CIRCULAR

INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSPECTION OF ACCOUNTING SERVICES

Pursuant to the Law on Accounting dated November 20, 2015;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.174/2016/ND-CP dated December 30, 2016 elaborating certain articles of the Law on Accounting;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 87/2017/ND-CP dated July 26, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Upon the request of the Director of Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations;

The Minister of Finance promulgates the Circular providing instructions for inspection of accounting services.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Circular sets out regulations on the organization and implementation of inspection of provision of accounting services stipulated in point dd, clause 2, Article 71 in the 2015 Law on Accounting for accounting service providers and accountants practicing accounting services at accounting service providers.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Circular shall apply to the followings:

1. Entities providing accounting services as provided in the 2015 Law on Accounting, including:

a) Household businesses providing accounting services;

b) Accounting service businesses;

c) Branches of foreign accounting service businesses operating in Vietnam;

d) Auditing businesses, branches of foreign auditing businesses in Vietnam that provide accounting services.

2. Persons practicing accounting services, including:

a) Certified accountants practicing accounting services at entities providing accounting services;

b) Accountants and auditors practicing accounting services at auditing businesses, branches of foreign auditing businesses in Vietnam that provide accounting services.

3. Tax preparation service businesses that provide accounting services for microbusinesses under the provisions of the 2019 Tax Administration Law and certified accountants working at tax preparation service businesses providing accounting services for microbusinesses.

4. Entity presiding over inspection of provision of accounting services (Ministry of Finance), entities cooperating in inspection activities (professional accounting organizations) and members of the Inspectorate of accounting services.

5. Entities and persons involved in accounting services and business of accounting services.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 3. Inspectees

Inspectees are those prescribed in clause 1, 2, 3 and 5 of Article 2 herein.

Article 4. Subject matters of inspection

1. Inspection of compliance with regulations of laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements of accounting practitioners and other accounting service businesses in Vietnam, including:

a) Registration and maintenance of accounting service business requirements, and performance of reporting and notification obligations by an accounting service provider;

b) Registration and maintenance of accounting service business requirements, and performance of reporting and notification obligations of a certified accountant.

2. Inspection of an inspectee's compliance with regulations of professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation during the period when they provide accounting services to clients. Professional standards encompass accounting standards and accounting and auditing ethics.

Article 5. Inspection forms

An inspection is carried out in a direct or indirect manner as follows:

1. Indirect inspection means the presiding inspector’s supervision of an inspectee’s compliance with obligations to periodically notify or report to the Ministry of Finance upon request or in accordance with regulations of laws.

2. Direct inspection means the presiding inspector’s establishing the Inspectorate to inspect accounting services at accounting service businesses.  Direct inspection comprises:

2.1. Periodic inspection

Annually, based on the time limits for periodic direct inspections specified in Article 7 of this Circular, the presiding inspector shall make a plan for direct inspection of accounting service business activities.

2.2. Ad-hoc inspection

The presiding inspector shall undertake an unscheduled inspection of an inspectee in one of the following cases:

a) An ad-hoc inspection is to verify petitions and complaint letters related to provision of accounting services;

b) An ad-hoc inspection is to check information about any sign of violation detected in the process of indirectly managing and inspecting accounting service business activities.

Article 6. Scope and requirements of direct inspection

1. The scope of a periodic inspection of accounting services business extends to the compliance with laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements and the compliance with professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation in the process of provision of accounting services of an inspectee.  This inspection involves:

a) Documents and records related to the subject matters of the inspection of compliance with laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements of the inspectee, including:  Documents related to dossiers of registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements of the inspectee, and others related to the subject matters of the inspection;

b) Records and documents on the inspectee's compliance with professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation in the course of practicing and providing accounting services with respect to accounting service contracts already terminated or contractual works already completed within the period from the date of business incorporation or the previous inspection to the date of inspection.

2. The scope of an ad-hoc inspection of business of accounting services is prescribed under an inspection decision.

3. Requirements of an inspection of business of accounting services

a) Compliance with accounting legislation;

b) Assurance of independence and objectivity of the inspection;

c) Compliance with confidentiality requirements in accordance with laws on accounting and professional standards.

d) Assessment opinions and conclusions must be clearly documented in inspection minutes on a basis of the Inspectorate’s professional review, assessment and judgement.   Inspection conclusions regarding the inspectee’s errors and defects must be proved accordingly.

