Guide
What is the difference between the settlement of engineering projects based on government investment, the settlement audit of social intermediaries and the settlement audit of audit institutions, and what is the relationship between them, which has long troubled the relevant people in the construction and auditing circles. This paper systematically answers relevant questions from nine aspects, aiming to promote the healthy development of the construction market and promote the transformation of the functions of audit institutions.
After the issuance of the "Research Opinions of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Relevant Provisions on the Use of Audit Results as the Basis for the Completion and Settlement of Government-Invested Construction Projects in Local Regulations", the response in the construction industry and the auditing community has been greater. For a long time, the grass-roots audit institutions have been entrusted by the local government to audit and check the settlement for the construction unit, which has its specific historical reasons and plays a very important role in the cost control of government investment projects.
With the continuous advancement of the marketization process in the mainland, the requirements of the reform are that the market can complete the things to be completed by the market, after nearly ten years of market cultivation, the current engineering cost consulting agency as the main body of the market has been quite mature, the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development also require the project settlement audit to be completed by a qualified cost agency. The withdrawal of the state audit organs from the work of settlement examination and turning to the investment audit work within the scope of their functions is an objective need of the reform of "delegating power, delegating power, delegating power, and providing services", and it is imperative. So, after the transformation of functions, what is the difference between the settlement audit of the cost agency and the settlement audit of the audit agency, the author believes that the main distinction is made from the following aspects.
1. The nature of settlement audit and settlement audit work is different
The project employer or the project cost agency entrusted by it to review and check the completion of the settlement in different specifications, the name is different, "Interim Measures for the Settlement of Construction Project Prices" (Cai Jian (2004) No. 369), "Construction Project Construction Contracting and Contracting Valuation Management Measures", "Construction Engineering Bills of Quantities Valuation Specifications" (GB 50500-2013) and "Construction Project Cost Consultation Specifications" (GB / T 51095-2015) respectively use "settlement review" and "settlement review" andThe three words "settlement review". Although the name is different, the basic work is the same, and this article is collectively referred to as settlement review.
According to Article 20 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Audit Law, "the audit institutions shall audit and supervise the implementation of the total budget or budget estimate, the implementation of the annual budget and the annual final accounts, the settlement of individual projects, and the final accounts of the completion of the project specified in the preceding paragraph." According to this article, the concept of settlement audit is extracted, and the audit institution shall audit and supervise the project settlement.
Therefore, the settlement audit refers to the audit of the completion settlement by the employer or the project cost agency entrusted by it with corresponding qualifications, which is a construction management activity. Settlement audit refers to the audit institutions in accordance with the law on the government investment and government investment in the construction of construction projects, audit supervision, administrative supervision. This is the difference in nature.
Second, the purpose of settlement audit and settlement audit is different
According to the Ministry of Construction's Administrative Measures for the Contracting and Valuation of Construction Projects, the contractor shall submit the completion settlement documents within the agreed time limit after the completion of the project. State-owned funds to invest in construction projects of the employer, should be entrusted with the corresponding qualifications of the project cost consulting enterprises to review the completion of the settlement documents. The employer shall pay the completion settlement payment in a timely manner in accordance with the completion settlement documents. It can be seen that the purpose of the settlement audit is to pay the price of the project.
According to the Regulations for the Implementation of the Audit Law, the audit institutions shall audit and supervise the authenticity, legitimacy and compliance of the settlement of government investment and construction projects dominated by government investment. The purpose of the settlement audit is to urge the construction units and financial departments to earnestly perform their settlement management duties, promote the settlement management to find out problems, plug loopholes, improve the system, and standardize management.
3. The premise of the basic theory of settlement audit and settlement audit is different
The basic premise of this audit is that the construction unit and the construction unit are the two parties to the contract, and there is no dispute between the two parties to the price that has been confirmed by the two parties in the implementation of the project. That is to say, the focus of the settlement audit is to check for errors and omissions based on the information formed during the implementation of the contract, and does not involve fraud.
The settlement audit is the audit and supervision of the authenticity, legality and compliance of the project settlement, and its basic premise is that the employer may not manage in accordance with the contract, laws and regulations, and norms, and there may be fraud. That is to say, the settlement audit should not only check for errors and omissions, but more importantly, supervise the construction unit to standardize management and expose fraud.
Because the basic assumptions are different, there will be different results when it comes to the same issue, for example, if the employer and the construction party have signed and confirmed the price of a certain visa, then there will be no objection when the settlement is reviewed. In the settlement audit, the audit unit is the focus of the audit for visas that may be fraudulent.
Fourth, the basis of settlement audit and settlement audit is different
The main basis for settlement review is the construction contract, bidding and bidding documents, supplementary agreements, change visas and on-site visas, as well as relevant national laws, regulations and norms, relevant project cost valuation standards, pricing methods, etc. In other words, the above-mentioned materials are the basis for supporting the conclusion of the settlement review.
Settlement audit is the audit supervision of the project settlement carried out by the audit institution in accordance with the "Audit Law" and the "Implementation of the Audit Law". That is to say, the information in the process of forming the project settlement price, including contracts, bidding documents, supplementary agreements, change visas and on-site visas, etc., these materials themselves and their formation process are the audit supervision objects of the audit institutions. Audit institutions should be in accordance with laws and regulations, the authenticity and legality of these materials to audit and supervise.
