Circular No. 91/2017/TT-BTC on examination, issuance, and management of auditor certificates and accountant certificates

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the examination, issuance, and management of auditor certificates and accountant certificates

and the certified public accountant certificate

————————

Pursuant to Law on Accounting No. 88/2015/QH13 dated November 20, 2015;

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 17/2012/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2012 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Independent Audit Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 26, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the Director of the Accounting and Auditing Department,

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular regulating the examination, issuance, and management of auditor certificates and accountant certificates.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates the examination, issuance, and management of auditor certificates and accountant certificates in accordance with point c, Clause 2, Article 11 of the Independent Audit Law and Article 57, point d, Clause 2, Article 71 of the Accounting Law.

Article 2. Applicability

The subjects to which this Circular applies include:

1. Candidates for the examination as stipulated in Article 3 and Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular.

2. The Examination Board for auditors and accountants (hereinafter referred to as the Examination Board).

3. Professional organizations in accounting and auditing.

4. Other organizations and individuals related to the examination, issuance, and management of auditor certificates and accountant certificates.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section 1

ORGANIZATION OF EXAMINATION PERIODS

Article 3. Examination candidates

Vietnamese citizens or foreign citizens who meet the examination conditions specified in Article 4 of this Circular.

Article 4. Examination Conditions

Individuals applying for auditor certificates or accountant certificates must satisfy the following conditions:

1. Possess professional ethics, honesty, integrity, and a sense of compliance with laws;

2. Hold a bachelor's degree or higher in finance, banking, accounting, auditing; or hold a bachelor's degree in other majors with a total of at least 7% of credit hours (or class hours) in courses such as finance, accounting, auditing, financial activity analysis, taxation from the total credit hours (or class hours) of the entire program; or hold a bachelor's degree in other majors and have diplomas or certificates from international professional organizations in accounting and auditing ensuring the requirements set forth in Article 9 of this Circular;

3. Have a minimum of 36 months of practical work experience in finance, accounting, auditing, calculated from the graduation month recorded on the bachelor's (or postgraduate) degree certificate to the date of registration for the examination. Practical work experience in auditing includes time spent as an audit assistant at an auditing firm, time spent in internal auditing at an internal audit department of an entity, and time spent auditing at the State Audit Office;

4. Submit complete and correct application forms and examination fees as prescribed;

5. Not be among the categories specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 52 of the Accounting Law.

Article 5. Examination Application Documents

1. For first-time applicants seeking auditor certificates or accountant certificates, the application documents shall include:

d) Certified copies of diplomas or certificates as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Circular, confirmed by the issuing organization or notarized. If it is a bachelor's degree in another major, a certified transcript indicating the total number of credit hours (or class hours) of all courses must also be submitted. In case the applicant submits a master's or doctoral degree, a certified transcript of the master's or doctoral studies indicating the field of study must also be submitted;

đ) Three recent color photographs measuring 3x4 cm taken within six months and two envelopes with stamps and the recipient's full name and address clearly marked.

2. For subsequent applicants for unattempted subjects or retake examinations for previously attempted subjects that did not meet the requirements or to achieve the total score required under Clause 4, Article 18 of this Circular, the application documents shall include:

c) Photographs and envelopes as specified in point đ, Clause 1 of this Article.

3. For holders of accountant certificates wishing to apply for auditor certificates, the application documents shall include:

đ) Photographs and envelopes as specified in point đ, Clause 1 of this Article.

4. Examination application forms are issued uniformly by the Examination Board. Applicants must submit their application forms to the Examination Board or units authorized by the Examination Board within the deadline announced by the Examination Board.

5. Units receiving examination application forms will only accept them when the applicant has submitted all required documents and paid the full examination fee.

6. Examination fees will be refunded to those who do not meet the examination conditions or who have requested not to participate in the examination within ten days from the date the Examination Board announces the list of eligible candidates.

Article 6. Examination Content

1. Candidates for the Certified Accountant certificate shall take four subjects as follows:

a) Economic Law and Business Law;

b) Advanced Financial Management;

c) Advanced Taxation and Tax Management;

d) Advanced Financial Accounting and Management Accounting.