Article 7. Time limits for a periodic inspection

1. Time limits

a) A direct inspection shall be carried out every 3 years. This regulation on such time limit is applied to any accounting service provider that, in the 3 consecutive years before the time of inspection, have gained revenue from accounting services each year as stated in their financial statement if their revenue is 20 billion dong or more, and have served at least 100 clients.  Revenue earned from accounting services must include revenue gained from accountant services; chief accountant services; services of preparation and representation of financial statements and accounting consulting services;

b) A direct inspection shall be carried out at least every 5 years. This regulation on such time limit shall be applied to any accounting service provider other than those prescribed in point a of clause 1 of this Article.

2. If a conclusion in the minutes on the periodic direct inspection of accounting service business activities of an accounting service provider states that there is any professional error or any violation against accounting standards or professional ethics that causes serious consequences or, in fact, is likely to cause serious consequences, the accounting service provider should be re-inspected 1 or 2 year(s) later.

3. In case where an accounting service provider has already been subjected to an ad-hoc accounting inspection or audit, they shall not be classified as the inspectee of the periodic inspection of accounting service business activities in that year.

Article 8. Duration of a direct inspection

1. Inspection of accounting services

a) The periodic direct inspection of accounting service business activities shall be carried out in the third or fourth quarter each year.  Ministry of Finance shall notify any change in the aforesaid time of inspection in detail;

b) The maximum duration of a periodic direct inspection of accounting service business is 05 working days. Whenever needing to extend the inspection duration due to the complicated issue arising from that inspection, the Inspectorate shall report to the decision-making authority to seek their decision.

2. The duration of an ad-hoc inspection of business of accounting services shall be subject to the inspection decision.

Article 9. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance

1. The Ministry of Finance shall act as the authority presiding over the inspection of accounting service business activities according to subject matters prescribed in Article 4 herein.

2. Every year, based on the time limits for periodic direct inspections of accounting service business activities, the Ministry of Finance shall review, prepare inspection plans, and publicize the list of accounting service providers subject to the inspection of accounting service business within the year on the website of the Ministry of Finance, and notify specific inspectees.

3. Making inspection decisions and organizing direct inspections at inspectee’s offices.

4. Addressing violations detected through the inspection process according to their competence or referring them to competent authorities according to the provisions of law.

5. Making and publicly disclosing assessment reports on inspection results of accounting services business within 60 working days from the date of completion of all direct inspections according to the annual inspection plans.

6. Directing discussion, propagation and review of experience lessons through annual inspections of accounting service business activities for organizations and individuals classified as inspectees.

7. Reporting to competent authorities delegated corresponding powers to sanction violations of inspectorate’s members according to relevant laws.

Article 10. Responsibilities of professional accounting organizations

1. Seconding staff acquiring appropriate experience and expertise to join the inspectorate at the request of the Ministry of Finance.

2. Designing instruction manuals and conducting members’ inspection of the quality of accounting services in accordance with the Charter of the in-charge professional accounting organization.

Article 11. Organizing inspectorates

1. Ministry of Finance establishes an Inspectorate to carry out inspections of accounting service business activities.

2. An inspectorate shall be composed of the Leader and members. The Leader must be holding office as a leader of a division of the Ministry of Finance.   The number of members participating in an inspectorate depends on the scale of an inspection. An inspectorate’s members must include officers of the Ministry of Finance and professional officers of professional accounting organizations. Inspectorate’s members must have at least 03 years’ working experience in the finance, accounting or auditing sector.

3. An inspectorate’s members and Leader shall not be allowed to participate in a direct inspection at an inspectee’s office in the following cases:

a) They are founding or capital-contributing members of the inspectee;

b) They are members of the Board of Directors of the inspectee;

c) They have significant beneficial relationships, whether direct or indirect, with the inspectee;

d) Their parents, spouses, offspring, blood siblings (siblings-in-law) have significant beneficial relationship, whether direct or indirect, with the inspectee or are members of the Board of Directors of the inspectee;

dd) They worked at the inspectee in the past and have resigned for the period of less than 24 months from the date of resignation to the date of issuance of the decision on establishment of the inspectorate.

