ICAEW teams up with Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance to deepen accounting and auditing expertise

Dang Thi Mai Trang, head of ICAEW Vietnam and Vu Duc Chinh, head of Accounting and Auditing Supervisory Department under the Ministry of Finance at the signing ceremony

The signing ceremony was held in Hanoi in the presence of Deputy Minister of Finance Ta Anh Tuan, British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam Christopher Jeffery, and leaders of the Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditors (VAA) and the Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants (VACPA).

One of the most important co-operation contents in the MoU is that both parties will consider the possibility of mapping out a training programme for the certification of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Vietnam.

In addition, the two parties will periodically organise seminars and conferences to exchange accounting and auditing knowledge; jointly implement research projects; share experiences, technical resources, and the best practices in accounting and auditing.

The signing ceremony was held on July 15 in Hanoi in the presence of Deputy Minister of Finance Ta Anh Tuan and British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward

At the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Finance Ta Anh Tuan said that one of the key targets of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is to study the application of international financial statement standards for enterprises in Vietnam, with a view to improving the credibility and comparability of financial companies and the accountability of businesses, creating an attractive investment environment and facilitating Vietnam’s economic integration into the region and the world.

“I believe that the signing of the MoU between the Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations and the ICAEW will help strengthen bilateral co-operation and create favourable conditions for the sharing of expertise and experience. The Ministry of Finance and I personally hope that the co-operation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance in general and the Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations in particular, and the ICAEW will ever be tighter and better, benefiting both parties and contributing to deepening the relations between Vietnam and the UK,” added Tuan.

Speaking at the ceremony, British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward said: “Recently, Vietnam and the UK signed a bilateral free trade agreement, reflecting a strategic movement in economic partnership and integration. World-class and internationally recognised skills and qualifications play an important role for both sides to succeed in that international integration.”

As a country at the forefront of the financial sector, the UK is committed to working with Vietnam to further develop the financial and professional services sector, especially to foster the roadmap of applying IFRS in Vietnam.

Prior to the signing of the MoU today, the MoF and the ICAEW had almost 10 years of cooperation through occupational development activities in Vietnam with the Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations, and the two associations under the Ministry of Finance – the VAA and the VACPA.

Over the past years,the ICAEW has coordinated with the Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations in organising many seminars on hot topics in Vietnam, with the participation of international experts from Britain, including the seminar on “Complying with new international auditing standards – a challenge to auditors”; the seminar on “International financial statement standards – challenges and experience”; the roundtable on “The roadmap for formulating public accounting standards – international experience”; the roundtable on “International public accounting standards – government reports”, among others.

The ICAEW is the first and only international organisation in Vietnam to receive funding from the British government via the British Embassy in Vietnam to implement the project to support the application of the IFRS in Vietnam in 2016 and 2017.

The ICAEW closely collaborated with the Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations in carrying out and completing the project, which was assessed as the best project implemented in Vietnam in 2016 and 2017 with funding from the British government.

Specifically, the ICAEW petitioned the MoF for the roadmap on building and applying the IFRS based on the study conducted by the ICAEW in Europe after the IFRS had been adopted by the European Union’s member countries for 10 years.

The petition was accepted by the MoF in October 2016.The ICAEW then organised a five-day training course on the IFRS at the MoF headquarters in Hanoi, and a similar training course at the office of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange in October 2016, with senior experts from the US, who are members of the ICAEW.

The courses helped train some 130 specialists and teachers working in the finance-accounting aspect in Vietnam in line with the IFRS certification of the ICAEW. Also as part of the project, the ICAEW granted 200 accounts for learning the IFRS certification online to cadres, specialists, teachers, and those working in the finance-accounting field.