From the desk of ASOSAI Secretary General

Government procurement (public procurement) plays an important role in global economic development. According to the World Bank statistics, the world’s total government procurement accounts for 10-15% of global GDP, and this proportion is even higher in some developed economies. Such substantial economic scale makes government procurement activities and their associated regulations and policies highly impactful in the international economic landscape. Through globalized procurement activities, government procurement facilitates international competition, innovation, and supply chain integration, thereby fostering deep integration of global economies. It promotes gradual and wider opening of markets for mutual benefits and shared development.

The evolution of government procurement systems across the world has a long history. As early as the 18th century in Europe, issues brought by royal household needs, economic operations, and warfare, including opacity and corruption in procurement, prompted countries to establish unified government procurement agencies to streamline expenditures and enhance regulatory oversight. In the post-World War II era, with global economic reconstruction and trade liberalization, the trade barriers created by those established national procurement rules became increasingly significant. With the acceleration of economic globalization, international frameworks such as the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) have matured, imposing principles of openness and mutual benefit on member states and encouraging the steady development of market-oriented, law-based, and internationally aligned government procurement environments. The function of government procurement has now expanded far beyond economic and trade considerations, and evolved from a tool focused solely on value-for-money objectives into a comprehensive policy instrument that advances economic, social, and environmental strategic goals, reflecting the continuous progress in global governance, market economy, and public administration.

Today, countries worldwide are vigorously promoting principles of transparency and fair competition in government procurement. The integrity and efficiency of a nation’s procurement system serve as key indicators of its business environment and governance quality. This issue of the Asian Journal of Government Audit aims to share best practices in auditing government procurement and related fields from supreme audit institutions across Asia. By doing so, we seek to raise awareness of the importance of government auditing in this domain and foster audit experience and knowledge sharing, and capacity building.

We believe that, through collaborative efforts in conducting government procurement audits, supreme audit institutions across Asia will facilitate mutual learning in procurement practices. By heading the right direction of economic globalization, embracing openness and inclusiveness, and taking pragmatic actions to address challenges, we will collectively embrace opportunities with open minds, pursue shared development and secure a prosperous future through opening-up and cooperation.