BEIJING -- China audited 48,540 entities during the first half of this year, helping auditees recover and avoid losses of 7.38 billion yuan ($1.14 billion), the National Audit Office said (NAO) on Tuesday.

The audit also retrieved 18.98 billion yuan for the government through helping avoid unnecessary expenditure.

A total of 278 people who were involved in 268 irregular cases have been referred to judicial and disciplinary bodies, the NAO said in a statement on its website.

The country carried out economic accountability audits of 10,205 officials during the first half, with eight officials involved in irregularities referred to inspection authorities and judicial organs, the statement said.

The nation's audit authorities at all levels wrote 46,194 reports and released 1,398 audit result statements to the public during the same period, the statement added.