Laos’ State Audit Office audited 154 targets in 2025, hitting 100 percent of its annual plan and recovering LAK 5,303.17 billion (approximately USD 244 million) and USD 310,000 from the state budget.
State Audit Office President Viengthavisone Thepphachan chaired the 2026 National State Audit Conference, which opened on 6 April in Vientiane and runs through 7 April.
Presenting the annual report, Director of the Audit Quality Assessment Department Sengphet Syhavong highlighted the inclusion of audit work in the 2025 Constitution as a key milestone, giving the State Audit Office greater authority to conduct independent audits.
The conference put particular focus on high-risk sectors.
Auditors found evidence of excessive extraction in pilot gold mining operations. They also examined special economic zones, pressing for faster revenue transfers to the state budget from investment projects and state-owned enterprises.
Five Years of Growing Enforcement
The 2025 results close out a strong five-year run, according to previous reports.
Between 2021 and 2025, the State Audit Office completed 611 audit cases, 102 percent of its five-year target, and uncovered LAK 37,600 billion (approximately USD 1.8 billion) in budget discipline violations, Viengthavisone told the 10th National Assembly on 25 March.
Recovery rates climbed sharply over the period. In 2021, auditors recovered just 5.87 percent of identified violations. By 2024, that figure had reached nearly 48 percent. The 2025 violation total of LAK 12,033 billion (approximately USD 555 million) is the highest single-year figure on record, with final recovery numbers due by end of 2026. Total recoveries across the five years exceeded LAK 7,000 billion (approximately USD 323 million).
The findings drew a direct response from Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.
At the same National Assembly session on 26 March, he called for a major overhaul of audit and inspection systems, pointing to unrecoverable state assets, overlapping institutional roles, and the need for stronger enforcement and digital modernisation.
For 2026–2030, the State Audit Office is targeting 620 audits and an 80 percent annual resolution rate. The plan rests on six pillars: organisational restructuring, legal reform, human resource development, professional audit strengthening, digital modernisation, and international cooperation.
