Circular No. 139/2009/TT-BTC guiding accounting for the Debt Accumulation Fund

 CIRCULAR

Guidelines for accounting applicable to the Debt Accumulation Fund

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Pursuant to the Accounting Law dated June 17, 2003;
Pursuant to the Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;
Pursuant to Decree No. 134/2005/NĐ-CP dated November 1, 2005, issued by the Government on the regulations governing borrowing and debt repayment abroad;
Pursuant to Decree No. 128/2004/NĐ-CP dated May 31, 2004 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Accounting Law applicable in state accounting;
Pursuant to Decision No. 181/2007/QĐ-TTg dated November 26, 2007, issued by the Prime Minister on the regulations for lending from foreign loans and aid sources provided by the Government;
Pursuant to Decision No. 19/2006/QĐ-BTC dated March 30, 2006, issued by the Minister of Finance regarding the accounting system for administrative and public institutions;
Pursuant to Circular No. 54/2009/TT-BTC dated March 18, 2009, issued by the Minister of Finance on guidelines for establishing, using, and managing the Debt Accumulation Fund.

The Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for accounting applicable to the Debt Accumulation Fund as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

1. Tasks of the Debt Accumulation Fund Accounting

The Debt Accumulation Fund Accounting has the task of collecting, processing, inspecting, supervising, and analyzing information on the situation of recovering capital for domestic re-lending from foreign loans/aid sources of the Government and fees for government guarantees to ensure repayment of foreign debts related to government re-lending, while creating a portion of resources to handle potential risks that may arise in cases where the Government guarantees enterprises and credit organizations in borrowing abroad, and expenditures for fund management activities.

2. Accounting Methods for the Debt Accumulation Fund

The Debt Accumulation Fund Accounting must be conducted using double-entry bookkeeping and in accordance with the provisions of the Accounting Law, Decree No. 128/2004/NĐ-CP dated May 31, 2004, issued by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Accounting Law in the field of state accounting, and the Accounting System for Administrative and Public Institutions issued pursuant to Decision No. 19/2006/QĐ-BTC dated March 30, 2006, issued by the Minister of Finance.

3. Units of Measurement Used in the Debt Accumulation Fund Accounting

a) The monetary unit is the Vietnamese Dong (national symbol is “đ”, international symbol is “VND”). In cases where foreign currency transactions occur, they must be recorded in both the original currency and Vietnamese Dong according to the exchange rate specified in Appendix No. 02 "Accounting Account System" of this Circular;

b) When preparing consolidated financial statements and management reports, if the figures reported exceed nine digits, the shortened monetary unit of thousands of dong can be selected; if exceeding twelve digits, the shortened monetary unit of millions of dong can be selected; if exceeding fifteen digits, the shortened monetary unit of billions of dong can be selected. When using shortened monetary units, rounding off is done as follows: If the digit following the shortened monetary unit is five (5) or higher, it is increased by one (1) unit; if less than five (5), it is not counted.

4. Accounting Period for the Debt Accumulation Fund

The accounting period includes the annual accounting period and the quarterly accounting period, defined as follows:

a) The annual accounting period consists of twelve months, starting from January 1st and ending on December 31st of the Gregorian calendar year;

b) The quarterly accounting period consists of three months, starting from the first day of the first month of the quarter and ending on the last day of the last month of the quarter.

5. Accounting Inspection and Self-inspection

Annually, the Debt Accumulation Fund must conduct self-inspection of financial accounting in accordance with Decision No. 67/2004/QĐ-BTC dated August 13, 2004, issued by the Minister of Finance on the issuance of "Regulations on Financial and Accounting Self-inspection at Agencies and Units Using State Budget".

6. Responsibilities for Managing Transaction Accounts and Activities of the Debt Accumulation Fund

The Debt Accumulation Fund shall open transaction accounts in foreign currencies and Vietnamese Dong at reputable commercial banks in Vietnam, and the Minister of Finance shall authorize the Director of the Department of Debt Management and Foreign Financial Affairs (hereinafter referred to as the Director of the Department of Debt Management) to be the account holder and manage the accounts in accordance with current laws.