2. Candidates for the Certified Auditor certificate shall take seven subjects as follows:

a) Economic Law and Business Law;

b) Advanced Financial Management;

c) Advanced Taxation and Tax Management;

d) Advanced Financial Accounting and Management Accounting;

đ) Advanced Auditing and Assurance Services;

e) Advanced Financial Activity Analysis;

g) Level C proficiency in one of five commonly used foreign languages: English, Russian, French, Chinese, or German.

3. Individuals holding a Certified Accountant certificate who wish to obtain a Certified Auditor certificate must take three subjects as follows:

a) Advanced Auditing and Assurance Services;

b) Advanced Financial Activity Analysis;

c) Level C proficiency in one of five commonly used foreign languages: English, Russian, French, Chinese, or German.

4. The content of each subject includes both theoretical and practical components applied to case studies as specified in Appendix No. 1 of this Circular. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for drafting, updating, and publicly disclosing the content, curriculum, and study materials for obtaining the Certified Auditor and Certified Accountant certificates.

Article 7. Examination Format

For each subject prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular (except for the Foreign Language subject), candidates must complete a written examination within 180 minutes. For the Foreign Language subject, candidates must complete a written examination within 120 minutes.

Article 8. Organization of Examinations

1. The Examination Board shall organize at least one examination annually in either the third or fourth quarter. At least 60 days before the examination date, the Examination Board shall officially announce on mass media the conditions, standards, time, location, and other necessary information related to the examination.

2. Within the latest period of 60 days from the end of the examination, the Examination Board must publish the results of each subject and notify the candidates. In special cases requiring an extension of the announcement period, the Chairman of the Examination Board may decide, but the extended period shall not exceed 30 days.

Article 9. Certificates Issued by International Professional Organizations in Accounting and Auditing

Certificates issued by international professional organizations in accounting and auditing will be recognized according to Clause 2 of Article 4 of this Circular if they meet the following conditions simultaneously:

1. The international professional organization issuing the certificates must be a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) that has established a representative office or branch operating in Vietnam.

2. The international professional organization in accounting and auditing must have signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam regarding the joint certification program for professional auditors.

3. The programs and contents of the courses leading to the issuance of certificates must include a total of between 500 to 600 class hours on finance, accounting, and auditing.

4. The learning, examination, and certification processes for students upon completion of the courses must be uniformly implemented in all countries where the international professional organization in accounting and auditing operates through its representative offices or branches.

Section 2

ORGANIZATION OF EXAMINATIONS FOR HOLDERS OF FOREIGN CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANT OR CERTIFIED AUDITOR CERTIFICATES

Article 10. Conditions for taking the examination and content of the examination

1. Individuals holding a certificate of a professional accountant or auditor from foreign professional organizations recognized by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam who wish to obtain a Vietnamese certificate of auditor or accountant must take an examination on Vietnamese laws.

In cases where the organization issuing the certificate of a professional accountant or auditor is a competent state agency (not a professional organization), the examinee must be a formal member of a professional organization in accounting and auditing, and that professional organization must be a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The content of study and examination for obtaining a certificate of a professional accountant or auditor must be equivalent to or higher than the content prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular.

2. Foreign professional organizations recognized by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam must meet the following conditions:

a) Being a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC);

b) Having the content of study and examination for obtaining a certificate of auditor and accountant equivalent to or higher than the content prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular.

3. Foreign professional organizations recognized by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam according to the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article include:

a) The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) of the United Kingdom;

b) CPA Australia;

c) The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

d) Other foreign professional organizations meeting the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article shall be recognized by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam for certificates of professional accountants or auditors.

4. The content of the examination for granting a certificate of auditor includes the following parts:

a) Economic Law and Business Law;

b) Finance and financial management;

c) Taxation and tax management;

d) Financial accounting, management accounting;

đ) Auditing and assurance services.

5. The content of the examination for granting a certificate of accountant includes the parts prescribed in points a, b, c, d of Clause 4 of this Article.

6. The content and requirements of each part of the examination are specified in Appendix No. 01.

7. Individuals meeting the conditions stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, who have participated and met the requirements in joint examinations between the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and ACCA, are exempted from taking the parts prescribed in point a and point c of Clause 4 of this Article during the validity period of the Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and ACCA.

8. The language used in the examination is Vietnamese.

9. The examination time is 180 minutes for all five parts of the examination. For those participating in four parts, the examination time is 145 minutes. For those participating in three parts, the examination time is 110 minutes.

