On the occasion of conferring the ACCA diplomas (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) to 40 Vietnamese accounts and auditors, Mr Andrew Harding, Managing Director of ACCA, answered the Vietnam Business Forum’s interview about the development of Vietnam and of Vietnamese auditing and accounting sector in the integration context.
How do you think about Vietnam when you returned back to the country this time?
I arrived in Vietnam many times. From 1997 to 2001, I usually visited twice a year and lived in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. During that time, Hanoi and other cities in Vietnam mainly relied on bikes and a few motorbikes. In recent years, Vietnam developed very quickly. The streets are full of automobiles and motorbikes. The living standards of the people increase significantly. I feel very optimistic about the future prosperity of Vietnam.
With the strong increase in number of foreign investors, how will the Vietnamese accounting and auditing system meet the demand?
Vietnam is quickly integrating into the world economy. Your country’s accession to the WTO has created a new investment wave. With foreign investors, transparent financial reports are crucial for foreign investors; thus, the demand for certified auditors and accountants will be very high.
How will ACCA cooperate with Vietnamese competent organs to train quality accountants and auditors?
Nowadays, Vietnam has some 1,500 certified auditors but only a few hold international papers like ACCA certificates. So far, ACCA admitted more than 2,000 Vietnamese students and 242 of them have graduated. Only 180 of them are working in Vietnam but mainly for foreign companies. In recent years, ACCA cooperated with the Ministry of Finance to organise auditing examinations and training courses to internationalise to auditor force.
Due to the serious shortage of auditors, the pay for them is very high. For you, how should we do to prevent the mobility of auditors as well as train the career virtues for auditors when there are a lot of lures around?
This is a sensitive matter because the better working conditions and promotions will attract excellent people. Thus, employers must create environment for them to develop. ACCA always pays attention to the career virtues during the training. As known, the bankruptcy of Enron was attributed to bad deeds of auditors. Therefore, ACCA not only focus on accounting/auditing professions but also career virtues. We guarantee that ACCA trainees are considered a generation of new professionals.
Thi Van
Vietnamese
