Decision No. 53/2002/QD-BTC Issuing the Regulations on Examination and Issuance of Auditor Certificates

Pursuant to …;

Issuing Regulations on Examination and Issuance of Auditor Certificate and Accounting Practice Certificate

____________________

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Pursuant to Decree No. 15/CP dated March 2, 1993 of the Government on the tasks, powers, and responsibilities for state management of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

BASED ON DECREE NO. 178/CP DATED OCTOBER 28, 1994 OF THE GOVERNMENT ON THE TASKS, POWERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE;

BASED ON THE GOVERNMENT DECREE NO. 07/CP DATED JANUARY 29, 1994 ON THE REGULATIONS FOR INDEPENDENT AUDITING IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY;

AT THE PROPOSAL OF THE HEAD OF THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM DEPARTMENT, THE HEAD OF THE STAFF ORGANIZATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT, AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL AUDITOR SELECTION BOARD.

DECISION:

 

Article 1: ATTACHING HERETO WITH THIS DECISION ARE THE "REGULATIONS ON SELECTION AND ISSUANCE OF AUDITOR CERTIFICATES".

Article 2: THIS DECISION SHALL TAKE EFFECT 15 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF SIGNATURE AND REPLACE DECISION NO. 237 TC/QĐ/CĐKT DATED MARCH 19, 1994 OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE.

Article 3: THE HEAD OF THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM DEPARTMENT, THE HEAD OF THE STAFF ORGANIZATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL AUDITOR SELECTION BOARD, AND THE HEADS OF THE RELATED UNITS SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS DECISION.

 REGULATIONS
SELECTION AND ISSUANCE OF AUDITOR CERTIFICATES
(ATTACHED TO DECREE NO. 53/2002/QĐ-BTC DATED APRIL 23, 2002 OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE)

Chapter 1:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 1: ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE SELECTION PROCESS.

1. ALL VIETNAMESE CITIZENS OR FOREIGN CITIZENS PERMITTED TO RESIDE IN VIETNAM WHO MEET THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR AUDITORS.

2. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION:

a. HAVE A CLEAR BACKGROUND, HONEST CHARACTER, AND AN UNTARNISHED RECORD, WITHOUT ANY PRIOR CRIMINAL RECORDS;

b. POSSESS A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN FINANCE-BANKING OR ACCOUNTING SPECIALTIES AND HAVE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN FINANCIAL, ACCOUNTING, OR AUDITING WORK. IN CASE OF FOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS AN AUDIT ASSISTANT, PARTICIPANTS CAN ALSO APPLY AND IF THEY PASS THE SELECTION, THEY MUST COMPLETE FIVE YEARS OF ACTUAL WORK BEFORE BEING ISSUED AN AUDITOR CERTIFICATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 18 OF THESE REGULATIONS.

IN CASE OF HOLDERS OF BACHELOR'S DEGREES IN OTHER SPECIALTIES THAN THOSE MENTIONED ABOVE AND WITH AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING WORK, THEY MUST ALSO HAVE A SECOND BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN THE MENTIONED SPECIALTIES FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS.

c. HAVE A LEVEL C FOREIGN LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE AND A LEVEL B COMPUTER SKILLS CERTIFICATE OR HIGHER.

d. SUBMIT A COMPLETE APPLICATION FORM AND PAY THE EXAMINATION FEES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 2 OF THESE REGULATIONS.

ARTICLE 2: APPLICATION FORM AND EXAMINATION FEES.

1. THE APPLICATION FORM FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE SELECTION MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE NATIONAL AUDITOR SELECTION BOARD AT LEAST 30 DAYS BEFORE THE EXAMINATION DATE. THE APPLICATION FORM INCLUDES:

+ REGISTRATION FORM;

+ CURRICULUM VITAE (WITH CONFIRMATION FROM THE MANAGING AUTHORITY OR THE LOCAL PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE WHERE THE APPLICANT RESIDES);

+ COPIES OF DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES WITH CONFIRMATION FROM THE MANAGING AUTHORITY OR NOTARY PUBLIC: BACHELOR'S DEGREE, FOREIGN LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE, COMPUTER SKILLS CERTIFICATE;

+ THREE COLOR PHOTOS SIZE 4X6 RECENTLY TAKEN, TWO ENVELOPES STAMPED WITH THE ADDRESS OF THE APPLICANT;

+ COPIES OF THE RESULTS OF THE SUBJECTS ALREADY TAKEN BY THE SELECTION BOARD (FOR APPLICANTS RETAKING SUBJECTS NOT PASSED OR TAKING NEW SUBJECTS).