7. Responsibilities for Managing, Utilizing, Providing Accounting Information and Documentation

a) The Debt Accumulation Fund must establish regulations for managing, utilizing, and preserving accounting documentation, clearly defining responsibilities and authorities for each department and individual accountant; ensuring adequate physical facilities and means for managing and preserving accounting documentation;

b) The Debt Accumulation Fund must have the responsibility to provide accounting information and documentation to state agencies authorized to perform their functions as stipulated by law. Agencies receiving accounting documentation must ensure its preservation during usage and return it fully and on time upon completion of use;

c) The provision of information and documentation to specific entities is decided by the Director of the Department of Debt Management in accordance with the law. The exploitation and utilization of accounting documentation must be approved in writing by the Director of the Department of Debt Management or a person authorized by him.

8. Accounting Organizational Structure

The Debt Accumulation Fund is an accounting entity and must organize its accounting structure in accordance with Article 48 of Decree No. 128/2004/NĐ-CP dated May 31, 2004, issued by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Accounting Law in the field of state accounting.

The Debt Accumulation Fund must appoint an accounting manager (or a person responsible for accounting, in cases where there is no qualified accounting manager) to transact with banks and state treasuries in accordance with Joint Circular No. 50/2005/TTLT-BTC-BNV dated June 15, 2005, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs on standards, conditions, procedures for appointment, dismissal, replacement, and salary grading of accounting managers and persons responsible for accounting in accounting entities under the field of state accounting.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Accounting Vouchers System

1.1. Preparation of Accounting Vouchers

- All economic and financial transactions related to the activities of the Debt Accumulation Fund must be recorded in accounting vouchers. An accounting voucher is prepared only once for each economic and financial transaction;

- The content of the voucher must be clear and truthful to the actual economic and financial transaction;

- Writing on the voucher must be clear, without erasures or abbreviations;

- The amount written in words must match the amount written in figures;

Accounting vouchers must be prepared with the required number of copies as stipulated for each voucher. For vouchers that require multiple copies, they must be prepared simultaneously for all copies according to the same content using a computer, typewriter, or carbon paper. In special cases where multiple copies cannot be prepared at once, they may be prepared in two stages, but the content of all copies of the voucher must be identical.

Accounting vouchers prepared by computer must ensure the prescribed content and legal validity for accounting vouchers. Accounting vouchers used as direct bases for recording in accounting ledgers must have accounting entries.

1.2. Signing accounting vouchers

All accounting vouchers must bear the signatures of authorized persons as specified on the voucher to be valid. Specifically, electronic accounting vouchers must have an electronic signature as provided by law. All signatures on accounting vouchers must be made with a ballpoint pen or ink pen, and not with red ink, pencil, or pre-carved signatures. Signatures on accounting vouchers used for cash disbursements must be signed individually on each copy. The signature of one person on accounting vouchers must be consistent and match the registered signature as prescribed, and if no registration has been made, subsequent signatures must be consistent with previous ones.

The signature of the Director of the Debt Management Department (or authorized representative), the Chief Accountant (or authorized representative), and the stamp on the voucher must correspond to the specimen signature and stamp still validly registered at the Bank or State Treasury. The signature of the accountant on the voucher must match the specimen signature in the register of specimen signatures. The Chief Accountant (or authorized representative) may not sign on behalf of the Director of the Debt Management Department. An authorized representative may not delegate authority to another person.

The Reserve Fund for Repayment must maintain a register of specimen signatures for the cashier, accounting staff, Chief Accountant (and authorized representatives), and the Director of the Debt Management Department (and authorized representatives). The register of specimen signatures must be numbered and bound with a cross-stitch seal managed by the Director of the Debt Management Department (or authorized representative) for easy inspection when necessary. Each person must sign three specimen signatures in the register of specimen signatures.

Accounting vouchers shall not be signed until their contents have been fully recorded according to the responsibilities of the signer. The delegation of signing authority on accounting vouchers is determined by the Head of the Unit in accordance with the law, management requirements, and ensuring strict control and asset safety.

1.3. Procedure for circulation and verification of accounting vouchers

All accounting vouchers issued by the Fund or received from external sources must be centralized in the accounting department of the Fund. The accounting department must verify all such accounting vouchers comprehensively, and only after verifying and confirming the legality of the vouchers can they be used to record in the accounting ledger. The procedure for circulating accounting vouchers includes the following steps:

- Preparing, receiving, and processing accounting vouchers;

- Accountants and Chief Accountants checking and signing accounting vouchers or submitting them to the Director of the Debt Management Department for approval according to the regulations in each type of voucher (if applicable);

- Classifying, arranging accounting vouchers, determining accounts, and recording in the accounting books;

- Store and preserve accounting documents.