Article 12. Rights and obligations of inspectorates

1. Rights and obligations of an inspectorate

a) Selecting inspection dossiers satisfying regulations laid down in Article 17 herein;

b) Requesting the inspectee to provide documents and information on time and in full; arranging appropriate time and personnel to give explanations about the inspection's subject matters;

c) Checking, collating and verifying the inspectee’s relevant internal and external information.  Collecting suitable evidence used as a basis to form inspection conclusions;

d) Reviewing the inspectee's conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation during the period when they provide accounting services. Based on inspection documents, records and professional judgements, the inspectorate draws conclusions regarding subject matters of the inspection in the inspection minutes;

dd) Preparing and signing the inspection minutes;

e) Referring all inspection dossiers prescribed in clause 1 of Article 20 herein to the presiding inspector after termination of the inspection.

2. Rights and obligations of the inspectorate’s members

a) Signing written commitments in terms of independence and information security with the inspectee under the provisions of Appendix II hereto, and ensuring conformance to these commitments. Refusing to carry out the inspection upon seeing that independence is not assured or they are professionally incapable;

b) Carrying out tasks assigned by the inspectorate’s leader, ensuring uprightness, objectivity, integrity, impartiality and continued professional discretion.  Avoiding transferring tasks to other persons without consent from the inspectorate’s leader;

c) Issuing opinions and recommendations within the scope of their assigned duties. Reporting on time to the inspectorate’s leader on issues, errors or defects detected during an inspection. Issuing a notice of administrative violation under their authority delegated under laws on sanctioning of administrative violations;

d) Reserving their opinions regarding assigned inspection tasks in case these opinions are inconsistent with conclusions and recommendations included in the inspection minutes;

dd) Signing the inspection minutes and other documents related to tasks that they are assigned to perform by the inspectorate’s leader;

e) Prohibiting any disclosure of information about inspection documents and records, unless otherwise provided by laws;

g) Complying with regulations on inspection of accounting service business activities that are laid down herein.

3. Rights and obligations of the inspectorate's leader

The leader must implement rights and obligations prescribed in clause 2 of this Article and the following ones:

a) Carrying out the inspection of which subject matters and inspectee are appropriate;

b) Providing general directions for the inspectorate’s work and taking responsibility before the inspecting inspector for the inspectorate's activities. Allocating responsibilities and tasks to the inspectorate’s members to carry out the inspection plan. Monitoring the performance of assigned tasks by members of the inspectorate, acting as a liaison to discuss problems discovered during the inspection process with the inspectee;

c) Reporting on time to the presiding inspector when receiving the inspectee’s notice stating that any member of the inspectorate violates independence rules, or when any disagreement between the inspectorate and the inspectee arises during the inspection period, or reporting upon request from the presiding inspector;

d) Giving recommendations about actions against errors or defects detected through the inspection process to the presiding inspector;

dd) Bearing general responsibility for integrity and objectivity of the inspection results.

Article 13. Rights and responsibilities of the inspectee of the direct inspection

1. Inspectee’s rights:

a) Due to force majeure or objective reasons, the accounting service provider may request the presiding inspector to change the time of the direct inspection at the inspectee’s office. They must inform the presiding inspector within 3 working days prior to the planned inspection date. The deferred inspection date must fall within the period of 30 days from the inspection date specified in the notified inspection plan;

b) Sending a written notice to the presiding inspector, the inspectorate’s leader whenever it is established that the inspectorate’s member violates independence rules;

c) Refusing to provide information or documents unrelated to the inspection, information classified as state secrets, unless otherwise regulated by laws;

d) Giving explanations or recommendations about dissenting opinions included in the inspection conclusion of the inspectorate to the presiding inspector.

2. Inspectee’s obligations:

a) Assigning persons having related responsibilities to work with the inspectorate;

b) Cooperating with and providing favorable conditions for the inspectorate to carry out their inspection activities, reporting on or providing information related to the business of accounting services to competent authorities upon request;

c) Discussing their situations with the inspectorate, explaining and providing necessary documents and information related to the inspection subject matters in full, on time, accurately and truthfully as prescribed or at the inspectorate’s request;

d) Signing the inspection minutes immediately after the inspection is ended;

dd) Within 30 days from the date of signature of the inspection minutes, the inspectee must notify the presiding inspector in writing of the results of implementation of recommendations to address and correct errors or issues discovered by the inspectorate during the inspection process.

3. When providing financial statement preparation and presentation services to clients, the accounting service provider may choose to issue a report on these services attached to their client’s financial statements in place of the application of provisions in Clause 6, Article 99 of Circular 200/2014/TT-BTC dated December 22, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance, providing guidance on the corporate accounting regime and Clause 4, Article 90 of Circular 133/2016/TT-BTC dated August 26, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance, providing guidance on the accounting regime for small and medium enterprises. Sample report on financial statement preparation and representation services is given in the Appendix VI hereto.

