In 2017, the Military Financial Sector and particularly the Department of Finance proactively gave instructions to all units across the Ministry for effective finance, contributing to the success of their missions, and collaborated with other relevant bodies to give suitable consultancy to the Central Military Commission (CMC) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) in carrying out an initial review of Resolution 513-NQ/QUTW (hereafter referred to as Resolution 513) released by the Standing Committee of CMC for the 2013-2017 period.

Five years after the start of Resolution 513 implementation, the whole Army enjoyed important and comprehensive results. Finance and activities of military finance sector have been kept on track. The targets of the Resolution have been met in general. Budget forecast, management and adherence saw new and flexible developments, which closely followed established principles. Finance and public property management, thrift practice were conducted in a drastic way. Financial principles have been strengthened. The effectiveness of finance inspection, audit and state budget spending have been enhanced. Although the state budget has not been able to afford practical needs of the Army, the finance sector proactively gave consultancy in creating and utilizing various financial resources as well as balanced and allocated efficient budgets to determined focuses and ensured financial supplies for regular and unscheduled missions, among which, priorities are put in major programs and goals of our Party and Government to fulfill the requirements of Army development for successful national defence in new context. Those results are the basis for all units across the whole Army to effectively carry out their finance in 2018 and beyond.

2018 is the hinge year in implementing the Resolution of the 12^th Party Congress, the Resolution of the 10^th Congress of Military Party Committee. The entire Army is accelerating the modernization of some forces as determined by the Party, Government, CMC and MOD and conducting major breakthrough missions with strict requirements, especially in terms of force organizing, training, combat readiness and weaponry supplies. Despite of increasing financial needs, state budget for military and defence missions remains limited (no rise in comparison with that in 2017, excluding new favours). To successfully deal with the situation, units and financial organs at all levels should exercise good leadership and comprehensively employ various specialized measures as well as well manage, closely adhere and effectively use financial resources to provide efficient budgets for military and defence missions. The focus should be put on these following activities:

1. To continue to study and implement the Resolution 513 along with 2018 financial missions. All units and bodies, particularly Party Committees, commanders and financial organs, should further study the Resolution 513 and Regulation 707-QC/QUTW on “The leadership of Party Committees at all levels over the finance of Vietnam People’s Army” in order to understand the CMC’s guidelines, instructions and solutions for financial missions. Consequently, the leadership over and responsibilities in budget management and spending need to be improved. Financial organs in all units should give their consultancy to the commanders in reviewing and adjusting their spending and in furthering the implementation of Resolution 513 which should be attached by the objectives of military finance and budget in 2018. They should focus on conducting key missions and addressing the weaknesses revealed by the initial report of Resolution 513 implementation and the final report of the implementation of 2017 budget program and finance.

2. To proactively manage allocated budgets and follow the 2018 financial plans in the way that is principled, transparent, public, flexible and in the order of priorities. Party committees and commanders at all levels should acknowledge the limitations of state budget and understand the Government’s economical policy of finance. Consequently, they need to design good budget plans and well allocate and manage budget and properties for requirements of different missions, closely following approved financial plans. The Department of Finance continues to give their consultancy to MOD in general finance balance with priority given to key missions, programs, projects and the implementation of Project “Restructuring and Improving the results of Military Business in the 2016 – 2020 period.” All units and establishments should bear their approved budgets in mind and disburse them following adopted plans. Moreover, financial resources should be further devolved to lower units, especially those who directly purchase their needed items in order to reduce the cases in which high level units purchases a large number of items then allocate them to lower ones. Financial organs at all levels should well balance and adjust the payment structure of their units in the way that all missions receive necessary supplies while major budgets are available for key ones following order of priorities. Besides, budget lists and the new accounting regime should be early applied. At the same time, the organs should, in coordination with other relevant ones, study and make accurate forecasts of the markets and give good advice to commanders of their units to accelerate the disbursement process to avoid releasing too many funds at the end of a year, or even move them to the next year’s financial plans.

3. To proactively create and utilize new capital resources for better military and defence budget balance. In recent years, units and organs across the Army have emphasized the importance of new capital resources, contributing to the compensation for fund shortages. With that impetus and towards assigned targets, a lot of units, especially military enterprises, have carried out their plans from the start of this year to increase their incomes. To make it effective, all units should continue to undertake military-economic activities and projects which fit into their functions. Organs that design budget plans should carefully calculate advantages of each unit and seek for the ways to utilize local budgets for military and defence missions while exploring additional funds through self-supplying food and making use of items in stock. Units providing public services should increase their financial independence and be good at both doing business and performing their missions, making additional income for less dependence on state budget. Most notably, military enterprises need to be restructured and reorganized following adopted schedules in order to improve production and operation efficiency for better tax payment. Financial sector is studying the way to create and utilize additional funds for defence missions. In the near future, financial autonomy will be established and applied to some public administrative military units in accordance with rules of laws and practical situation.

4. To intensify finance and property management, inspections for more effective usage. All sectors and units need to keep applying various instruments and measures comprehensively for better quality and effectiveness of public property and finance management and usage, emphasizing democracy, openness, transparency, devolution and decentralization along with responsibilities of the chief commanders (who are also account holders), the persons directly managing finance and properties and the finance organs in giving consultancy, directions and supervision. With their legitimate responsibilities, financial organs at all levels need to seriously apply financial regime and principles; conduct and supervise financial practices; intensify control of expenditure and management of price and finance in tender; well screen and approve the prices of defence items to be purchased; closely check expenses, investment projects, incomes and  activities of units, etc. Most importantly, financial organs need to check expired contracts of hiring defence land and give consultancy to Party Committees and commanders to terminate them as well as to definitively tackle all disputes related to defence land. Incomes arise from defence land contracts need to be well managed. The organs should also proactively implement measures of financial balance, sort out financial backlogs and design plans and roadmaps to deal with them, facilitating businesses to be restructured and renovated for better management and usage of state capital and properties in military enterprises, especially those which have been determined to be equitized, merged or winded up in 2018. Sectors and units should more closely manage their accounts, cash, funds, successive and reserve capital as well as funds received in advance for combat readiness. Tenders in purchasing items should be further organized. Disbursements for completed projects should be accelerated to clear all remaining debts, and the fact that investments have been scattered over too many construction projects need to be stopped.

At the same time, sectors, units and enterprises need to maintain the regulation and effectiveness of finance supervision and inspection at all levels, underlining the combinations of financial operation inspection and regular examination by Party committees and military personnel and the combination of routine check and snap check. They should also promote their self-examination and self-observation, especially of the management and usage of their incomes, defence land and capital construction investments. Relevant organs of Department of Finance collaborate with State Audit to conduct audits in accordance to regulations, and at the same time, they need to strengthen internal audits to detect and correct remaining problems.

5. To enhance thrift practice, corruption and waste prevention and fighting. Following achieved results, financial organs at all levels continues to give consultancy to Party committees and commanders to promote education and propagation to improve officers and soldiers’ awareness of thrift practice as well as to well carry out Action Program of Implementation of Thrift Law and implement related Resolutions and Instructions of the Government and MOD. Units need to more intensively and comprehensively implement measures needed to achieve the goals of thrift practice, corruption and waste prevention in finance right from planning and budget and during financial management, spending and balancing. Party committees and commanders are responsible for corruption, waste and financial regulation violation taken place in their own units.

What is more, commanders should pay attention to develop comprehensively strong financial organs at all levels and the movement “Developing units with good financial management” to create momentum for the accomplishment of defence finance missions in 2018.

Maj. Gen. Luu Sy Quy, Director of Department of Finance, MOD.