Article 11. Application Documents for Registration to Take the Examination

1. Application documents for registration to take the examination include:

b) A copy, a Vietnamese translation certified true copy of the foreign certificate of a professional accountant or auditor;

c) Documentation (including a Vietnamese translation certified true copy of the foreign certificate of a professional accountant or auditor);

d) Three 3x4cm color photographs taken within six months and two envelopes with stamps and clearly marked with the name, address of the recipient;

g) Documentation proving that the foreign professional organizations mentioned in point d of Clause 3 of Article 10 meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 10.

2. Application documents for the examination are issued by the Examination Board according to a unified model. Applicants must submit their application documents to the Examination Board at least thirty days before the examination date.

Article 12. Examination Results

1. The examination grading scale is a 100-point scale. Examination scores range from 1 point upwards.

2. For examinations to obtain a certified public accountant certificate, a passing score is 70 points or higher; or 42 points or higher for those exempted from certain sections as specified in point a and point c, Clause 4, Article 10 of this Circular; or 56 points or higher for those exempted from either section specified in point a or section specified in point c, Clause 4, Article 10 of this Circular.

3. For examinations to obtain a certified accounting officer certificate, a passing score is 56 points or higher; or 28 points or higher for those exempted from certain sections as specified in point a and point c, Clause 4, Article 10 of this Circular; or 42 points or higher for those exempted from either section specified in point a or section specified in point c, Clause 4, Article 10 of this Circular.

4. Examination results will be communicated to each examinee. Those who meet the requirements set forth in Clause 2 of this Article shall be issued a certified public accountant certificate by the Ministry of Finance. Those who meet the requirements set forth in Clause 3 of this Article shall be issued a certified accounting officer certificate by the Ministry of Finance.

5. Other provisions shall be implemented according to this Circular.

Section 3

EXAMINATION BOARD FOR CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS AND CERTIFIED ACCOUNTING OFFICERS

Article 13. Examination Board for Certified Public Accountants and Certified Accounting Officers

1. The Examination Board shall be established by the Minister of Finance upon the proposal of the Director of the Accounting and Auditing System Department and the Director of the Organization and Cadres Department.

2. The Examination Board is responsible for organizing examinations for certified public accountants and certified accounting officers in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance. In each examination period, the Chairman of the Examination Board must establish the Exam Question Committee, the Supervision Committee, the Grading Committee, and the Re-grading Committee (if necessary).

Article 14. Composition of the Examination Board

1. The Examination Board is established for each examination period. The composition of the Examination Board does not exceed 11 people, including:

a) The Chairman of the Examination Board is a leader of the Ministry of Finance or a Deputy Director authorized by the Minister of Finance; 

b) Four Vice Chairmen are leaders of the Accounting and Auditing System Department, the Organization and Cadres Department of the Ministry of Finance, and the professional organizations for accounting and auditing, among which the leader of the Accounting and Auditing System Department is the permanent Vice Chairman;

c) Secretariat members and other members of the Examination Board are representatives of some units under the Ministry of Finance.

2. An individual may not participate as a member of the Examination Board for more than three consecutive examination periods, except in specific cases decided by the Minister of Finance.

3. A person whose father, mother, child, brother, sister, or half-sibling (or spouse's father, mother, child, brother, sister, or half-sibling) is taking the examination shall not participate in the Examination Board and all related departments of that examination.

4. A person who participates in tutoring, guiding review sessions for any examination shall not participate as a member of the Examination Board, create examination questions, approve examination questions, grade the examination (including first grading and re-grading) for that examination. Members of the Examination Board for any examination shall not participate in lecturing, tutoring, guiding study, or review sessions for that examination. A person who has participated in the first grading shall not participate in re-grading.

5. The office of the Examination Board is located at the Accounting and Auditing System Department - Ministry of Finance.

6. The Examination Board has a Standing Committee to assist, established by the Chairman of the Examination Board upon the proposal of the Accounting and Auditing System Department. The composition of the Standing Committee does not exceed nine people.

7. The functions and responsibilities of the departments established and organized by the Examination Board include the Standing Committee, the Exam Question Committee, the Supervision Committee, the Grading Committee, and the Re-grading Committee in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 15. Working Regime of the Examination Council

1. The Examination Council operates under a collective regime. Decisions of the Examination Council are adopted when at least two-thirds of the members agree.

