Modernize and meet the trend of digital transformation in accounting activities

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Technology helps the accounting industry increase efficiency and productivity. Photo: ST

According to the Ministry of Finance, by the end of February 2024, the whole country had 162 enterprises qualified to provide accounting services and 429 practicing accountants.

Apply appropriate technology and optimize operations

Sharing about the role of technology in the accounting and auditing profession, Ms. Dinh Thi Thuy, General Director of MISA Joint Stock Company, Standing Member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Association of Accounting and Auditing (VAA) said that modern technology is increasingly developing strongly, creating conditions for the accounting profession to change deeply, from automating work processes, receiving information to making business decisions, etc.

Accordingly, technology helps the accounting industry increase efficiency and labor productivity, improve the quality of data and financial information, restructure and optimize work processes, and enhance information security of accounting data, while creating opportunities to develop your career to a new level. Ms. Thuy said that the prominent technologies that are being strongly applied are artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and blockchain technology. Thereby, a number of applications such as artificial intelligence assistant MISA - AVA, Deloitte's Argus cognitive application in auditing, electronic invoice software of some manufacturing enterprises, etc. have helped businesses more in accounting activities.

Similarly, Mr. Pulkit Abrol, Asia-Pacific Regional Director of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), said that digital transformation is essential, so ACCA prioritizes the digital transformation of finance, focusing on AI, big data and blockchain, etc.

Accounting businesses also stated that developing infrastructure for AI, digital and blockchain investment is a key factor. Vietnam is making significant progress in adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), making it even more necessary to apply digital solutions to meet standards and implement accordingly. Along with that, management policies and legal documents from authorities must also have changes in accordance with the increasingly rapid and strong development of technology.

Policies to facilitate and improve professional ethics

Commenting on changes in policies related to accounting, Ms. Dinh Thi Thuy said that many changes in the 2015 Accounting Law and guiding decrees and circulars have caught up with the trend, in which many circulars from the Ministry of Finance guiding accounting activities have been researched and updated to make appropriate changes.

For example, recently, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 24/2024/TT-BTC guiding the administrative accounting regime. The Circular has many new points compared to regulations in previous accounting regimes to guide Vietnamese public accounting standards and new financial mechanisms, meeting the requirements of organizing a streamlined and effective accounting apparatus, overcoming existing problems in practice and in providing information for state financial reporting.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance also issued Circular No. 23/TT-BTC amending and supplementing a number of articles of circulars guiding the management and inspection of accounting service activities. In particular, the Circular provides regulations on updating and publicizing information about practicing accountants with contents on the list of practicing accountants whose certificates are suspended or revoked, etc. The Circular also regulates Regulations on inspection of accounting service business units, etc.

According to experts and businesses, the new regulations mentioned above, especially Circular 23, pose higher requirements for operating businesses and accountants. In his speech at the 7th Congress of VAA Delegates (2024-2029), Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi acknowledged the reality that the quality of accounting information and service quality is not high and does not meet the requirements of the State and of information users. There are still many phenomena of irresponsibility and lack of regular cultivation of professional capacity and professional ethics, etc.

According to Mr. Pulkit Abrol, AI is a powerful tool for accounting activities, so businesses need to use it appropriately, especially accountants need to use AI tools ethically and promote job responsibility.

From the above issues, Ms. Dinh Thi Thuy believes that to keep up with the trend of digital transformation, accountants need continuous training on new technology and advanced accounting software, thereby being flexible and ready to adapt to new technologies. Meanwhile, according to Prof.Dr. Doan Xuan Tien, Chairman of the Southeast Asian Federation of Accountants, Chairman of VAA, VAA and its members have implemented many activities to develop and enhance the capacity of members, meeting the new needs and demands of the career; especially strengthening propaganda, education and proactive control of professional ethics, quality control of accounting and auditing services.

Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi has asked people working in finance, accounting, and auditing throughout the country to develop so that Vietnamese accounting and auditing can best meet what the country requires in the progress of innovation and deeper integration into the regional and world economy.

Along with that, experts recommend that accounting legal policies need to continue to be updated and amended in a way that ensures compliance with the digital transformation process, such as compliance with regulations on electronic transactions, electronic data, etc in the Electronic Transactions Law 2023 that will take effect this July.