Speaking at the event, Deputy Finance Minister Do Hoang AnhTuan highlighted the need to standardise financial reporting to create atransparent business environment and attract more investment.
With high levels of economic openness alongside agreementsthat facilitate trade liberalisation and investment flows, especially from the privatesector, Vietnam needs to comply with financial reporting standards, he said.
Chief JICA representative in Vietnam Konaka Tesuo describedIFRS as an important tool to pooling global financial resources. He said that overthe past year, JICA has been conducted surveys and sharing Japanese and other Asiancountries’ experience in using IFRS. Meanwhile the Ministry of Finance has beenconsidering the most appropriate roadmap to IFRS adoption.
A representative from the finance ministry’s Department ofAccounting and Audit Regulations said that once the IFRS is adopted, corporatefinancial reports will improve significantly on the back of promoting better accountabilityand transparency among businesses.
The number of foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam isalso expected to increase as they could cut the cost of switching financialstatements under Vietnam’s accounting standards to those under IFRS to besynchronous with their parent companies abroad.
Several participants said difficulties still lie ahead whenit comes to IFRS adoption as Vietnam’s capital market is still limited, whilefinancial tools such as convertible bonds, derivatives, and preferred stocksare yet to be traded widely.
They said unless thorough preparations are made, it will behard to adopt IFRS successfully. –VNA