Article 14. Inspection costs

1. Costs of inspection of accounting service business activities shall be covered by the state budget according to the prescribed financial system.

2. Specific costs and expenses related to the inspection of accounting service business activities as follows:

a) Business travel allowances to persons participating in the inspectorate shall be subject to relevant laws;

b) Other costs and expenses actually incurred from the inspection of accounting service business activities shall be approved by competent authorities according to the prescribed financial system.

3. The budgeting, estimation of costs and expenses, compliance with regulations on costs and expenses and settlement of costs and expenses for the inspection of accounting service business activities shall be subject to the provisions of the Law on State Budget and other instructional documents of the Law on State Budget.

Article 15. Direct inspection process

1. Periodic inspection

A periodic direct inspection of accounting service business activities specified in Appendix I hereto shall be carried out in 4 stages as follows:

a) Pre-inspection stage;

b) Inspection stage;

c) Inspection completion stage;

d) Post-inspection stage.

2. Ad-hoc inspection

The inspectorate may apply the periodic inspection process prescribed in clause 1 of this Article to meet the objectives and requirements of each ad-hoc inspection.

Article 16. Instruction manuals for periodic direct inspection

Instruction manuals for periodic direct inspection, including:

1. Table of criteria for assessment of the inspectee’s conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation during the period of provision of accounting services, which is given in the Appendix III hereto.

2. The inspection minutes, given in the Appendix IV hereto.

3. The general inspection review report, given in the Appendix V hereto.

Article 17. Selection of dossiers of accounting service contracts for conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation

1. The number of accounting service contract dossiers selected for inspection must meet the objective of having sound and sufficient grounds for the inspectorate’s arriving at conclusions regarding the inspectee’s conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation. In a periodic inspection, at least 3 sets of accounting service contract dossiers must be selected for inspection. 

2. Accounting service contracts selected for inspection must include 01 package of documents on accounting service contracts recommended by the inspectee, and other packages of documents randomly selected by the inspectorate’s members.

3. Accounting service contract dossiers selected for inspection shall be informed to specific inspectees on the initial date of inspection. During the inspection period, the inspectorate shall have the option of inspecting any accounting service contract dossiers without prior notice to the accounting service provider. Accounting service contract dossiers that are selected must fall within the scope of inspection.

Article 18. Inspection conclusion

1. The inspection conclusion is one of the contents of the inspection minutes which are made on the basis of errors, issues or defects detected through the inspection and the inspectorate’s professional judgements.  Inspection conclusion, including:

a) Assessment opinions on the inspectee’s compliance with laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements;

b) Assessment opinions on the inspectee's conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation.

The inspection conclusion serves as a basis for the inspectorate's recommending competent authorities to consider sanctioning violations that may be detected through an inspection under the Law on Accounting and Decree on sanctioning of administrative violations in the accounting or independent audit sector.

2. The inspectorate’s assessment opinions on the inspectee’s compliance with laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements shall be implemented on the basis of results of inspection of the inspectee’s relevant documents and records.

3. Assessment opinions on the inspectee's compliance with regulations of professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation shall be implemented on the basis of results of inspection of the inspectee’s accounting service contract dossiers. Table of criteria for assessment of the inspectee’s conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation during the period of provision of accounting services is given in the Appendix III hereto.

4. In case where the inspectee disagrees on the inspectorate’s opinions, they shall be entitled to give their explanations in the inspection minutes, and provide necessary documents and information as a basis for the presiding inspector’s review, decision and conclusions on each dissenting opinion (if any).

Article 19. Post-inspection actions

The presiding inspector shall be responsible for making a general review report on results of inspection of accounting service business activities on an annual basis. The sample general inspection review report on accounting service business activities is given in the Appendix V hereto.

Article 20. Inspection dossiers

1. Each inspection dossier is composed of the followings:

a) List of accounting service providers subject to inspection; list of the inspectorate’s members; inspection decision; documents provided by the inspectorate and other relevant ones;

b) Information and documents that are used as suitable evidence for formation of inspection conclusions for specific inspectees;

c) Inspection minutes, notice of administrative violation (if any).

2. Inspection dossiers must be stored and preserved according to laws.

Article 21. Public disclosure of results of inspection of accounting services

1. Minutes on inspection of accounting service business activities must be published within the inspectee's premises and must be consolidated into the general review report on inspection results.

