The auditing office of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been brought under the direct management of the Central Military Commission (CMC), sending out a strong signal for military reform in line with the nation's anti-corruption campaign, analysts said.

The decision, carried out in a decree signed by CMC Chairman Xi Jinping, was announced at a Thursday meeting. "This is a major decision made by Xi and the CMC in an effort to strengthen the army and tighten auditing and supervision over military economic activities,"  said a statement by the CMC on Thursday.

It was also a key measure designed to strengthen national defense and military reform, and push forward innovation in the army's auditing system, according to the statement.

"Its new status will grant the PLA's auditing office heightened independence and authority within the military's decision-making and command structure," PLA Major General Luo Yuan, also vice-president of the China Strategic Culture Promotion Association, told the Global Times.

The auditing office was formerly supervised by the PLA General Logistics Department. Luo pointed out that it had been difficult for the office to conduct audits within its own department, and that it had also been stymied in supervising other departments of the same rank within the PLA.

Gu Junshan, deputy head of the department, was charged with embezzlement, bribery, misuse of State funds and abuse of power in March. Gu, who oversaw the military's infrastructure construction, reaped enormous gains through kickbacks on sales of military-owned land, according to news portal caixin.com.

"The auditing office will be now supervised by the CMC. Under Xi's leadership, the CMC will not act as a barrier to this crucial reform. The office's [new] higher ranking will also remove the obstacles faced by its subordinate units," Song Zhongping, a military expert, told the Global Times.

Wang Guoxiang, an associate professor at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said that the move marks a new era with the institutionalized military system, as the auditing office's higher rank and greater authority will be able to help guarantee that money is spent effectively on building combat readiness.

The PLA vowed in October to improve the efficiency of its spending. Auditors will watch closely over military funds, expenditures and assets, and all of the military's economic activities will be audited.

The PLA has also pledged to set up real-time recording and data transmission system for monitoring military fund use, and to improve efficiency by putting in place a modeling and simulation system for military budgets and expenditures.