Established in 2003 following the merger of the Planning Department with the Finance and Accounting Department, the Planning and Finance Department of the Ministry is responsible on behalf of the Ministry for all planning, finance and accounting matters. In the planning field it is responsible for administering development plans in culture, sports and tourism (including investment projects, enterprise projects and national cultural programmes under the control of the Ministry); for providing management and policy guidance in respect of investment projects in the field of culture, sports and tourism; for managing international economic co-operation projects (including import and export, ODA and FDI projects, participation in international projects) in the field of culture, sports and tourism; and for managing all project research in connection with the above, according to Communist Party guidelines and the policies and laws of the state. In the financial area it is responsible on behalf of the Ministry for managing and accounting for all state funds disbursed by the Ministry and for overseeing, guiding and monitoring the disbursement of Ministry funds to agencies responsible for investment projects, enterprise projects and national cultural programmes under the control of the Ministry, ensuring in each case that the proper financial and accounting procedures are followed, according to Communist Party guidelines and the policies and laws of the state. The Department is responsible for the ongoing development of transparent mechanisms for finance and accounting in the culture, sports and tourism field.