2. The Examination Council may use the seal of the Ministry of Finance during its operational period.

3. The Examination Council uses administrative time to organize meetings and activities within its duties and powers. Members of the Examination Council are entitled to remuneration deducted from examination expenses at levels approved by the Ministry of Finance.

4. The program and content of each Examination Council meeting must be notified in writing to members five days before the meeting.

Article 16. Responsibilities and Powers of the Examination Council

1. Publicly announce the examination plan through mass media.

2. Receive, examine applications, establish and review candidate lists for the examination.

3. Develop examination questions and answers for each examination session.

4. Organize invigilation and marking of examinations.

5. Compile examination results for each session and submit them to the Ministry of Finance for approval.

6. Announce examination results and notify scores to candidates according to the approved results of the Ministry of Finance.

7. Organize re-examination of examination results if candidates request it.

8. Preserve and store examination questions, answer papers, and related materials until they are handed over in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

9. Proactively propose or participate in improving regulations on examinations and issuing auditor certificates and accountant certificates when required.

Article 17. Duties and Powers of Examination Council Members

1. Chairman of the Examination Council:

a) Is responsible for organizing the implementation of the Examination Council's tasks and powers as stipulated in this Circular;

b) Assign responsibilities to Vice Chairmen and individual members of the Examination Council;

c) Decide on the establishment of the Question Setting Committee, Invigilation Committee, Marking Committee, and Re-marking Committee;

d) Organize the preparation of sealed examination questions and answers, select questions and answers according to the prescribed content and program, ensuring absolute secrecy of the questions and answers prior to the examination; If necessary, invite experts to review the questions;

đ) Report examination results to the Minister of Finance;

e) Delegate authority to the Acting Vice Chairman of the Examination Council to manage the council's work in his absence.

2. Acting Vice Chairman of the Examination Council: Manage regular operations of the council as assigned by the Chairman.

3. Vice Chairmen and other members of the Examination Council: Carry out tasks as assigned by the Chairman.

4. Secretary Member of the Examination Council:

a) Organize the receipt of candidate applications, submit candidate lists for review by the Examination Council;

b) Prepare necessary documents for the Examination Council and record minutes of council meetings;

c) Establish lists of eligible candidates and ineligible candidates for the examination, submit them for approval by the Examination Council and publicly announce the list of successful candidates on the Ministry of Finance’s website;

d) Collect disciplinary violation records of candidates and submit them to the Examination Council for consideration;

đ) Other tasks assigned by the Chairman of the Examination Council.

Section 4

EXAMINATION RESULTS, PRESERVATION, APPROVAL, AND CANCELLATION OF EXAMINATION RESULTS

Article 18. Examination Results, Retention of Examination Results, Meeting Examination Requirements

1. Subjects Meeting Requirements: A subject meets requirements if it achieves a score of 5 or higher.

2. Retention of Examination Results: The scores of subjects that meet requirements are retained for three consecutive years starting from the year the examination begins.

Example: If a person starts taking the examination in 2017, then the scores of the subjects that meet requirements in 2017 will be retained for the years 2018 and 2019. By 2019, if the examinee has not yet met the examination requirements, when they take the examination again in 2020, the examination results considered for meeting the requirements will be the highest scores from the examinations in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Similarly for subsequent years starting from 2021.

3. Increasing Scores: An individual who meets the requirements for all subjects specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 6 (excluding the Foreign Language subject), but does not meet the requirements specified in Clause 4 of this Article, may choose to take additional examinations to increase their scores, with the examination results taken from the highest scores obtained during the retention period.

4. Meeting Examination Requirements:

a) For those taking the examination to obtain a Certified Public Accountant certificate: An examinee who meets the requirements for all four subjects specified in Clause 1 of Article 6 and whose total scores for the remaining retained subjects amount to 25 points or more meets the examination requirements;

b) For those taking the examination to obtain a Certified Auditor certificate: An examinee who meets the requirements for all seven subjects specified in Clause 2 of Article 6 and whose total scores for the remaining retained subjects (excluding the Foreign Language subject) amount to 38 points or more meets the examination requirements;

c) For those holding a Certified Public Accountant certificate taking the examination to obtain a Certified Auditor certificate: An examinee who meets the requirements for all three subjects specified in Clause 3 of Article 6 and whose total scores for the remaining retained subjects (excluding the Foreign Language subject) amount to 12.5 points or more meets the examination requirements.

