ICAEW a force in finance and accounting

Dang Thi Mai Trang, chief representative of ICAEW Vietnam

It seems that ICAEW has been moving quickly after just four years of activity in Vietnam. What has been the organisation’s most outstanding achievements?

As an institution awarded with a royal charter, a symbol of high quality and standards, and with more than 150,000 chartered accountants across the globe, ICAEW shares knowledge and expertise with governments, regulators and business leaders all over the world, as we believe that accounting is a force that can make positive economic changes on a global level.

In Vietnam, ICAEW has worked tirelessly over the past four years, and we are proud to be trusted by the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) as a training manuals provision partner. ICAEW’s Chartered Accountant training manuals are the first and only international manuals being used by the SAV in the training and capacity building for state auditors. We are also delighted to note that our ‘Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business’ (CFAB) programme has now been integrated into the formal syllabus of nine leading finance and accounting universities in Vietnam, and is also the international finance and accounting professional training programme used extensively by educational institutions in this country.

Over the years, we have been nurturing close partnerships with the Ministry of Finance, domestic finance and securities institutions, and professional associations. Another major step forward in 2019 was the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training on educational development co-operation in finance and accounting in Vietnam, which was just signed on January 22.

Could you elaborate on this move?

This MoU is to implement and promote Vietnam’s national education framework for the finance and accounting major degree programme, and to develop learning outcome standards for the finance and accounting major degree programme which would meet industry requirements. One of the key objectives of this agreement is to jointly provide an HEI-Industry link which could support students in securing internship and career opportunities within Vietnam as well as the Southeast Asian region.

Human resources quality has been a challenge for Vietnam as the accounting and auditing service markets continue to open up according to the country’s commitments for international integration. How has ICAEW helped Vietnam deal with this challenge?

Human resources development to contribute to the sound development of the national finance and accounting industry is a commitment of ours in Vietnam. It is ICAEW's objective to create a generation of finance-accounting professionals in Vietnam that is not just well-trained professionally, but also equipped with occupational skills by international standards.

With the prestigious ICAEW qualifications recognised all over the world, we also seek various joint initiatives with regional partners to widen knowledge, skills and professionalism for young Vietnamese talents, to make sure that they are not only good in their profession but also have the comprehensive capability to keep up with changing contexts.

What’s your take on the potential of the finance, accounting and auditing service markets in Vietnam this year?

Finance, accounting and auditing service markets are becoming a vital economic sector, taking up a substantial portion of trade in each country, and Vietnam is no exception. Given the optimistic projections on the potential growth of the Vietnamese economy and growth of foreign investment in 2019, vibrant development of the stock market will provide the momentum for finance, accounting and auditing services to grow. Moreover, the International Financial Reporting Standards applied in Vietnam will provide the preconditions for the strong development of accounting and auditing in the country in the years to come. I believe that quality human resources of international standards will play a key role in boosting the local finance and accounting industry, thus propelling the growth of the economy.