Methods used to train auditors and accountants need fundamental change,said Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditors president Dang VanThanh at a forum on April 20 in Hanoi .
Vietnam 'saccounting and auditing systems needed greater capability to analyseeconomic and financial information and make forecasts, Thanh said.
"It's necessary to put an end to passive teaching methods that compelstudents to view State accounting standards as the standard foraccounting knowledge," he added. "Students need to understand anddevelop intrinsic theories instead."
"The perception aboutaccounting needs to be changed," agreed Prof Nghiem Van Loi from theUniversity of Labour and Social Affairs. "Many universities inVietnam are still training bookkeepers, not real accountants."
Vietnamese exporters had encountered international lawsuits because ofthe differences in accounting data from foreign firms, noted Thanh.
"It was not because Vietnamese accounting and auditing regulations werenot in line with international practices, but because enterprises didnot strictly follow tax and accounting regulations," he said. "In 2003, Iwas directly involved in the basa fish lawsuit, through which I foundthat enterprises had not seriously complied with regulations." he said,noting that some Vietnamese firms were found to have no accounting orinternal audit systems in place.
An internationalstandardised accounting and auditing system needed to be built andapplied effectively in practice, he said. Both were critical elements tocreating a healthy business environment and helping Vietnam berecognised as a market economy.
Dang Thai Hung, head ofthe Department of Accounting and Auditing Policies of the Ministry ofFinance, said: "Legal provisions should be mixed with specific casestudies to prepare human resources with practical knowledge."
"Virtual accounting departments should be established to provide actualaccounting and auditing templates and case studies for students,"agreed Thanh.
Rhys Johnson, head of the Association ofChartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the Asia-Pacific region,shared a Chinese experience in offering embedded programmes inuniversities.
"Students took auditing courses from boththe universities and the ACCA," Johnson said. "These programmes wereapplied in the second year at universities, so they helped students savea lot of time to earn ACCA papers."
Chinese universitiesfaced similar challenges, including a lack of qualified lecturers, hesaid, but the challenge could be met here by co-operating with theprivate sector to deliver courses for embedded students. /.
Vietnam 'saccounting and auditing systems needed greater capability to analyseeconomic and financial information and make forecasts, Thanh said.
"It's necessary to put an end to passive teaching methods that compelstudents to view State accounting standards as the standard foraccounting knowledge," he added. "Students need to understand anddevelop intrinsic theories instead."
"The perception aboutaccounting needs to be changed," agreed Prof Nghiem Van Loi from theUniversity of Labour and Social Affairs. "Many universities inVietnam are still training bookkeepers, not real accountants."
Vietnamese exporters had encountered international lawsuits because ofthe differences in accounting data from foreign firms, noted Thanh.
"It was not because Vietnamese accounting and auditing regulations werenot in line with international practices, but because enterprises didnot strictly follow tax and accounting regulations," he said. "In 2003, Iwas directly involved in the basa fish lawsuit, through which I foundthat enterprises had not seriously complied with regulations." he said,noting that some Vietnamese firms were found to have no accounting orinternal audit systems in place.
An internationalstandardised accounting and auditing system needed to be built andapplied effectively in practice, he said. Both were critical elements tocreating a healthy business environment and helping Vietnam berecognised as a market economy.
Dang Thai Hung, head ofthe Department of Accounting and Auditing Policies of the Ministry ofFinance, said: "Legal provisions should be mixed with specific casestudies to prepare human resources with practical knowledge."
"Virtual accounting departments should be established to provide actualaccounting and auditing templates and case studies for students,"agreed Thanh.
Rhys Johnson, head of the Association ofChartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the Asia-Pacific region,shared a Chinese experience in offering embedded programmes inuniversities.
"Students took auditing courses from boththe universities and the ACCA," Johnson said. "These programmes wereapplied in the second year at universities, so they helped students savea lot of time to earn ACCA papers."
Chinese universitiesfaced similar challenges, including a lack of qualified lecturers, hesaid, but the challenge could be met here by co-operating with theprivate sector to deliver courses for embedded students. /.