Procedure for verifying accounting vouchers:

- Checking the clarity, truthfulness, and completeness of the indicators and elements recorded on accounting vouchers;

- Verifying the legality of economic and financial transactions recorded on accounting vouchers; Comparing accounting vouchers with related documents;

- Verify the accuracy of the figures and information on the accounting documents.

When verifying accounting vouchers, if violations of policies, regulations, and state economic and financial management rules are discovered, they must be refused (such as withdrawing funds, making payments, etc.) and reported immediately in writing to the Director of the Debt Management Department for timely handling in accordance with current laws.

For accounting vouchers that are not properly prepared, with unclear content and figures, the person responsible for verification or recording must return them, request additional procedures, and make adjustments before using them as a basis for recording.

1.4. List of accounting vouchers applicable to the Reserve Fund for Repayment

Samples and explanations of special accounting vouchers prescribed in Appendix No. 01 attached hereto.

2. Accounting account system

2.1. Accounts and accounting account system

Accounting accounts are methods of accounting used to classify and systematically organize economic and financial transactions arising according to their economic content and chronological order. Accounting accounts continuously and systematically reflect the income and expenditure situation of the Reserve Fund for Repayment.

Accounting accounts are opened for each distinct economic subject. The entire set of accounting accounts used in the accounting of the Fund forms the accounting account system. The accounting account system for the Reserve Fund for Repayment is uniformly regulated by the Ministry of Finance regarding types of accounts, number of accounts, codes, names, and recording content of each account.

The accounting account system for the Reserve Fund for Repayment is established based on the nature and content of the activities of the Reserve Fund for Repayment, applying classification and coding principles of the accounting account system for state-owned entities, aiming to:

- Fully reflect all income and expenditure activities of the Fund, consistent with its organizational model and operational characteristics;

- Meet information processing requirements and fully satisfy the operational needs of the Fund and management agencies.

The accounting account system for the Reserve Fund for Repayment consists of accounts within the Balance Sheet and accounts outside the Balance Sheet.

Accounts within the Balance Sheet reflect all economic and financial transactions arising according to accounting subjects including assets, sources of asset formation, and the movement of assets at the Reserve Fund for Repayment. The bookkeeping principle for accounts within the Balance Sheet is carried out using the "double-entry" method, meaning that when recording on the debit side of one account, it must simultaneously record on the credit side of one or more other accounts, or vice versa.

Accounts outside the Balance Sheet reflect economic indicators already reflected in the accounts within the Balance Sheet but need to be monitored to serve management requirements, such as various currencies. The bookkeeping principle for accounts outside the Balance Sheet is carried out using the "single-entry" method, meaning that when recording on one side of an account, there is no corresponding entry on the other side of any other accounts.

2.2. Classification of the accounting account system

The accounting account system applied to the Reserve Fund for Repayment, regulated by the Ministry of Finance, includes 13 accounts within the Balance Sheet and 01 account outside the Balance Sheet.

- Level 1 accounts consist of three decimal digits;

- Level 2 accounts consist of four decimal digits (the first three digits represent Level 1 accounts, the fourth digit represents Level 2 accounts);

Depending on detailed management requirements, the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund may supplement additional third-level accounts. Third-level accounts consist of five decimal digits (the first three digits represent the first-level account, the fourth digit represents the second-level account, and the fifth digit represents the third-level account).

- Accounts outside the Balance Sheet consist of three digits, starting with the digit 0.

2.3. List of accounting accounts applicable to the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund

Explanation of the content, structure, and recording methods of accounting accounts, as stipulated in Appendix No. 02 attached hereto.

3. Accounting Books System

3.1. Accounting Books

Accounting books are used to record, systematize, and retain all transactions related to the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund's revenues and expenditures. The accounting books include: General Ledger and Detailed Ledgers.

Information recorded in the accounting books must fully, timely, accurately, truthfully, continuously, and systematically reflect all revenue and expenditure activities of the Fund. The Fund’s accounting department shall not leave out any revenue or expenditure outside the accounting books.