2. General review report on inspection results shall be published on the Ministry of Finance’s website.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSES

Article 22. Implementation

1. This Circular shall enter into force as from April 1, 2021.

2. Regulations on control of quality of accounting and auditing services annexed to the Decision No. 32/2007/QD-BTC dated May 15, 2007 of the Minister of Finance shall be repealed from the entry into force of this Circular.

3. Director of the Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations, Chief of the Ministry's Office, President of the Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditors, accounting service providers, certified accountants and other entities or persons involved shall be responsible for implementing this Circular.

4. In the course of implementation hereof, if there is any difficulty that arises, the Ministry of Finance should be promptly informed to seek possible actions./.

APPENDIX I

(Annexed to the Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BTC dated January 25, 2021 of the Minister of Finance)

PERIODIC DIRECT INSPECTION PROCESS

I. Pre-inspection stage

1. Selecting the accounting service provider to be subject to inspection

Annually, based on the time limits for inspection specified in Article 7 of this Circular, the Ministry of Finance makes a list of accounting service providers subject to the direct inspection of accounting service business activities publicly available on its website.

2. Establishing the inspectorate

The Ministry of Finance establishes the inspectorate to carry out the direct inspection and appoints the inspectorate’s leader, ensuring rules of independence, objectivity and relevance to qualification and capability of each of the inspectorate’s members in order to meet the inspection’s objectives and requirements.

3. Informing the selected accounting service provider.

The Ministry of Finance informs the written plan for inspection of accounting services to each accounting service provider classified as an inspectee within 10 working days before the date of inspection. The notice of inspection must state purposes, requirements, subject matters, scope and time of inspection, list of documents that the inspected accounting service provider must prepare.

In case where any force majeure event occurs or objective reasons exist, any change in the time of direct inspection conducted at the office of the accounting service provider must be made according to regulations laid down in point a of clause 1 of Article 13 herein.

II. Inspection stage

1. Step 1: The inspectorate works with the inspectee

a) The inspectorate’s leader announces the presiding inspector’s decision on the direct inspection of accounting services;

b) Requesting the inspectee to assign persons having relevant functions and competencies to cooperate with the inspectorate;

c) The inspectee’s representative reports on the situation of organization, operation and process of provision of accounting services;

d) Signing the commitment on compliance with independence and confidentiality rules of the inspectorate’s members using the sample given in Appendix II hereto in front of the inspectee's eyes;

dd) The inspectee provides required documents and records for the inspectorate.

2. Step 2: Carrying out inspection according to subject matters of the inspection decision.

2.1. Inspecting the compliance with laws on practicing and business of accounting services, relevant accounting legislation according to the following procedures:

a) Inspecting, reviewing documents and records related to registration for practicing and business of accounting services of the inspectee;

b) Studying documents and records to check whether the inspectee’s conformance to accounting service practicing and business requirements is maintained;

c) Examining and studying documents and records to check whether the inspectee has discharged the prescribed reporting or notification obligations;

d) Studying documents and records to check whether the inspectee has discharged their obligations to pay fees for issuance or re-issuance of the certificate of practicing in the accounting profession and the certificate of conformance to accounting service business regulations;

dd) Assessing the level of the inspectee’s compliance with laws on practicing and business of accounting services.

2.2. Inspecting the conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation according to the following procedures:

a) Selecting dossiers related to accounting service contracts for inspection in accordance with regulations of Article 17 herein;

b) Studying documents and records to check whether the inspectee’s procedures and processes for provision of accounting services conform to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation;

c) Reviewing, examining and collecting suitable evidence for assessment of the inspectee’s compliance with professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation based on the table of assessment criteria, given in the Appendix III hereto;

d) Assessing the conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation of each inspected dossier.

III. Inspection completion stage

1. After the direct inspection is completed, the inspectorate needs to draft the inspection minutes and discuss them with the inspectee’s legal representative.  After ratifying the inspection minutes, the inspectee’s legal representative, the inspectorate’s leader and other members shall be responsible for signing the inspection minutes after completion of the inspection.   If the inspectee disagrees over the inspectorate’s assessment opinions or conclusions, they must clarify their disagreement in the inspection minutes.

In case of discovering that the inspectee commits any administrative violation, the inspectorate must prepare and issue a notice of administrative violation, enclosing relevant documents and records, to the competent authority to seek their decision on administrative penalty in accordance with laws.

