The audits of Party and government departments must act as a sharp sword in the battle against corruption, said Hu Zejun, auditor general of the National Audit Office, on Monday. Thepaper.cn comments:

The full coverage audits, which the central authorities initiated in 2015 as a part of regular anti-corruption supervision, are not only audits but a means of sniffing out the clues to uncover corruption. The auditors work with the supervisory departments to bring wrongdoers to justice.

The campaign style "audit storm", which stressed finding out financial problems not the accountability for them, will be a thing of the past.

It is necessary to normalize the examination of the financial records of those holding power, as they often contain clues to abuses of power.

The full coverage audits, which are in line with the aim of ensuring there is no blind spots for supervision, must be strengthened step by step, and finally be transformed to an institutional design.

The structural reform plan of the Party and government departments approved by the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, has paved the way for the materialization of such an institutional design, as the National Audit Office, aside from its previous duties, will also assume supervisory power over big government-funded projects, budget execution and State-owned enterprises that are now dispersed among three ministry-level departments.

The judicial, legislature and disciplinary departments must work closely with the National Audit Office to ensure it can effectively fulfill its duties without any interference.