sampling) can cover. For example, at Vietnam Social Security, every month there are 17 million compulsory social insurance participants; every year, 96 million health insurance cards are issued and more than 200 million medical examinations and treatments related to insurance payments are processed... Or like the Tax Department, by the end of 2024, there were more than 950,000 enterprises declaring taxes electronically, having submitted nearly 16 million records and nearly 150 million declarations.
The State Audit has built an audit technology ecosystem, in which 6 AI and data application software are being deployed in practice: from budget data analysis, risk assessment, financial transaction examination, to public investment monitoring and green spending assessment.
“AI does not replace auditors, but makes auditors stronger, more accurate and more profound,” Deputy Auditor General Bui Quoc Dung emphasized.
AI is a tool, humans are still the focus
Sharing the same view with Deputy Auditor General Bui Quoc Dung, Mr. Phan Ngoc Anh - Deputy General Director of Deloitte Vietnam Audit Services - said that currently, AI is applied in the entire audit process: from planning, risk assessment to drawing audit conclusions. However, AI is only a support tool, the person signing the report still has to bear the final responsibility.
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Lan Anh - Director of Technology and Banking at Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam - emphasized that AI is not the solution to all problems. The most important thing is to put risk control in from the beginning - "like equipping safety brakes for a high-speed car".
AI is a tool, people are still the focus in auditing
Meanwhile, Dr. Pham Huy Thong, Deputy Director of the Department of Information Technology - State Audit, stated that the implementation of AI in the auditing field currently faces three main challenges: unsynchronized technology infrastructure, limited security and data sharing between agencies, along with a shortage of high-quality human resources.
To address these challenges, the State Audit has submitted a project to apply big data and AI in auditing activities for the 2026 period, focusing on investing heavily in server infrastructure, security and data connection to meet the deployment of AI in the State Audit system, said Mr. Pham Huy Thong.
According to Dr. Pham Huy Thong, in the context of the global "AI explosion" from 2024, the State Audit has quickly adjusted its strategy, accelerating the application of artificial intelligence in professional activities. By April 2025, the Department of Information Technology reported to the State Audit to allow the first pilot product to be put into operation, marking a new step in the digital transformation process of the entire industry.
Source: https://vtv.vn/pho-tong-kiem-toan-nha-nuoc-ai-khong-thay-the-kiem-toan-vien-100251013174317453.htm
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