Foreign-invested business entities are generally required to adopt the Vietnamese Accounting System (’VAS’).
If a company strictly follows the VAS, registration with the Ministry of Finance (’MoF’) is not required. However, if the VAS is modified, a written approval from the MoF is required before implementation.
Accounting records are required to be maintained in VND. Foreign-invested business entity can select a foreign currency to be used for its accounting records and financial statements in limited circumstances (per Circular 244 issued by the Ministry of Finance). Accounting records are required in Vietnamese language, although a commonly used foreign language can be used along with Vietnamese. At the end of the financial year, the entity must perform a physical count of its fixed assets, cash and inventory.
The annual financial statements of all foreign-invested business entities must be audited by an independent auditing company operating in Vietnam. Audited annual financial statements must be completed within 90 days from the end of the financial year. These financial statements should be filed with the applicable licensing body, Ministry of Finance, local tax authority, Department of Statistics, and other local authorities if required by law.
Vietnam has issued 26 accounting standards and 37 auditing standards which are primarily based on international standards with some local modifications.