5. The scope of settlement audit and settlement audit is different
The scope of the settlement review, the relevant regulations and specifications are slightly different, but roughly the same, that is, from the beginning of the bidding documents to the construction unit to report the completion of the settlement, including the bidding documents, bidding documents, contracts, contract adjustments, visas, changes, etc.
The author has not seen relevant information on the scope of the settlement audit, but according to Article 20 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Audit Law, "the authenticity and legitimacy of the funds obtained by the design, construction, supply and other units directly related to the construction project can be investigated". It can be understood that the settlement audit is to audit the authenticity and legitimacy of each stage in the formation of the project settlement price, which should include the budget before the contract, the bidding method, the contract price, the adjustment in the implementation, the visa, the change, the construction unit to report the settlement and the settlement after the audit of the construction unit. The scope of a settlement audit is broader and broader than that of a settlement review.
6. The implementation method of settlement audit is different from that of settlement audit
In accordance with the relevant specifications of the settlement review, the settlement audit shall adopt the comprehensive audit method, and shall not use other methods such as the key audit method, the sampling audit method or the analogy audit method. In the process of settlement and review, if the cost agency finds that the engineering drawings and engineering visas are inconsistent with the facts, the two parties shall clarify the facts in writing and make adjustments according to the facts. For matters that need to be further confirmed or disputed during the review process of the two parties, they can be resolved through negotiation at the professional consultation meeting of the relevant parties, and the final audit conclusion shall be jointly signed by several parties.
Settlement audit is in accordance with the audit method, according to the risk-oriented principle, analytical review, internal control system test, assessment of the level of importance, the use of scientific sampling methods to spot check the settlement of the project, from different ways to obtain audit evidence, the preparation of audit working papers, etc. The approach to settlement audit is fundamentally different from that of settlement review.
7. The supporting materials supporting the conclusion are different
Settlement audit is the construction unit or cost agency of the construction unit submitted by the project settlement audit, the main material to support the settlement conclusion is the settlement of the process of engineering data, the two sides signed the material is the settlement audit, the most probative evidence materials.
Settlement audit is the audit institution in accordance with the audit laws and regulations and auditing standards, the implementation of the corresponding audit procedures, the audit evidence to support the audit conclusion is often not the material signed by both parties. For example, in the case of the pricing of a material provisional valuation, if the audit unit has doubts about the pricing confirmed by both parties, it may take methods such as inquiring about the purchasing manufacturer, asking the relevant purchaser, and extending the audit of the construction unit to obtain the corresponding audit evidence to determine whether the pricing is true and reasonable, and whether there is overestimation and fraud.
8. The application of settlement audit and settlement audit results is different
As mentioned above, because the purpose of the settlement audit is different from that of the settlement audit, the application of the results is also different, and the settlement audit results are used as the basis for the settlement of both parties.
The results of the settlement audit are to urge the construction unit and the financial department to earnestly perform their duties, and the settlement audit should make an audit decision on the settlement of the untrue settlement and other problems, order the construction unit to rectify, and the clues of violations of laws and regulations, losses and waste found in the audit should be transferred to the relevant departments for handling in accordance with the law.
9. The completion time of the settlement review is different from that of the settlement audit
According to the "Interim Measures for the Settlement of Construction Project Prices", the review time of project completion settlement is 20~60 days according to the size of the settlement amount. The settlement audit needs to be in accordance with the requirements of the national auditing standards, the project plan preparation, plan approval, project implementation, review, legal review, audit report solicitation and other legal procedures, emphasizing that time obeys quality, and the general settlement audit time is longer.
After analyzing the difference between settlement audit and settlement audit, what is the purpose, the author mainly wants to answer the following questions:
The first is to answer the question that the qualified cost agency has reviewed the settlement, and the audit department can no longer do the settlement audit. According to the above analysis, the audit department can be audited, which is clearly stipulated in the Regulations for the Implementation of the Audit Law, and is the statutory supervision responsibility of the audit department.
The second is to answer the question of why the audit results of the cost agency are inconsistent with the audit results of the state organs. This problem bothers many people, especially the construction unit, which is precisely because of the above differences, resulting in different results.
The third is to answer the question of why the audit results of the cost agency cannot be directly used as the audit results of the audit institution. In addition to the human factor of the cost agency, because of the above differences, the audit results of the intermediary agency can not be directly used as the audit results of the audit agency.
The fourth is to answer the question of why the settlement audit time is longer than the settlement audit time. This is because there are many statutory procedures for settlement audit, and there are many work contents, and there is no flexibility in settlement review.
The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee pointed out that the relationship between the government and the market should be properly handled, so that the market can play a decisive role in the allocation of resources and the government can play a better role. As a market activity, the project settlement audit is completed by a qualified cost agency, which is to give full play to the role of the market and improve the efficiency of resource allocation. As a supervisory department, the state audit institutions should further standardize the audit work in accordance with the requirements of the new era of "due diligence, strict review, and strict accountability" for audit work, so as to better supervise all market entities and better play the role of the government.
10. Conclusion
The purpose of analyzing the difference between the settlement audit of social intermediaries and the settlement audit of audit institutions is to enable social intermediaries and government audit institutions to better play their respective roles in accordance with their respective functions, so as to make resource allocation more efficient and the development of the construction market more healthy.