The opening, closing, and correction of accounting books shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Accounting Law and Decree No. 128/2004/NĐ-CP dated May 31, 2004 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Accounting Law applicable in the field of state accounting.

Accounting books must be strictly managed, clearly assigning individual responsibilities for keeping and recording. Whoever is assigned the accounting book must be responsible for all entries made during their tenure.

When there is a change in personnel responsible for keeping and recording, the Chief Accountant or the person in charge of accounting must organize the handover of management and recording responsibilities between the outgoing and incoming accounting staff. The outgoing accounting staff must be responsible for all entries made during their tenure. The incoming accounting staff will be responsible from the date of handover. The handover record must be signed and confirmed by the Chief Accountant or the person in charge of accounting.

Entries in the accounting books must be timely, clear, and complete according to the contents of the books. Information and figures recorded in the accounting books must be accurate, truthful, and consistent with accounting vouchers.

Recording in the accounting books must follow the chronological order of economic and financial transactions. Information and figures recorded in the accounting books of the following year must continue those of the preceding year. The accounting books must be recorded continuously from the time they are opened until they are closed.

3.2. Accounting Method

The Debt Repayment Reserve Fund applies the Voucher Posting Accounting Method.

a) Basic characteristics of the Voucher Posting Accounting Method

The basic characteristic of the Voucher Posting Accounting Method is that the posting of the general ledger is directly based on "Voucher Posting." Voucher Posting is used to classify, systematize, and determine the debit and credit entries of economic and financial transactions that have occurred. Recording in the general ledger based on voucher posting will be separated into two distinct processes:

+ Recording in chronological order of economic and financial transactions on the Register of Voucher Posting;

+ Recording according to the economic content of economic and financial transactions on the General Ledger.

b) Types of accounting books:

+ Voucher Posting;

+ Register of Voucher Posting;

+ General Ledger;

+ Detailed Ledgers.

c) Content and sequence of recording in the accounting books under the Voucher Posting Accounting Method

The content and sequence of recording in the accounting books under the Voucher Posting Accounting Method at the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund comply with the regulations set forth in the Administrative and Public Service Accounting System issued pursuant to Decision No. 19/2006/QĐ-BTC dated March 30, 2006 of the Minister of Finance.

3.3. List of accounting books applicable to the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund

Accounting Book Samples, explanations of content and recording methods in accounting books are implemented in accordance with the provisions in Appendix No. 03 attached hereto.

4. Financial Reporting System

4.1. Responsibilities of the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund in preparing and submitting financial reports

The Debt Repayment Reserve Fund is responsible for preparing and submitting periodic quarterly and annual financial reports to the Minister of Finance.

Annually, it is responsible for preparing the final settlement report on the use of the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund to submit to the Minister of Finance for approval and to send to relevant units within the Ministry of Finance for coordination in implementation.

4.2. Requirements for preparing and presenting financial reports

Preparing financial reports must ensure truthfulness, objectivity, completeness, timeliness, and accurate reflection of the unit's asset status, revenues, and expenditures.

Preparing financial reports must be based on figures after closing the accounting books. Financial reports must be prepared in accordance with the content, method, and consistent presentation across reporting periods.

Financial reports must be signed and stamped by the preparer, the Chief Accountant, and the Director of the Debt Management Department before submission or public disclosure.

4.3. Period for preparing financial reports

Financial reports of the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund are prepared at the end of the accounting period for each quarter and year.

4.4. Deadline for submitting financial reports

- Quarterly financial reports must be submitted to the Minister of Finance no later than the 10th day of the first month of the next quarter;

- The annual final account report must be submitted to the Minister of Finance and sent to relevant units (State Treasury, Department of State Budget) no later than thirty days after the end of the fiscal year accounting period;

4.5. List of financial reports applicable to the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund

In addition, the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund must prepare a quick report (monthly) as required by the Minister of Finance for management purposes.

The format of financial reports and explanations of the methods for preparing financial reports shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions set out in Appendix No. 04 attached to this Circular.

III - IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect forty-five days from the date of signature. All previous regulations that conflict with this Circular are hereby abolished.

2. Heads of the Accounting System and Audit Department, Director of the Debt Management and External Finance Department, and heads of other relevant units are responsible for implementing and guiding the implementation of this Circular./.