2. The minutes on inspection of accounting service business activities must contain the following information:

a) Time and location of inspection, inspectee, participants in the inspectorate, purposes, scope of inspection and inspection limitations (if any);

b) General description of the inspected business and common characteristics of the inspection;

c) Brief description of the process for carrying out the inspection of accounting service business activities at the inspectee’s office;

d) Inspection results, including:

(i) Describing and commenting on the compliance with laws on practicing and business of accounting services;

(ii) Describing and commenting on the conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation;

(iii) Clarifying reasons and bases for arriving at conclusions on business of accounting services of the inspectee;

(iv) Describing major and systematic defects, and recommending remedies or corrective measures (if any).

IV. Post-inspection stage

1. Addressing dissenting opinions on inspection results (if any).

2. The presiding inspector makes and publishes the general review report on inspection results in accordance with this Circular.  

APPENDIX II

(Annexed to the Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BTC dated January 25, 2021 of the Minister of Finance)

COMMITMENT ON COMPLIANCE WITH INDEPENDENCE AND CONFIDENTIALITY RULES OF THE INSPECTORATE’S MEMBERS

To: Ministry of Finance (c/o Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations)

I am: ..........................................................................................................................

Working at: ..............................................................................................................

As a member of the inspectorate providing accounting services at (the inspectee's name)  

.........................................................................................................................................

I hereby certify that, during the period of inspection carried out at the aforesaid inspectee’s office, I am completely independent of the inspectee.

I have read and agreed on independence and confidentiality rules prescribed in the Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance dated January 25, 2021, providing instructions for inspection of accounting services; professional standards; laws and other relevant regulations.

I hereby undertake that:

1. I am not the founding or capital-contributing member of the inspectee or the member of the Board of Directors of the inspectee or have significant relationships, whether direct or indirect, with the inspectee;

2. My parent, spouse, offspring or blood siblings (siblings-in-law) does not have significant beneficial relationship, whether direct or indirect, with the inspectee or is not a member of the Board of Directors of the inspectee;

3. I did not work for the inspectee in the past and have resigned from that inspectee for the period of less than 24 months from the date of resignation to the date of issuance of the decision on establishment of the inspectorate.

4. I guarantee to comply with this commitment and completely bear responsibility for the commitments stated above./.

APPENDIX III

(Annexed to the Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BTC dated January 25, 2021 of the Minister of Finance)

TABLE OF CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF CONFORMANCE TO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS, ACCOUNTING REGIMES AND RELEVANT ACCOUNTING LEGISLATION

(Information about the client or service contract) ……

1. Procedures for inspection of accounting documents, including:

2. Procedures for inspection of accounting books, including:

3. Procedures for inspection of financial statement preparation and representation services include:

4. The inspectorate conducts assessment of the conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation based on services that the inspectee provides for clients in the following specific cases:

a) In case where the inspectee provides the services of preparation of accounting documents, bookkeeping, preparation and representation of financial statements for clients, the liability for the accounting work of the person hired to render these services shall be the same as that of the accounting unit’s accountant; and the liability for the accounting work of the accounting service provider shall be the same as the accounting unit’s liability in accordance with the Law on Accounting. The inspection of the accounting service provider’s conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation shall be the same as the inspection of the accounting work at the accounting unit;  

b) In case where the inspectee provides the chief accountant service or the service of acting as the person authorized to take charge of accounting work for clients, the liability of the person hired to render these services shall be the same as that of the accounting unit’s chief accountant in accordance with the Law on Accounting. The inspection of the conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation of these services shall be similar to the inspection of the accounting unit’s chief accountant or person authorized to take charge of accounting work; 

c) In case where the inspectee provides bookkeeping, financial statement preparation or representation services for clients based on accounting documents provided by clients, assessment bases shall be documents, records and files evidencing the implementation of the procedures stated in Section 1, 2 and 3 of this Appendix;

d) In case where the inspectee provides financial statement preparation or representation services for clients based on accounting books provided by clients, assessment bases shall be documents, records and files evidencing the implementation of the procedures stated in Section 2 and 3 of this Appendix.

5. If the inspectee falls into one of the following circumstances, it is considered that they make professional mistakes or commit violations against accounting standards or accounting professional ethics, causing or likely to cause serious consequences:

a) The financial statement is prepared after accounting regimes are wrongly applied;

b) Financial statements are not presented truthfully, impartially and sufficiently in order for users of financial statements to duly assess the actual financial health and business results;

c) There are errors in figures of items in a financial statement, of which total value accounts for 10% or more of total value of all of the items in the financial statement;

d) There are at least 10% of the items in a financial statement of which data in reports are inconsistent;

dd) Determined revenues and expenses deviate by at least 10%, or there is any accounting error in determining revenues and expenses which causes changes in business results of an enterprise from profit to loss or vice versa;

e) At least 2 inspection procedures prescribed in section 3 in this Appendix are breached;

g) Other material errors arise.