2. THE APPLICATION FORM FOR THE SELECTION IS ISSUED BY THE AUDITOR SELECTION BOARD IN A UNIFIED FORMAT.

3. THE EXAMINATION FEES ARE CALCULATED PER SUBJECT AND ANNOUNCED BY THE NATIONAL AUDITOR SELECTION BOARD FOR EACH SELECTION SESSION.

ARTICLE 3: CONTENT OF THE SELECTION.

1. THE SELECTION FOR AUDITORS INCLUDES EIGHT SUBJECTS AS FOLLOWS:

1. ECONOMIC LAW

2. BUSINESS FINANCE

3. MONEY AND CREDIT

4. Accounting

5. Auditing

6. Financial activity analysis

7. COMPUTER SKILLS (LEVEL B)

8. Foreign Language (Level C).

THE CONTENT AND REQUIREMENTS OF EACH SUBJECT ARE DEFINED IN ANNEX 1 ATTACHED TO THESE REGULATIONS.

2. APPLICANTS MAY REGISTER FOR AT LEAST FOUR OF THE ABOVE SUBJECTS IN THE FIRST SELECTION SESSION.

ARTICLE 4: SELECTION FORMAT.

FOR EACH OF THE SUBJECTS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (ARTICLE 3), APPLICANTS MUST COMPLETE A WRITTEN TEST WITHIN A MAXIMUM TIME OF 180 MINUTES. FOR SUBJECTS 7 AND 8 (ARTICLE 3), APPLICANTS MUST COMPLETE A WRITTEN TEST WITHIN A MAXIMUM TIME OF 120 MINUTES AND ALSO COMPLETE A PRACTICAL TEST ON A COMPUTER (SUBJECT 7) AND AN INTERVIEW (SUBJECT 8) WITHIN A MAXIMUM TIME OF 30 MINUTES.

Article 5: Conducting examinations.

1- The examination for auditors shall be organized at least once a year in the third quarter of each year. At least three months before the examination date, the Examination Board shall officially announce on mass media the conditions, standards, time, location, and other necessary information.

2- To prepare for the examination, candidates may attend vocational training classes organized by the Vietnam Association of Accountants, universities, or training centers registered and approved by the Ministry of Finance to conduct a unified program prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

3- Within the latest period of 45 days from the end of the examination, the Examination Board must publish the examination results and notify the examinees.

Article 6: Meeting examination requirements, retaining examination results, and exemption from examination.

1- Subjects meeting the requirements are those subjects achieving a score of 5 or higher. Candidates who meet all eight subjects' requirements and achieve a total score of 50 points or more will meet the examination requirements and be recognized as successfully passing the auditor examination by the Examination Board.

2- Subjects meeting the requirements are retained for three years from the first examination. During the retention period, examinees can take the remaining unexamined subjects or retake only the subjects not meeting the requirements. Each subject can be taken a maximum of three times.

Those who have met all eight subjects' requirements but whose total score for the eight subjects is less than 50 points may choose to retest the untested subjects up to three times to improve their scores.

3- Exemption from the foreign language subject is granted to individuals meeting both of the following conditions:

+ Male aged 50 or older, female aged 45 or older;

+ Possessing a certificate of level C in one foreign language, or a bachelor's degree in a foreign language, or a university or postgraduate degree from abroad.

Article 7: Annulment of examination results.

After a three-year period from the first examination, or if one of the eight subjects has been taken three times without meeting the requirements, or if all eight subjects have been passed but the total score is less than 50 points, the previous examination results will be annulled. If an individual with annulled results wishes to continue taking the examination, they must retake all eight subjects.

Chapter 2:

NATIONAL AUDITOR EXAMINATION BOARD, SUBJECT COMMITTEES, AND EXAMINATION MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES

Article 8: National Auditor Examination Board.

1- The National Auditor Examination Board (hereinafter referred to as the Examination Board) shall be established by the Minister of Finance upon the proposal of the Director of the Accounting System Department and the Director of the Cadres and Training Department.

