Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope
This Law provides for contents of accounting works, accounting apparatus, accountants, accounting services, accounting management by regulatory bodies, and accounting associations.
Article 2. Regulated entities
1. Agencies responsible for revenues and expenditures of state budget at various levels.
2. State agencies, organizations, public service agencies using state budget.
3. Organizations, public service agencies that do not use state budget.
4. Enterprises established and operated under Vietnam’s law; branches and representative offices of foreign enterprises operating in Vietnam.
5. Cooperatives, cooperative associations.
6. Business households, artels.
7. Accountants.
8. Accounting practitioners, enterprises and households providing accounting services.
9. Accounting associations.
10. Other agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in accounting and provision of accounting services in Vietnam.
Article 3. Definitions
In this Law, the terms below are construed as follows:
1. Financial statement means a system of financial information of an accounting unit demonstrated according to a form provided for by accounting standards and accounting regime.
2. Accounting regime means a set of regulations and instructions on accounting applied to certain fields or works promulgated by accounting authorities or organizations authorized by accounting authority
3. Accounting records are documents and storage devices that contain economic/financial transactions that occur and have been complete as the basis for making accounting books.
4. Accounting units are the agencies, organizations and units specified in Clause 1 through 5 Article 2 of this Law that make financial statements.
5. Original price means the initially recorded value of an asset or liability. Original price includes the cost of purchase, handling, transport, assembly, processing, and other direct costs until the asset is ready to be used.
6. Reasonable value means the value that is appropriate for market price that can be generated when selling an asset or transferring a liability at that time.
7. Form of accounting means the forms of accounting books, procedures and methods for making accounting books, and the relation among the accounting books.
8. Accounting means collection, processing, inspecting, analysis, and provision of economic, financial information in the form of value, objects, and working hours.
9. Financial accounting means collection, processing, inspecting, analysis, and provision of economic, financial information in the form of financial statements for entities that need information about the accounting unit.
10. Administrative accounting means collection, processing, inspecting, analysis, and provision of economic, financial information to serve administrative requirements and the making of internal economic, financial decisions of the accounting unit.
11. Accounting practitioner means a person granted the License to provide accounting services prescribed by this Law.
12. Accounting inspection means examination, assessment of conformity with regulations of law on accounting, truthfulness and accuracy of accounting information and data.
13. Provision of accounting services means provision of accounting services, chief accountant’s services, making of financial statements, accounting consultancy, and other accounting works defined by this Law for service users.
14. Accounting period means a period of time from the time the accounting unit starts to make its accounting book to the time it closes the accounting book to make the financial statement.
15. Economic/financial transactions are activities that increase or decrease assets and sources of assets of an accounting unit.
16. Accounting method means the specific method and procedures for doing each accounting work.
17. Electronic equipment means equipment operating based on electric, electronic, digital, magnetic technologies, wireless transmission, optical technologies, electromagnetic technology, or similar technologies.
18. Accounting documents are accounting records, accounting books, financial statement, administrative accounting reports, audit reports, accounting inspection reports, and other documents relevant to accounting.
Article 4. Accounting objectives
1. Collecting, processing accounting information and data according to subjects and contents of accounting works, accounting standards and accounting regime.
2. Inspecting, supervising revenues, expenditures, debts; inspecting the management, use of assets and sources of assets; discovering and preventing violations against regulations on finance and accounting.
3. Analyzing accounting information and data; advising, proposing solutions for resolving administrative requirements and making of economic, financial decisions of the accounting unit.
4. Providing accounting information and data as prescribed by law.
Article 5. Accounting requirements
1. All economic/financial transactions are fully recorded into accounting records, accounting books, and financial statements.
2. Accounting information and data are recorded in a timely manner.
3. Accounting information and data are recorded in a clear, understandable, and accurate timely manner.
4. Status, nature, contents, and value of economic/financial transactions are recorded truthfully and objectively.
5. Accounting information and data must be continuously recorded from the beginning to the end of every economic, financial activity, from the establishment to the shutdown of the accounting unit; the accounting data of a period must continue that of the previous period.
6. Accounting information and data are classified and sorted systematically in a way that can be compared and verified.
Article 6. Accounting principles
1. Values of assets and liabilities must be recorded according to their original prices. After being initially recorded, regarding certain types of assets and liabilities whose values fluctuate according to market prices and can be reliably re-determined according to reasonable values at the end of the financial statement period.
2. Chosen regulations and accounting method must be consistently applied throughout the fiscal year; where the chosen regulations and accounting method are changed, the accounting unit must provide explanation in its financial statement.
