With the modernization of national governance, the functions of audit have evolved from being a tool for economic supervision to an engine of governance. Based on the analytical framework of “Demand-Evolution-Efficacy”, this paper systematically explores the evolutionary logic of auditing functions, namely “compliance assurance-risk early warning-value creation”, by conducting a comparative analysis of the relationship between audit functions and their service to national governance in different periods. Combined with the Chinese context, we construct an integrated analytical framework featuring “political guidance, collaborative governance and digital-intelligent empowerment”, and ultimately propose a new paradigm of governance-oriented audit. Meanwhile, through an in-depth analysis of the coupling mechanism among national audit, internal audit and CPA audit, this paper reveals the coordinated operation mechanism of these three types of audits in supporting national governance, it also carries out a systematic analysis of the realization paths for the governance effectiveness of governance-oriented audit. This paper provides references and suggestions for understanding the evolutionary history of China’s audit functions, grasping the connotation of governance-oriented audit, and promoting the process of audit empowering the modernization of national governance.