2- The examination for auditors shall be organized by the Examination Board. For each examination session, the Examination Board must establish a Subject Committee and an Examination Management Committee.

3- The Examination Board is permitted to use the seal of the Ministry of Finance during its operational period.

4- Members of the Examination Board are not allowed to provide tutoring or review guidance after announcing the examination plan, content, and program for that year.

Article 9: Organization of the Examination Board.

1- The Examination Board consists of: The Chairman of the Examination Board is the Director of the Accounting System Department of the Ministry of Finance; the Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and members of the Examination Board are representatives of state management agencies for accounting and training, scientific staff, professors, and doctors specializing in Finance and Accounting. The maximum number of members of the Examination Board is nine; the term of office of the Examination Board is five years. In cases where one-third of the members of the Examination Board are absent, the Chairman of the Examination Board shall submit to the Minister of Finance for a decision to supplement the members of the Examination Board.

 

2- The Office of the Examination Board is located at the Accounting System Department of the Ministry of Finance.

3- Supporting the Examination Board is a Standing Committee established by the decision of the Minister of Finance. The maximum number of members of the Standing Committee is four.

Article 10: The Examination Council shall have the following duties and powers:

1- To develop, perfect, and concretize the content and program for each period of auditor recruitment training;

2- To plan the examination and publicly announce it through mass media;

3- To organize auditor recruitment examinations and proficiency tests for foreign certified auditors;

4- To accept and review candidate application files;

5- To review examination results, announce the results, and notify individual candidates of their scores;

6- To organize re-examinations if candidates request them;

7- To report annually to the Minister of Finance on examination plans and outcomes of each examination period;

8- To compile a list of successful candidates for submission to the Minister of Finance for issuance of auditor certification;

9- To proactively propose or participate in improving the Auditor Recruitment Examination Regulations when required;

10- To handle complaints and reports related to examination subjects and examination organization;

Article 11: Working System of the Examination Council.

1- The Examination Council operates collectively. Decisions of the Council must reflect collective opinions, based on voting with at least two-thirds agreement from Council members;

2- The Council organizes one meeting before each examination period and one meeting after each examination period, convened by the Chairman. In case of necessity, the Chairman may convene extraordinary meetings;

3- The Council is entitled to use official time to hold meetings and perform activities within its duties and powers. Members of the Council are entitled to remuneration drawn from examination fees, as decided by the Chairman;

4- The agenda and content of Council meetings must be notified (in writing) to members at least one week prior to the meeting;

Article 12: Duties and Powers of Examination Council Members.

1- Chairman of the Examination Council:

- Is responsible for organizing and implementing the duties and powers of the Examination Council as stipulated in Article 10 of this Regulation;

- Assigns responsibilities to each member of the Examination Council;

- Decides on the establishment of Examination Subject Committees and Examination Steering Committees;

- Organizes the preparation and selection of examination questions and answers according to the prescribed content and program, ensuring absolute confidentiality of the questions and answers before the examination;

- Organizes strict and safe examinations;

- Safeguards examination papers, organizes coding, opening, and managing codes, and delivers examination papers to the Head of the Subject Examination Board for grading;

- Organizes the merging of codes and scoring of examination papers to be submitted to the Examination Council;

- Reports annually to the Minister of Finance on examination plans and results of each examination period;

- Issues certificates of successful candidates who meet the requirements of the examination and score certificates for candidates who did not complete all eight subjects or failed some subjects;

- Based on this Regulation, establishes and announces examination room rules after approval by the Examination Council;

- Delegate authority to the Vice-Chairman of the Examination Board to manage the Examination Board's work in their absence.

2- Deputy Chairmen of the Examination Council:

- Assists the Chairman of the Examination Council in managing the Council's activities as assigned by the Chairman;

- Manages and resolves general matters of the Council when authorized by the Chairman.

3- Secretary Members of the Examination Council:

- Organizes the receipt of candidate application files and submits them to the Examination Council for review;

- Prepares necessary documents for the Examination Council and records minutes of Council meetings;

- Collects disciplinary violation records of candidates for Council consideration;

- Compiles examination result lists and other tasks assigned by the Chairman of the Council;

4- Members of the Examination Council shall:

- To fulfill tasks assigned by the Chairman of the Examination Council to ensure that the Council's activities are carried out strictly;

- Strictly comply with the Auditor Recruitment Examination Regulations and maintain the safety and confidentiality of all materials related to the auditor recruitment examination;

- To participate and take charge of Examination Subject Committees.