5. Examinees who meet the examination requirements as stipulated in Point a, Clause 4 of this Article shall be granted a Certified Public Accountant certificate. Examinees who meet the examination requirements as stipulated in Point b or Point c, Clause 4 of this Article shall be granted a Certified Auditor certificate.

Article 19. Approval of Examination Results

1. The Examination Board bases on the marking results of each subject to compile a list of examination results for each subject of candidates to submit to the Ministry of Finance for approval for each examination period.

2. Within fifteen days from the date of announcing the examination results, examinees have the right to request a re-examination of their papers by submitting a petition to the Chairman of the Examination Board. In cases where a re-examination is conducted, the examination results will be based on the re-examination scores.

Article 20. Cancellation of Examination Results

Scores of subjects taken outside the retention period will be cancelled.

Article 21. Certificate of Examination Scores

Based on the examination results approved by the Ministry of Finance, the Chairman of the Examination Board issues a Certificate of Examination Scores for each candidate (Annex No. 03a, Annex No. 03b, Annex No. 03c). The Certificate of Examination Scores serves as the basis for applying to take unattempted subjects, retake subjects that did not meet requirements, or take the examination to increase scores (for candidates who have not attempted all required subjects or have not met the requirements for all subjects).

Section 5

ISSUANCE AND REVOCATION OF CERTIFIED AUDITOR AND CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT CERTIFICATES

Article 22. Issuance of Certified Auditor and Certified Public Accountant Certificates

1. Within forty-five days from the date of examination results, the Ministry of Finance issues a Certified Auditor or Certified Public Accountant certificate to individuals who have achieved the examination results.

2. The Certified Auditor certificate (Annex No. 04) or the Certified Public Accountant certificate (Annex No. 05) is directly awarded to the certificate holder or their authorized representative; in case of loss, it will not be reissued.

3. The Certified Auditor and Certified Public Accountant certificates have legal validity for registering to practice auditing or accounting in accordance with current laws governing auditing and accounting practices.

Article 23. Revocation of Auditor Certificate and Accountant Certificate

1. The Auditor Certificate and Accountant Certificate shall be revoked in the following cases:

a) Misrepresenting the work experience and time in the application to meet the conditions for taking the Auditor Certificate and Accountant Certificate examination.

b) Altering, forging, or cheating on academic degrees or certificates to meet the conditions for taking the Auditor Certificate and Accountant Certificate examination. The Ministry of Finance has the authority to revoke the Auditor Certificate and Accountant Certificate.

c) Taking the examination on behalf of another person or having someone take the examination on their behalf.

d) Other cases as prescribed by law.

2. The Ministry of Finance has the authority to revoke the Auditor Certificate and Accountant Certificate.

Chapter 6

HANDLING VIOLATIONS

Article 24. Handling Violations by Personnel Involved in Examination Organization Work

1. Violations by personnel involved in examination organization work include:

a) Bringing prohibited materials or items into the examination room, test area, or grading room.

b) Neglecting responsibilities in preparing for the examination, affecting its results.

c) Distorting the truth about candidates' records.

d) Directly solving problems for candidates during the examination period.

đ) Revealing the examination number or test paper sequence.

e) Swapping examination papers, examination numbers, or scores of candidates.

g) Losing candidates' examination papers when collecting, transporting, storing, or grading them.

h) Altering candidates' answer sheets.

i) Correcting scores on answer sheets, grading records, or score summary tables.

k) Revealing examination questions or answers; buying or selling examination questions or answers.

l) Taking examination questions out of the examination area or bringing solutions from outside into the examination area during the examination period.

m) Organized cheating during the examination.

2. Personnel involved in examination organization work who commit violations as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article shall be immediately suspended from participating in examination organization work upon discovery of the violation, and may be subject to disciplinary actions by the relevant management bodies according to related laws, which may include a prohibition from undertaking examination-related tasks for one to five years.

Article 25. Handling Violations by Candidates

1. Warning candidates who talk or exchange papers with others.

2. Recording a warning for candidates who continue talking or exchanging papers with others despite being warned. In this case, the candidate will lose 25% of the points for the examination.

3. Recording suspension of the examination session for candidates who commit any of the following violations:

a) Continuing to violate after being recorded for talking or exchanging papers with others.

b) Passing scratch paper or examination papers to other candidates or receiving scratch paper or examination papers from other candidates.

c) Bringing prohibited materials or items into the examination room from the start of the examination question distribution until the end of the examination period but not using them.

d) Intentionally failing to follow the examination question.