3. The accounting unit must collect, record economic/financial transactions that occur objectively, fully, truthfully, and in the correct accounting period.
4. Every financial statement must be completely, accurately, made and sent to competent authority in a timely manner. Information and data in financial statements of accounting units must be made publicly available in accordance with Article 31 and Article 32 of this Law.
5. Accounting units shall apply methods for evaluation of assets, distribute the revenues and expenditures carefully; do not falsify the results of their economic, financial activities.
6. Financial statements must be made and presented in a way that correctly reflects the nature of the transactions rather than their names.
7. Apart from Clause 1 through 6 of this Article, regulatory bodies, organizations, public service agencies using state budget shall do accounting according to state budget tables.
Article 7. Accounting standards and codes of ethics for accountants
1. Accounting standards comprise the basic accounting methods and regulations for making financial statements.
2. Code of ethics for accountants comprises regulations and instructions on principles, application of the code of ethics to accountants, accounting practitioners, enterprises and households providing accounting services.
3. The Ministry of Finance shall provide for accounting standards and codes of ethics for accountants based on international accounting standards and Vietnam’s conditions.
Article 8. Accounting subjects
1. Accounting subjects with regard to revenues, expenditures of state budget, administrative operation; operation of units and organizations using state budget include:
a) Money, supplies, and fixed assets;
b) Budgets, funds;
c) Internal and external payments of the accounting unit;
d) Revenues, expenditures, and settlement of difference between revenue and expenditure;
dd) Revenues, expenditures, and surplus of state budget;
e) Financial, credit investment by the State;
g) Debt and settlement of public debt;
h) Public assets;
i) Other property, assets, and liabilities related to the accounting unit.
2. Accounting subjects with regard to operation of units and organizations that do not use state budget include assets and sources of assets specified in Point a, b, c, d, and I Clause 1 of this Article.
3. Accounting subjects with regard to business operation, except for the activities specified in Clause 4 of this Article, include:
a) Assets;
b) Liability and owner’s capital;
c) Revenues, operating cost, incomes, and other cots;
d) Taxes and amounts payable to state budget;
dd) Business outcome and distribution thereof;
e) Other property, assets, and liabilities related to the accounting unit.
4. Accounting subjects with regard to the fields of banking, credit, insurance, securities, and financial investment include:
a) The subjects specified in Clause 3 of this Article;
b) Financial and credit investment;
c) Internal and external payments of the accounting unit;
d) Commitments, guarantees, valuable papers.
Article 9. Financial accounting, administrative accounting, general accounting, detailed accounting
1. Accounting works of an accounting unit include financial accounting and administrative accounting.
2. When doing financial accounting and administrative accounting, the accounting unit must also do general accounting and detailed accounting as follows:
a) General accounting involves collection, processing, recording, and provision of general information about economic and financial activities of the accounting unit. General accounting uses currencies to reflect assets, sources of assets, status and outcomes of economic and financial activities of the accounting unit. General accounting is done based on information and data of detailed accounting;
b) Detailed accounting involves collection, processing, recording, and provision of detailed information in the form of currencies, objects, and working hours of each particular accounting subject of the accounting unit. Detailed accounting is meant to illustrate general accounting. Detailed accounting data must be consistent with general accounting data in an accounting period.
3. The Ministry of Finance shall provide guidance on application of administrative accounting to each field.
Article 10. Units for accounting
1. The accounting currency is Vietnam dong; its Vietnamese symbol is “đ” and international symbol is "VND”. Where an economic/financial transaction in a foreign currency occurs, the accounting unit must record the foreign currency and VND at the actual exchange rate, unless otherwise prescribed by law; if there is not exchange rate between the foreign currency and VND, it shall be exchanged into another foreign currency that has an exchange rate with VND.
An accounting unit whose most revenues and expenditures are in a foreign currency may use such foreign currency as the accounting currency and has to take legal responsibility for such action and notify its supervisory tax authority. When making a financial statement which is used in Vietnam, the accounting unit must convert the foreign currency into VND at the actual exchange rate, unless otherwise prescribed by law.
2. Items and working hours used as units for accounting are legal units of measurement of Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Where an accounting unit uses another unit of measurement, it must be converted into a legal unit of Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
3. Accounting units are allowed to round numbers, use abbreviated units when making or publishing their financial statements.
4. The government shall elaborate and provide guidance on implementation of this Article.
Article 11. Text and numbers for accounting
1. The language of accounting shall be Vietnamese. Where a foreign language must be used on an accounting record, accounting book, or financial statement which is used in Vietnam, it is required to use both Vietnamese and that foreign language.