Article 13: Subject Examination Boards.

1- Each subject forms a Subject Examination Board. The Subject Examination Board is established by the Chairman of the Examination Council. Each board must have at least three members, including two members of the Examination Council;

2- Duties of Subject Examination Board members:

2.1- Head of the Subject Examination Board:

- Organizes the compilation of content and programs for each subject's preparatory training according to the Chairman's requirements;

- Organize the drafting of examination questions and answers according to the requirements of the Chairman of the Examination Council, maintaining absolute confidentiality regarding the examination questions;

- Receive examination papers transferred by the Chairman of the Examination Council for marking;

- Organizes grading in accordance with Article 16 of this Regulation;

In case the Head of the Examination Board is absent, the Chairman of the Examination Council will appoint a substitute.

2.2- Members of the Subject Examination Board:

- Seriously and fully carry out tasks assigned by the Head of the Subject Examination Board.

Article 14: Examination Steering Committee.

1- The Examination Steering Committee shall be established by the Chairman of the Examination Board for each examination period. The Examination Steering Committee shall have at least three members of the Examination Board and invigilator teams for examination areas. Each invigilation team shall consist of from 3 to 4 people, including at least one member of the Examination Board.

2- Tasks of the Examination Steering Committee and Invigilation Teams:

2.1- Head of the Examination Steering Committee:

- Arrange and assign monitors inside and outside the examination room at each examination venue;

- Receive and store examination questions in accordance with regulations;

- Publicize the examination papers so that candidates can see that they are still sealed. Organize the drawing of examination papers and announce them.

- Suspend invigilators and report to the Chairman of the Examination Board for review and decision on replacement when invigilators violate examination rules. Organize the preparation of records for examinees who violate examination rules and submit them to the Chairman of the Examination Board upon completion of the subject.

- Organize the collection, sealing, safekeeping, and transfer of examination papers to the Chairman of the Examination Council.

2.2- Invigilator of the examination room:

- Record registration number at the seating position;

- Check the admission card of candidates when entering the examination room and guide them to sit according to their registration number;

- Sign on the answer sheet and distribute answer sheets according to regulations;

- Distribute examination questions to candidates;

- When candidates start answering, compare the photo in the admission card to identify the candidate;

- If required to answer questions from candidates, only provide general responses in front of the examination room;

- Allow examinees to leave the examination room earliest after two-thirds of the examination time (except in cases with necessary reasons);

- Remind and maintain order in the examination room;

- Collect all answer sheets and submit to the Head of the Examination Steering Committee;

- Prepare records for examinees who violate examination rules;

Article 15: Forms of Handling Violations of Examination Room Rules:

1- Reprimand shall be applied to examinees who violate any of the following offenses:

+ Bringing examination materials into the examination room but not using them;

+ Intentionally sitting in a place other than their assigned seat;

+ Exchanging with other examinees.

The form of disciplinary reprimand shall be recorded by a member of the Examination Steering Committee in the invigilation team and announced immediately in the examination room, while confiscating materials (if any). An examinee reprimanded in a subject will lose one-quarter of the points for that subject's test.

2- Warning shall be applied to examinees who violate any of the following offenses:

+ Having been reprimanded but still continuing to violate examination room rules;

+ Bringing examination materials into the examination room and being discovered using them;

+ Exchanging rough drafts or tests with each other.

The form of disciplinary warning shall be recorded by a member of the Examination Steering Committee in the invigilation team and announced immediately in the examination room, while confiscating materials (if any). An examinee warned in a subject will lose half of the points for that subject's test;

3- Suspension from examination shall be applied to examinees who have been warned but continue to intentionally violate examination room rules. The form of suspension from examination shall be recorded by a member of the Examination Steering Committee in the invigilation team and announced immediately in the examination room, confiscating materials, and reporting to the Chairman of the Examination Board for decision. If an examinee is suspended from the examination, the test will be scored zero;

4- In cases where examinees violating examination rules are recorded, they must sign the record. If an examinee does not sign the record, then two invigilators shall sign the record.