4. Recording suspension of the entire examination for candidates who commit any of the following violations:

a) Using prohibited materials or items in the examination room from the start of the examination question distribution until the end of the examination period.

b) Using technical devices for recording, transmitting, or storing information, including audio and video recording devices, to assist in answering examination questions, both inside and outside the examination room.

c) Intentionally not submitting examination papers, tearing up others' examination papers, or using others' examination papers to submit as their own.

5. Candidates suspended from the examination must leave the examination room immediately after the invigilator records the suspension and receives the decision from the Examination Center Director; they must hand over their answer sheets and examination questions to the invigilator and can only leave the examination area after two-thirds of the examination time has passed.

6. Candidates who commit any of the violations specified in Point c or Point d of Clause 3 of this Article during the examination of a particular subject will receive zero points for that subject. Candidates who commit any of the violations specified in Clause 4 of this Article will not be allowed to take subsequent subjects and will have their examination results for the entire examination canceled.

7. Canceling the current examination results and previous examination results, and prohibiting participation in the next two examinations, or referring the matter to competent authorities to pursue criminal responsibility against candidates who commit any of the following violations:

a) Assaulting invigilators, examination organizers, or other candidates.

b) Causing disturbances that disrupt security and order in the examination area, resulting in serious consequences for the examination.

c) Falsifying examination records, taking the examination on behalf of others, or having others take the examination on their behalf.

8. Disciplinary actions against candidates must be made known to the candidates. If a candidate violates rules during the examination and refuses to sign the record, two invigilators will sign the record to confirm the violation. If there is disagreement between the invigilators and the Examination Center Director regarding the handling method, both parties' opinions should be noted in the record for reporting to the Examination Center Chief for decision.

Article 26. Handling cases of violations during examination marking

1. For examination papers suspected of being marked with signs, a collective marking session shall be organized. If there is sufficient credible evidence for the examination markers and the Head of the Examination Marking Team to conclude that it is a deliberate error by the examinee, then 25% of the total score of that subject's examination paper will be deducted.

2. A score of zero (0) shall be given to examination papers written on paper not in accordance with regulations or examination papers determined to have been deliberately written in different types of characters or ink to mark the examination paper.

3. For examination papers torn due to being ripped by other examinees, based on the examination supervision report, normal marking shall proceed and the examination results shall be recognized.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 27. Transitional Provisions

1. The accounting practice certificate issued according to the following consolidated documents has the same value as the accountant certificate prescribed in this Circular:

- Decision No. 59/2004/QD-BTC dated July 9, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance promulgating the Regulations on Auditing Examination and Issuing Auditor Certificates and Accounting Practice Certificates;

- Decision No. 94/2007/QD-BTC dated November 16, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance on promulgating the Regulations on Auditing Examination and Issuing Auditor Certificates and Accounting Practice Certificates;

- Circular No. 171/2009/TT-BTC dated August 24, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Regulations on Auditing Examination and Issuing Auditor Certificates and Accounting Practice Certificates promulgated together with Decision No. 94/2007/QD-BTC dated November 16, 2007 of the Minister of Finance;

- Circular No. 129/2012/TT-BTC dated August 9, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the examination and issuance of Auditor Certificates and Accounting Practice Certificates.

2. The examination score certificates of previous examination periods issued according to Circular No. 129/2012/TT-BTC dated August 9, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the examination and issuance of Auditor Certificates and Accounting Practice Certificates have the same value as the examination score certificates of accountants prescribed in this Circular.

3. Candidates taking the examination for the first time in the years 2015 and 2016 shall apply the provisions of Clause 2, Article 18 of this Circular.

Article 28. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from October 15, 2017 and replaces Circular No. 129/2012/TT-BTC dated August 9, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the examination and issuance of Auditor Certificates and Accounting Practice Certificates.

Article 29. Implementation

The Director of the Accounting and Auditing System Department, the Director of the Cadres and Civil Servants Organization Department, the Chairman of the Auditing and Accountant Examination Council, and the Heads of relevant units are responsible for implementing this Circular./.

DEPUTY MINISTER

DEPUTY MINISTER

(Signed)

Do Hoang Anh Tuan