CIRCULAR

AMENDING, SUPPLEMENTING SEVERAL ARTICLES OF THE CIRCULAR No. 150/2012/TT-BTC OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE DATED SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 ON PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON ANNUAL KNOWLEDGE UPDATE FOR AUDITORS APPLYING FOR THE LICENSE TO PRACTICE AUDIT

Pursuant to the Law on Independent Audit No. 67/2011/QH12 dated March 29, 2011;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 17/2012/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2012 on providing specific regulations and guidance on implementation of several articles of the Law on Independent Audit;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013 on defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the request of the Director of the Department of Audit and Accounting Policies;

The Minister of Finance hereby promulgates the Circular on amending, supplementing several articles of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance dated September 12, 2012 on providing guidance on annual knowledge update for auditors applying for the license to practise audit..

Article 1. Amendment and supplementation to several articles of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC as follows:

1. Article 3 of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 3. Knowledge-updating entities

Knowledge-updating entities are licensed auditors or auditors who apply for the license to practice audit, except for those making the first application for the licence to practice audit within a period from the date of being issued the auditor’s certificate to December 31 of the year following the year of being issued the auditor's certificate." 

2. Clause 2 Article 5 of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“2. By the application date, auditors who have not practiced audit for a period of 24 successive months or more must spend a minimum of 80 hours on the knowledge update within the year immediately preceding the year of auditing practice registration of which there are at least 40 hours of updating knowledge about Vietnam’s accounting and auditing legislation, and at least 08 hours of updating knowledge about professional ethics.”

3. Amendment or supplementation to Point b Clause 7 Article 11 and supplementation to Clause 8 and 9 Article 11 of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC shall be carried out as follows:

a) Point b Clause 7 Article 11 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“b) One hour of participation of auditors in workshops, examinations or opinion polls on contents of Vietnam's accounting standard, Vietnam’s audit standard or Vietnam’s accounting or audit ethical standard shall be defined as one hour of update of knowledge about Vietnam's accounting and audit legislation.  Duration credited for knowledge update hours shall be restricted to 04 hours per a meeting session and 08 hours per a meeting day.”

b) Clause 8 and 9 of Article 11 shall be supplemented as follows:

“8. Calculation of knowledge update hours of licensed auditors who are members of the audit quality control team:

a) Only credit knowledge update hours for licensed auditors being members of the audit quality control team who are specified in the Decision on audit quality control of the Ministry of Finance (or State Securities Commission) and directly carry out on-site inspection at audit enterprises;

b) One on-site inspection of licensed auditors being members of the audit quality control team shall be credited for 08 hours of update of knowledge about Vietnam’s accounting and audit legislation, and one day of on-site inspection shall be credited for 16 hours of update of knowledge about Vietnam’s accounting and audit legislation;   

c) One hour of participation of licensed auditors being members of the audit quality control team in training in inspection process, procedure and professional conduct organized by the Ministry of Finance (or State Securities Commission) shall be credited for one hour of update of knowledge about Vietnam's accounting and audit legislation.   Duration defined as knowledge update hours shall be restricted to 04 hours per a training session and 08 hours per a training day.

9. Calculation of knowledge update hours of licensed auditors who are lecturers of the training in inspection process, procedure and professional conduct:

One hour of lecture delivered by licensed auditors being the lecturers of the training in inspection process, procedure and professional conduct organized by the Ministry of Finance (or State Securities Commission) shall be equal to one hour of update of knowledge about Vietnam's accounting and audit legislation.  Duration credited for knowledge update hours shall be restricted to 04 hours per a lecture and 08 hours per a lecture day. If licensed auditors who work as both lecturers of the training in inspection process, procedure and professional conduct and members of the audit quality control team participate in the training in inspection process, procedure and professional conduct, only a number of hours spent on their lecture shall be defined as knowledge update hours.”    

4. Article 12 of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 12. Deficiency of knowledge update hours

1. In the event of a deficiency of knowledge update hours as stipulated in Clause 1, 2 Article 5 hereof for particular reasons (such as pregnancy or illness which lasts for more than 02 months; or sudden illness which occurs at the time of participation in the last class in a year which can help make up a deficiency of knowledge update hours), auditors shall be allowed to complete their knowledge update hours later in a year provided that they can meet the following requirements:

a) Manage to complete a minimum of 20 hours of knowledge update;

b) Prepare their application for postponement of completion of knowledge update hours (according to the Appendix 07/CNKT) which enables them to practice audit in the upcoming year and submit it to the Ministry of Finance before August 31 every year;

c) Keep documents confirming the above-mentioned reasons.

