80 Vietnamese finance experts and lecturers receive IFRS certificates from ICAEW

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The certificates were awarded at the closing ceremony of the project “Supporting the Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Vietnam” funded by the UK government.

ICAEW, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the State Securities Commission, and the British Embassy in Vietnam, held the closing ceremony and awarded IFRS certificates to the financial experts and university lecturers who have successfully completed the programme.

This is the first time the IFRS certificate of an international organisation has been awarded in Vietnam to such a large number of accomplished trainees.

The recipients are financial and accounting experts from MoF, the State Securities Commission, and the two stock exchanges, a number of listed companies, large auditing firms, and lecturers from various universities. They have completed online training courses, including a five-day course with specialists, and passed module tests as well as a final exam, meeting the standards of ICAEW.

Going through the training process, most experts have grasped the basic concepts as well as the core principles of IFRS, and its practical uses. Moreover, experts were also updated on international IFRS practices as well as learnt lessons and encountered challenges that may come up during the application of these standards.

This was the largest group to receive IFRS certificates in Vietnam to date

Under the current progress on international integration and development, the adoption of IFRS in financial reporting is becoming increasingly popular on a global scale. Statistics show that there are 131 countries and territories that allow or mandate the application of IFRS.

In Vietnam, IFRS is also part of MoF’s plan because of the international standard’s benefits, which include enhancing transparency, eliminate barriers to financial accounting standards, and strengthening competitive advantages in attracting foreign investment, which plays an important role in sustaining Vietnam’s GDP growth.

“The adoption of IFRS in financial reporting is crucial to the realisation of Vietnam’s aspirations to move from a frontier market to an emerging market status, as measured through the MSCI index. Increasing standards of corporate governance, transparency, and business integrity through IFRS adoption will boost foreign investors’ confidence and support Vietnam’s further integration into the global economy,” said Giles Lever, British Ambassador to Vietnam.

“I am delighted that training funded by the UK government and delivered by ICAEW is helping to build knowledge among regulatory agencies, universities, and major companies. I hope this will help create the conditions for a future decision by MoF to adopt IFRS standards in Vietnam,” he added.

Adopting IFRS in Vietnam is necessary because of the standard’s multiple advantages. Nevertheless, adopting it on a wider scale remains a challenge.

“Officially applying IFRS is not easy. IFRS is a complex standard with a frequently changing nature. Meanwhile, the majority of the people working within the accounting and finance field are not qualified, because they lack experience or foreign language skills,” said a representative of MoF. “Therefore, I think IFRS training programmes of prestigious international organisations, such as ICAEW, will allow our experts to grasp the basic concepts as well as the core principles of IFRS in practice. I highly appreciate the effectiveness of this training programme and expect it to be implemented on a wider scale in the coming years.”

Currently, corporate financial statements have to meet the 26 Vietnam Accounting Standards (VAS) issued by MoF between 2001 and 2005. Thus, the international standard training programmes of international professional organisations provide financial workforce and university lecturers with useful and highly practical knowledge, which will improve their professional competence.

“Participants of this programme undergo a highly interactive training course, including active group discussions and real world examples, which help them grasp the core principles of IFRS and its applicability. Through this project, we wish to make IFRS and its knowledge more popular under the standards of a leading international professional organisation,” said Mark Billington, ICAEW regional director in Southeast Asia.

“At the same time, ICAEW also wishes to share knowledge, provide professional support, and assist MoF in advancing the application of IFRS, which will help improve the transparency and professionalism of the financial sector in Vietnam,” he added.

After successfully piloting the project, ICAEW, in cooperation with MoF and the British Embassy in Vietnam, will consider further expanding it in the coming time.