Viện Nghiên cứu Chính sách và Chiến lược

CỔNG THÔNG TIN KINH TẾ VIỆT NAM

Tin mới

Investors must be at the heart of the financial system (26/9)

26/09/2012 - 52 Lượt xem

In Vietnam, following a roundtable workshop between domestic financial institutions and the Finance Ministry, which took place in Ho Chi Minh City on September 17, 2012, a meeting was held in Hanoi on September 18 to announce and discuss the report, attracting more than 100 representatives of domestic businesses and financial institutions. 
The report indicates that investors want public limited companies (PLCs) to provide more forecasts and information to help analysts assess the forecasts. Financial information must be clear and reliable. Investors found that unified reports provide them with information they lack. Unified reports are made based on a tight combination between risk management and business results. The provision of clear reports on social accountability, environment and business administration will help increase investor trust in the future management capability of managers.
Grant Thornton Vietnam Managing Director Ken Atkinson said, "An important thing is that the role of investors must be recognized and they should contribute their opinions to developing global financial and accounting standards. This matter is still ignored and it must be dealt with."
Answering the question should Vietnam apply Vietnamese accounting standards (VAS) or international financial reporting standards (IFRS), Dang Thai Hung, Director of the Accounting and Auditing Department of the Finance Ministry, said, "Vietnam has undergone 20 years of renovation in the field of accounting and auditing and achieved good results especially in the last decade (2001-2010). The Accounting Law and the Law on State Audit have been promulgated, setting new standards applied to all business types. Vietnam has its own standards on auditing, but it remains very difficult for us to apply these standards in the public accounting system." Dang Thai Hung added that the Finance Ministry still plays a limited role in supervising the application of accounting and auditing standards at Vietnamese businesses. To improve the situation, the Finance Ministry will soon establish a financially self-supporting organization that is responsible for supervising the application of accounting and auditing standards at businesses when they make a financial report. Such an organization will be operational under the name Accounting and Auditing Supervisory Authority.
Dr. Hoang Viet Ha, Director of Operations at Bao Viet Group, said, "Making financial reports according to IFRS allows us to analyze and compare the operation situation of our businesses to that of other companies so that we can make exact observations about favorable conditions as well as difficulties that face us and propose suitable policies and strategies. The transparency of financial reporting will help us win the trust of customers, investors and partners. It will facilitate our transactions. Businesses which apply IFRS will have more advantages than those which do not apply these standards."
Chief Representative of ACCA in Vietnam, Le Thi Hong Len, said that through research, ACCA and Grant Thornton found investors do not yet know what they need from the financial reports of businesses. The workshop helped Vietnamese investors understand what kinds of information they need and present their opinions on existing financial reports.
"Investors want the gap between Vietnamese and international financial reporting standards to be as small as possible. However, it will be very difficult to apply IFRS in Vietnam due to the lack of human and financial resources. ACCA Vietnam has been operational for 10 years but so far just more than 500 of its members have met international standards - a too small number. Vietnamese businesses still lack qualified accountants and this makes it difficult for them to apply IFRS," said Le Thi Hong Len./.

Source: VEN