Vietnam: Order of circulation and inspection of accounting documents

According to Circular No. 109/2018/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, accounting documents prepared by the Fund or externally incoming documents must be all sent to the accounting department of the Fund. The accounting department shall have the burden of checking all of these received accounting documents, and may use these documents only after examining and verifying their legitimacy. Accounting documents shall be circulated according to the following steps:

- Prepare, receive and process accounting documents;

- Accountant and Chief Accountant checks and signs on accounting documents, or seeks the approval from the Director of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance in accordance with regulations laid down in each sample accounting document (if any);

- Sort and handle accounting documents, make credit and debit entries and enter accounts into accounting records;

- Retain and keep safe custody of accounting documents.

Concurrently, Circular No. 109/2018/TT-BTC also stipulates that tasks of inspection of accounting documents include:

- Inspection of transparency, authenticity and adequacy of indicators and elements defined on accounting documents;

- Inspection of the legitimacy of economic and financial transactions specified on accounting documents; collation of information inscribed on accounting documents with those on other relevant documents;

- Inspection of the accuracy of data and information inscribed on accounting documents.

Notably, if any violation against policies, regimes and regulations regarding economic and financial administration of the State has been discovered after an inspection of accounting documents, implementation of these accounting documents must be rejected and such violation shall be promptly informed in writing to the Director of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance to seek his/her timely actions in accordance with regulations currently in force.

As for accounting documents which have been prepared in violation of procedures, and whose contents and numerals are not clear, the person responsible for checking or entering data in accounting records shall be required to return faulty accounting documents, request any necessary supplement and make possible modifications in order to make them qualify as evidence for making entries in accounting records.

View more details at Circular No. 109/2018/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, effective from January 01, 2019.

-Thao Uyen-

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