2. Conformance assessment opinions

Opinions provide conclusions on the compliance with professional standards and accounting regimes that is assessed on the basis of contracts or parts of contracts that have already been completed for clients.

Opinions provide conclusions on the compliance with laws on registration of management of accounting service practicing and business that is assessed on the basis of reviewing registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business conditions, and maintenance of notification and reporting obligations according to the inspectee’s regulations.

APPENDIX IV

(Annexed to the Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BTC dated January 25, 2021 of the Minister of Finance)

MINUTES ON INSPECTION OF ACCOUNTING SERVICES IN…

Pursuant to the Decision No…/… dated …/ … / … of the Ministry of Finance on the inspection conducted at the …………………..Company according to regulations laid down in……………..

From date (dd/mm/yyyy)……….. to date (dd/mm/yyyy)…………, the Ministry of Finance (the Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations) has conducted the inspection of accounting service business activities at the…………….Company

The inspectorate, including:

1/ Mr. (Mrs.):……………………………….. Title:…………………………………….

2/ Mr. (Mrs.):……………………………….. Title:…………………………………….

3/ Mr. (Mrs.):……………………………….. Title:…………………………………….

Company’s representative

1/ Mr. (Mrs.):……………………………….. Title:…………………………………….

2/ Mr. (Mrs.):……………………………….. Title:…………………………………….

3/ Mr. (Mrs.):……………………………….. Title:…………………………………….

Mutually agree on matters related to inspection purposes, responsibilities of parties and inspection results as follows:

I. Inspection purposes

- Assessing the compliance with laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements;

- Assessing the conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation during the period of the accounting service provider’s provision of accounting services;

- Detecting and correcting errors on time, proposing measures to remedy errors and sanction violations detected through the inspection process.

Inspection reasons: ......................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

II. Responsibilities of concerned parties

1. Inspectee’s responsibilities:

- Conforming to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation during the period of their provision of accounting services;

- Providing the inspectorate with all necessary documents related to the inspection subject matters and taking responsibility for the truthfulness and legality of the provided documents;

- Cooperating with and enabling the inspectorate to perform their work; making certified accountants and representatives of the Board of Directors available to exchange and explain information at the inspectorate’s request;

- If there is any dissenting opinion on inspection results, the inspectee may reserve their opinions in the inspection minutes.

- Correcting errors and defects that the inspectorate has discovered during the inspection at the inspectee’s office.

2. Responsibilities of the inspectorate

- Inspecting the compliance with laws on practicing and business of accounting services;

- Inspecting the conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation;

- Ensuring conformance to the rules of independence and objectivity under which they are not related to the inspectee; the inspection does not cause any impact on the inspectee’s business activities;

- Securing information and documents that the inspectee provides during the inspection process;

- Based on results of inspection of compliance and professional judgements, the inspectorate draws general conclusions about the inspectee’s accounting service business activities.

III. Inspection results

After …working day(s), the inspectorate has gasped several significant situations as follows:

1. Organizational structure and operational conditions of the inspectee and limitations on the scope of inspection (if any)

2. Results of inspection of compliance with laws on practicing and business of accounting services

2.1. The inspectorate has carried out the inspection of compliance with laws on practicing and business of accounting services of the inspected accounting service provider according to the following procedures:

- Holding conversation and interview with the inspectee’s Executive Board and other related persons;

- Examining documents, records and other evidence kept by the inspectee regarding fulfillment of reporting and notification obligations; maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements of the inspectee;

.........................................................................................................................................

2.2. Assessment opinions on compliance with laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements of the inspectee:

.........................................................................................................................................

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2.3. Recommended measures to correct and remedy shortcomings and errors (if any):

.........................................................................................................................................

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3. Results of inspection of conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation

3.1. Documents on accounting services to be inspected, including:

- Accounting service contract of the year……of the Company……………………

- Accounting service contract of the year……of the Company……………………

- …………………………………………………………………………………..

