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Mr. Pham Sy Danh, President, Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants (Fam Si Zan)
Associate Professor Dr Tran Van Ta, Honorary President, VACPA (Tran Van Ta)
Dr. Ha Thi Ngoc Ha, Vice President (Technical), VACPA (Ha Ti Ngok Ha)
Dr. Tran Khanh Lam, Secretary General, VACPA (Tran Xan Lam)
Dr. Vu Duc Chinh, Director of Accounting and Auditing (Vu Duk Cin)
Supervisory Department, MoF
VACPA Executive Board members,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning.
Earlier in May this year, I visited Hanoi in my capacity as ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) President and made a presentation on the “Development Trends of the Accounting Profession in ASEAN”.
I was privileged to have met key stakeholders of the Vietnam accountancy sector who shared candidly with me the latest developments in the Vietnam accountancy profession. I cannot help but be in awe of the remarkable speed of progress in Vietnam. The developments for the Vietnam accountancy profession are both exciting and inspiring for everyone.
I am delighted and honoured to be back in Hanoi again on this special occasion to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ISCA and VACPA. Today’s MoU was two years in the making. This is a historic moment for both ISCA and VACPA, thanks to the hard work put in by both organisations to make the adaptation of ISCA’s Audit Manual for Standalone Entities (or AMSE) for Vietnam possible.
Background
When we shared the ISCA’s AMSE with our ASEAN friends in 2017, VACPA had expressed keen interest in AMSE as it was looking to improve audit quality in Vietnam.
The quality of financial reports is key to confident and informed markets and investors. High-quality financial reports are fundamental to building trust in capital markets, enhancing the attractiveness of businesses on the international arena and facilitating access to direct investments. Thus, the purpose of an independent audit and auditors is to provide confidence in the quality of financial reports.
Hence, ISCA made a bold investment to develop AMSE so as to improve audit quality and the consistency of audit execution in order to maintain confidence in the independent assurance provided by auditors[1]. To date, more than 90% of the 680 small and medium practitioners in Singapore have adopted the AMSE.
About AMSE
The AMSE is aimed at facilitating the auditors’ thinking process which is critical in the performance of an audit. The audit methodology used in AMSE is a risk-based approach which focuses on the key risk areas in an audit engagement.
It encourages engagement teams to design customised audit procedures based on identified audit risks and adopt a more targeted approach as opposed to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut for fear of omitting key procedures. This would lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness of audits.
Later in the morning, Ms Magdalene Ang, an ISCA member and Audit Partner, R Chan & Associates PAC will share an overview of ISCA’s audit manual, how to use the audit manual and application of key methodologies. Magdalene heads her own consultancy and training company where she assists her clients with practice management and financial reporting related issues. She is also a seasoned trainer with ISCA and Wolters Kluwer Singapore.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Ang for taking time off work to make this trip to Hanoi.
Conclusion
ASEAN is a diverse region comprising ten member states at varying stages of economic development and each is unique in terms of culture, language and people. If we embrace the ASEAN motto “One Vision | One Identity | One Community” and stand united together, co-operating and collaborating on common interests, we can look forward to more prosperous times for everyone in ASEAN.
This MOU is a reflection of the true ASEAN spirit and Singapore is privileged to have been given the opportunity to partner VACPA in strengthening the audit accountancy profession in Vietnam. “Alone we can do something; together we do so much more.”
As we work and support each other in areas of mutual interests in the true ASEAN spirit, I am confident that VACPA and ISCA will grow closer in our friendship and we can look forward to progressing together and enjoying more prosperous times in the future.
Thank you.
[1] Australian Securities & Investments Commission https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/financial-reporting-and-audit/auditors/improving-and-maintaining-audit-quality/