2. Numbers used for accounting are Arabic numerals; the thousands separator is a dot (.); and the decimal mark is a comma (,).
3. With regard to foreign enterprises, branches of foreign enterprises or foreign organizations who have to sent their financial statements to the parent companies or overseas organization, or share the same transaction management software programs with the parent companies or overseas organization may use a comma (,) as the thousands separator and a dot as a decimal mark. In this case, it is required to be noted in the accounting documents, accounting books, and financial statements; the financial statements submitted to tax authorities, statistics authorities, and other competent authorities shall comply with Clause 2 of this Article.
Article 12. Accounting periods
1. Accounting periods include annual accounting periods, quarterly accounting periods, and monthly accounting periods. To be specific:
a) An annual accounting period is 12 months from January 01 to the end of December 31. Any accounting unit, because of its difference in organizational structure or operation, that is allowed to begin the annual accounting period on the 1st of the first month of a quarter and end it on the last day of the last month of the next four quarter must notify the finance authority and tax authority.
b) A quarterly accounting period lasts for 03 months from the 1st of the first month of the quarter to the last day of the last month of the quarter;
c) A monthly accounting period lasts for 01 month from the 1st to the last day of the month.
2. Accounting periods of a new accounting unit:
a) The first accounting period of a new enterprise begins on the issuance date of the Certificate of Enterprise Registration and ends on the last day of the annual, quarterly, or monthly accounting period specified in Clause 1 of this Article;
b) The first accounting period of another accounting unit other than a new enterprise begins on the issuance date of the decision on establishment of the accounting unit and ends on the last day of the annual, quarterly, or monthly accounting period specified in Clause 1 of this Article.
3. Where an accounting unit is divided, consolidated, merged, converted, transferred, dissolved, shut down, or bankrupt, the last accounting period begins on the first day of the annual, quarterly, or monthly accounting period specified in Clause 1 of this Article and ends on the day preceding the effective date of the decision on division, consolidation, merger, conversion, transfer, dissolution, shutdown, or bankruptcy of the accounting unit.
4. If the first or last annual accounting period is shorter than 90 days, it may be aggregated with the next or previous annual accounting period, respectively; the first or last annual accounting period must be shorter than 15 months.
Article 13. Prohibited acts
1. Forging, making false statements in, falsifying accounting records or other accounting documents, or forcing another person to do so.
2. Intentionally providing, verifying false accounting information and data, or colluding with another person in doing so or forcing another person to do so.
3. Leaving assets, liabilities of the accounting unit or related to the accounting unit from the accounting books.
4. Destroying or deliberately damaging accounting documents before the expiration of the retention period specified in Article 41 of this Law.
5. Promulgating, publishing accounting standards or accounting regimes ultra vires.
6. Bribing, threatening, repressing, forcing accountants to do accounting works against this Law.
7. Allowing the manager or operator of an accounting unit to act as its accountant, warehouse-keeper, or treasurer, except for private enterprises and any limited liability company owned by a single individual.
8. Assigning or hiring people that fail to satisfy all standards and requirements specified in Article 51 and Article 54 of this Law as accountants or chief accountants.
9. Renting, borrowing, leasing out, or lending the accountant certificate or Certificate of Accounting Practice Registration in any shape or form.
10. Establishing two or more accounting book systems or providing, publishing financial statements that contain inconsistent data in the same accounting period.
11. Providing accounting services without the Certificate of eligibility to provide accounting services or practice accounting without satisfying all requirements specified in this Law.
12. Use the phrase “dịch vụ kế toán” (“accounting services”) in the enterprise’s name without the Certificate of eligibility to provide accounting services after 06 months from the issuance date of the Certificate of Enterprise Registration, or while the enterprise has stopped providing accounting services.
13. Hiring individuals or organizations that fail to satisfy all requirements for practicing accounting or providing accounting services to provide accounting services.
14. Accounting practitioners and accounting firms colluding with their clients in providing or verifying false accounting information and data.
15. Other prohibited acts according to regulations of law against corruption in accounting works.
Article 14. Value of accounting documents and data
1. Accounting documents and data have the legal value and used for publishing as prescribed by law.
2. Accounting documents and data are the basis for formulating and approving plans, estimates, financial statements, and evaluation of violations.
Article 15. Responsibility for management, use, provision of accounting information and documents
1. Accounting units are responsible for management, use, preservation, and retention of accounting documents.
2. Accounting units have the responsibility to provide accounting information and documents in a timely, complete, truthful, and transparent manner to other agencies, organizations, and individuals as prescribed by law.
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Luật Kế toán 2015 (Bản Pdf)
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