2. Within a maximum period of 07 working days from the receipt of such application and relevant documents stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the Ministry of Finance shall send a written notification of permission for postponement or refusal of postponement of completion of knowledge update hours.

Auditors who are allowed to complete their knowledge update hours later in this year shall be permitted to practise audit in the following year on condition that they make up a deficiency of knowledge update hours ahead of December 15 of this year and submit a written report on such completion before December 25 of that year.

If, by the end of December 15 of this year, auditors fail to complete the required knowledge update hours or, by the end of December 25 of this year, the Ministry of Finance has not received any written report on completion of knowledge update hour, these auditors shall be subjected to suspension of audit practice from January 1 to December 31 of the subsequent year.”

5. Clause 4 Article 13 of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC shall be supplemented as follows:

“4. As for licensed auditors being members of the audit quality control team directly carrying out on-site inspection at audit enterprises, or licensed auditors being lecturers of the training in inspection process, procedure and professional conduct, or licensed auditors being members of the audit quality control team participating in the training in inspection process, procedure and professional conduct, written documents confirming knowledge update hours shall be the written verification granted by the regulatory agency making a decision on such inspection in which full name and number of auditor’s certificate of licensed auditors must be clearly specified.”

6. Section 3 Appendix No. 06/CNKT of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“3. Aggregation of auditor’s knowledge update hours

Note:

(1) Arrange audit enterprises by the number of auditor’s certificates in ascending order;

(2) Inclusive of lecturers, if these lecturers are auditors whose knowledge update hours are calculated.

7. Application form for postponement of completion of knowledge update hours (the Appendix No. 07/CNKT) shall be supplemented.  

Article 2. Transitional provisions

1. The application for the license to practice audit submitted by an auditor who have been issued the auditor’s certificate since 2014 shall conform to regulations laid down in Clause 1 Article 1 hereof.

2. Licensed auditors who have obtained the written consent to postponement of completion of knowledge update hours from the Ministry of Finance as stipulated in Article 12 of the Circular No. 150/2012/TT-BTC shall comply with such consent.

Article 3. Effect

1. This Circular shall come into force from June 8, 2015.

2. In the course of implementation, if there is any difficulty that may arise, the Ministry of Finance must be informed for further study and solution./.

Appendix No. 07/CNKT

(Issued together with the Circular No. 56/2015/TT-BTC of the Minister of Finance dated April 23, 2015)

THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

Independence - Freedom - Happiness  
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APPLICATION FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLETION OF KNOWLEDGE UPDATE HOURS IN (YEAR)........

Dear The Ministry of Finance,

(Department of Audit and Accounting Policies)

My name is……………………………………………………………………………………

Year of birth:…………………………………………………………………………………

Auditor’s certificate No.:………………………………………………..issued on……………..

Audit license No.:…………………issued on……………..valid from ..................... to....................for audit practicing at the Company............................

In (year)………(1), I have completed ........hour(s) of knowledge update (recorded from August 16 of the preceding year to August 15 of the following year) of which there is/are .......hour(s) of update of knowledge about Vietnam’s accounting and audit legislation, .......hour(s) of update of knowledge about professional ethics.   With reference to regulations on the required number of knowledge update hours, I currently have a deficiency of .......hour(s), including .......hour(s) of update of knowledge about Vietnam's accounting and audit legislation, ........hour(s) of update of knowledge about professional ethics.

I am writing to apply for postponement of completion of knowledge update hours in (year)........ (1) so that I will be licensed to practise audit in (year)........(2)

* Reasons for postponement:

-………………………

- …………………….

* Supporting written evidence including:

-………………………

- …………………….

I undertake to bear legal responsibility for the accuracy and authenticity of documents enclosed herewith.

Note:

(1) Specify the year in which there is a deficiency of knowledge update hours

(2) Specify the year following the year in which there is a deficiency of knowledge update hours

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