Article 16: Grading.

1- Answer sheets before being handed over to the Subject Grading Committees for grading must be separated and marked according to each subject;

2- The Chairman of the Examination Board shall organize the Subject Grading Committees to grade centrally, without taking papers home or to the office for grading;

3- Grading shall be conducted through a two-person independent process. Graders shall base their grading solely on the content of the answer sheets and the approved answers provided by the Chairman of the Examination Board;

4- Only valid answer sheets, which are those completed on the examination paper distributed by the Examination Board and signed by two invigilators, shall be graded. Answer sheets completed on different paper than that used for the examination, on rough draft paper, with two different handwriting styles or containing inappropriate drawings, or with markings or written in two different ink colors, shall not be graded;

5- The grading scale is a ten-point scale; partial marks can be given up to 0.25 points, but the total score shall be rounded to the nearest 0.5 point. A valid answer sheet is one that scores 5 points or higher. The score for a subject is calculated as follows:

+ For written subjects, the score is [(Grader 1 score + Grader 2 score) / 2].

+ For foreign language and computer science subjects, the score is [(written test score + oral test or practical test score) / 2]. The oral test or practical test score is also calculated as [(Grader 1 score + Grader 2 score) / 2].

In cases where the scores of the two graders differ by more than 1 point, the two graders need to discuss to reach an agreement; if they cannot agree, the Chairman of the Examination Board will review and decide.

Article 17: Examination of examination results.

The examination board shall examine the examination results based on the marking results of each subject and approve the list of successful candidates and unsuccessful candidates. The examination results shall be officially announced by the Chairman of the examination board after approval by the examination board.

Article 18: Re-examination of examination papers.

1- Within thirty days from the date of announcement of the examination results, if an examinee requests a re-examination, the examination board shall be responsible for organizing the re-examination and informing the applicant of the result. After the specified period, re-examination requests will not be processed;

2- Applicants requesting a re-examination must pay the re-examination fee as notified by the examination board;

3- The re-examination of examination results shall be conducted by the Head of the Subject Committee and must be approved by the Chairman of the examination board. The Chairman of the examination board must notify the re-examination results to the applicant who requested the re-examination.

Article 19: Issuance of examination score certificates.

Those who have not completed all eight subjects or have not met the requirements for all eight subjects shall be issued an examination score certificate by the Chairman of the examination board. The examination score certificate serves as the basis for applying to retake the failed subjects or to take the unattempted subjects.

Chapter 3:

ORGANIZATION OF EXAMINATIONS FOR FOREIGN CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

Article 20: Examination for foreign certified public accountants.

1- Individuals holding certification from foreign organizations recognized by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam who wish to obtain a certified public accountant license in Vietnam must sit for an examination on Vietnamese laws.

2- The examination content includes:

(1) Economic Law, Foreign Investment Law in Vietnam;

(2) Financial policies and taxes;

(3) Corporate accounting regulations;

(4) Regulations on auditing financial statements;

(5) Currency and credit.

3- The language used in the examination is Vietnamese or English.

4- The maximum examination time is 180 minutes.

5- The marking scale is out of 100 points. Marks start from 1 point. A passing score is 70 points or higher. Examination results will be communicated to each individual.

6- Individuals achieving a score of 70 points or higher shall be issued a Certificate of Successful Candidate for Certified Public Accountant by the Chairman of the examination board. Other regulations shall be implemented according to this examination regulation.

Chapter 4:

ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE OF SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE FOR CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT AND ISSUANCE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT LICENSE

Article 21: Issuance of Certificate of Successful Candidate for Certified Public Accountant.

- Individuals who meet the examination requirements shall be issued a Certificate of Successful Candidate for Certified Public Accountant by the Chairman of the examination board;

- The Certificate of Successful Candidate for Certified Public Accountant is valid for obtaining a certified public accountant license;

Article 22: Issuance of Certified Public Accountant License.

- Individuals holding a Certificate of Successful Candidate for Certified Public Accountant shall be submitted by the Chairman of the examination board to the Minister of Finance for issuance of a certified public accountant license;

- The certified public accountant license has legal validity for registration to practice as a certified public accountant according to current regulations on registration to practice as a certified public accountant.