Circular No. 171/2009/TT-BTC Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Examination Regulations and Issuance of Certified Public Accountant Certificates and Accounting Practice Certificates issued together with Decision No. 94/2007/QD-BTC dated November 16, 2007 of the Minister of Finance.

CIRCULAR

Regarding Pursuant to Government Decree No. 83/2017supplementing some articles of The examination regulations and issuance of Certified Public Accountant certificates and accounting practice certificates attached to Decision 94/2007/QD-BTC dated November 16, 2007 of BMinister of Finance

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Pursuant to 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. 105/2004/NĐ-CP dated March 30, 2004 of the Government on Independent Auditing;

Pursuant to Decree No. 30/2009/NĐ-CP dated March 30, 2009 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 105/2004/NĐ-CP dated March 30, 2004 of the Government on Independent Auditing;

The Ministry of Finance guides the amendment and supplementation of certain articles of the Examination Regulations and Issuance of Certified Public Accountant certificates and Accounting Practice certificates issued together with Decision No. 94/2007/QD-BTC dated November 16, 2007 of the Minister of Finance as follows:

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain articles of the Examination Regulations and Issuance of Certified Public Accountant certificates and Accounting Practice certificates issued together with Decision No. 94/2007/QD-BTC dated November 16, 2007 of the Minister of Finance, as follows:

1. Point b, Clause 1, Article 2 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"b) Hold a bachelor's degree or higher in Finance, Accounting, or Auditing;"

2. Point c, Clause 1, Article 2 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"c) At least five years of actual work experience in finance and accounting from the year indicated on the bachelor's or postgraduate degree certificate to the year of registration for the examination;"

3. Point b, Clause 2, Article 2 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"b) Hold a bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or Auditing; or hold a bachelor's degree in Economics, Business Administration, or Business Management with at least 10% of total course units (or class hours) in subjects such as Finance, Accounting, Auditing, Financial Analysis, and Tax;"

4. Point c, Clause 2, Article 2 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"c) At least five years of actual work experience in finance and accounting from the year indicated on the bachelor's degree certificate to the year of registration for the examination; or at least four years of actual work experience as an audit assistant in an auditing firm from the year indicated on the bachelor's degree certificate to the year of registration for the examination;"

5. Paragraph c, point 1.1, Clause 1, Article 3 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"c) Copies of diplomas and certificates as stipulated in points b and d, Clause 1, and points b and d, Clause 2 of this Regulation, certified by the issuing organization or a notarized public office. If the diploma is in Economics, Business Administration, or Business Management, the transcript must also be submitted, clearly indicating the number of course units (or class hours) for all subjects. In the case of candidates applying for an Accounting Practice Certificate with a postgraduate diploma, the transcript of the postgraduate program must also be submitted, clearly indicating the field of study. The transcripts must be certified by the issuing organization or a notarized public office."

6. Article 5 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 5: Examination Format Each subject in the examination topics (1), (2), (3), (4) specified in Clause 1, Article 4 and examination topics (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) specified in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Regulation, candidates must complete a written test within 180 minutes. For the Practical Computer Skills subject, candidates must complete a practical test on a computer within approximately 30 minutes; for the Foreign Language subject, candidates must complete a written test within 90 minutes and answer oral questions within approximately 30 minutes."

7. Clause 3 of Article 6 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. Within the latest period of 60 days from the end of the examination, the Examination Board must announce the examination results and notify the candidates. In special cases requiring an extension of the announcement period, the Chairman of the Examination Board may decide, but the extension shall not exceed 15 days."

8. Clause 1, Article 7 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Passing examination topic: Those examination topics achieving a score of 5 or above on a scale of 10. The score for the Foreign Language examination topic is calculated on a scale of 10, with a maximum of 7 (seven) for the written portion and 3 (three) for the oral portion. The final score for the Foreign Language examination topic is the sum of the written and oral scores. If the examination is scored out of 100, the Examination Board will convert the score to a scale of 10. Rounding off scores shall be done according to current regulations."

9. Clause 3, Article 7 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. Re-examination for higher scores: Candidates who have passed all four examination topics (1), (2), (3), (4) specified in Clause 1, Article 4 or all six examination topics (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) specified in Clause 2, Article 4 or both examination topics (1), (2) specified in Clause 3, Article 4 but whose total scores do not meet the requirements set forth in Clause 4 of this Article may choose to re-examine any unpassed topics up to three times. In the case of re-examination, the final score will be based on the highest score obtained in any of the attempts."

10. Clause 1 Article 10 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. The Examination Board consists of: The Chairman of the Examination Board is a Deputy Minister of Finance or a Department Director authorized by the Minister of Finance; one Vice-Chairman in charge of the Accounting and Auditing Department; one Vice-Chairman in charge of the Organization and Cadres Department; Secretariat members and other Board members representing professional associations and some departments under the Ministry of Finance. The maximum number of members in the Examination Board is nine; the Board is established for each examination session. The Examination Board for subsequent sessions must change at least one-third of its members from the previous session. An individual cannot serve as a member of the Examination Board for more than three consecutive sessions, except in the case where the Chairman of the Examination Board is a Ministry Leader."

11. Clause 1 of Article 17 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Individuals holding a professional accountant certificate or a certified public accountant certificate from foreign professional organizations recognized by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, who wish to obtain a Certified Public Accountant certificate or an Accounting Practice certificate from Vietnam, must take an examination on Vietnamese laws. The candidate must be currently licensed to practice in their home country."

In the case where the organization issuing the accounting specialist certificate or the auditor certificate is a competent state agency (not a professional association) allowing practice in the host country, the candidate must be a regular member of a professional association for accounting and auditing, and such professional association must be a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The content of study and examination for obtaining the accounting specialist certificate or the auditor certificate must be equivalent to or higher than the content of study and examination prescribed in Article 4 of the Regulation issued together with Decision No. 94/2007/QĐ-BTC dated November 16, 2007.

Paragraph 1 of Article 18 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. The registration dossier for the examination includes:
a) An application form for the examination;
b) A certified copy and a certified translation into Vietnamese: Foreign accounting specialist certificate or auditor certificate;
c) A confirmation letter from the professional association of the host country confirming that the candidate is permitted to practice in the host country; In the case where the accounting specialist certificate or auditor certificate of the candidate is issued by a competent state agency (not a professional association), the examination dossier must include a confirmation letter from the professional association for accounting and auditing confirming that the candidate is a regular member of the professional association and is permitted to practice in the host country;
d) Three color photographs measuring 4 x 6 inches taken within six months, two envelopes with stamps and clearly marked with the name and address of the recipient;
đ) A certified copy of the passport issued by the host country with confirmation from the labor management unit;
e) Documentation proving that the professional association which issued the accounting specialist certificate or auditor certificate is a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC);
g) Documentation presenting the content of study and examination for obtaining the accounting specialist certificate or auditor certificate issued by the professional association or the competent state agency which issued the certificate."

13. Paragraph 2 of Article 19 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. For the examination to obtain the auditor certificate, the passing score is 70 points or above, or 42 points or above for those exempted from parts (1) and (3). For the examination to obtain the accounting practice certificate, the passing score is 56 points or above. The examination results will be notified to each candidate."

Article 2. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of issuance. Other provisions in Decision No. 94/2007/QĐ-BTC dated November 16, 2007 of the Minister of Finance on the Examination Regulations and Issuance of Auditor Certificates and Accounting Practice Certificates not amended or supplemented in this Circular remain valid.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, they should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for research and amendment./.