3.2. The inspectorate has inspected ……sets of documents on accounting services, including those at the Company’s request and ……… sets of documents that the inspectorate randomly selects. Results of inspection of conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation of documents on accounting services, specifically as follows:

3.3. Recommended measures to correct and remedy shortcomings and errors (if any)

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

4. Conclusions drawn after inspection of accounting service business  

Based on results of inspection stated in Section 2 and 3 above and professional judgements, the inspectorate may give opinions providing conclusions about the inspectee’s accounting service business activities as follows:

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5. Company’s opinions:

- Explanations:

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

- Recommendations to the Ministry of Finance

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

- Recommendations to other bodies

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

During the inspection process, the Company has/ has not yet cooperated with the inspectorate and provided relevant information to enable the inspectorate to perform assigned tasks.

The minutes have been ratified after being mutually agreed by both parties and are made into 04 copies, including 01 copy kept by the Company, 03 copies kept by the presiding inspector.

APPENDIX V

(Annexed to the Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BTC dated January 25, 2021 of the Minister of Finance)

GENERAL REVIEW REPORT ON RESULTS OF INSPECTION OF ACCOUNTING SERVICE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES IN THE YEAR……

In order to execute the plan for inspection of accounting service business activities in the year……, the Ministry of Finance (Department of Accounting and Auditing Regulations) has conducted the inspection of accounting service business activities at the following accounting service providers:

1/ Company………………………………………………………………………………………

2/ Company………………………………………………………………………………………

3/ Company………………………………………………………………………………………

4/ Company………………………………………………………………………………………

5/ Company………………………………………………………………………………………

.........................................................................................................................................

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Inspection purposes

- Assessing the compliance with laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements;

- Assessing the conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation during the period of accounting service providers’ provision of accounting services;

- Detecting and correcting errors on time, proposing measures to remedy errors and sanction violations detected through the inspection process.

2. Subject matters of inspection

2.1. Inspection of compliance with regulations of laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements of accounting practitioners and other accounting service providers in Vietnam, including:

a) Registration and maintenance of accounting service business requirements, and performance of reporting and notification obligations by each accounting service provider;

b) Registration and maintenance of accounting service business requirements, and performance of reporting and notification obligations of each certified accountant.

2.2. Inspection of an inspectee's compliance with regulations of professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation during the period when they provide accounting services to clients. Professional standards encompass accounting standards and accounting and auditing ethics.

3. Participants in the inspectorate, including: ..........................................................................................

4. Inspection process: .......................................................................................................

II. REPORT ON INSPECTION RESULTS

1. Assessment of compliance with laws on registration and maintenance of accounting service practicing and business requirements; issues and defects.

2. Assessing conformance to professional standards, accounting regimes and relevant accounting legislation; issues and defects.

3. General assessment of inspection results: .........................................................................

4. Inspectee’s recommendations:

- To the Ministry of Finance: ...................................................................................................

- To other bodies: .....................................................................................................

III. REPORT ON ACTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

1. Actions against defects or violations.

2. Post-inspection conclusions and recommendations of the Ministry of Finance.

APPENDIX VI

(Annexed to the Circular No. 09/2021/TT-BTC dated January 25, 2021 of the Minister of Finance)

SAMPLE REPORT ON FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION AND REPRESENTATION SERVICES

Financial statement preparation and representation services for general purposes

Financial statements are prepared and represented by practitioners under financial statement preparation and representation contracts by using the framework for preparation and representation of multipurpose financial statements.   

By using multipurpose financial statements according to the provisions of laws, the inspectee confirms that their financial statement is prepared according to accounting standards and corporate accounting regimes currently in force.

Accounting service company XYZ

Address, telephone, fax number…

No.: ……..

REPORT ON FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION AND REPRESENTATION SERVICES RENDERED BY CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANTS/AUDITORS

To: [Company ABC’s Board of Directors]

We have carried out the service of preparation and representation of the (enclosed) financial statement of the Company ABC ("Company") based on information that the Board of Directors has provided. This financial statement includes the Report on……. of the Company made on December 31, the year and the Report on…… for the financial year ending on the same day.

We have applied our professional expertise in accounting to assist the Company’s Board of Directors in the preparation and representation of the financial statement according to accounting standards and corporate accounting regimes. We have complied with relevant professional ethical standards and regulations, including integrity, objectivity, professional competency and discretion. 

The Board of Directors shall be responsible for financial statements and accuracy and completeness of information used for preparation and representation of their financial statements.

As this financial statement preparation and representation service is not a guarantee service, we are not required to verify accuracy and completeness of the information provided by the Board of Directors before preparing and representing your financial statements.

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