What are the Requirements to Establish an Accounting Service Company?

Accounting Law 2003 stipulates: Practicing accounting is the activity of providing accounting services by enterprises or individuals who meet the standards and conditions to perform accounting services. Accounting service companies are organizations that undertake tasks related to the accounting department of a company under a principle agreement and work contract but are not subject to the management or headcount of that company.

To establish an accounting service company, certain regulations must be met according to the Enterprise Law, Accounting Law, and guiding documents.

Regarding form and organizational structure:

An accounting service company can be established in the following forms: limited liability company, partnership company, and private enterprise.

The establishment, organizational management, and operation of an accounting service enterprise must comply with the provisions of the Law on Enterprises and Decree 129/2004/ND-CP.

Regarding business lines:

Entities registered to provide accounting services may perform the accounting services stipulated in Article 43 of Decree 129/2004/ND-CP as follows:

- Performing accounting;- Acting as chief accountant;- Specifically establishing accounting systems for accounting units;- Providing and advising on applying information technology in accounting;- Providing accounting professional training, updating accounting knowledge;- Financial consulting;- Tax declaration;- Other accounting services as prescribed by law.

Regarding practicing certificates and personnel conditions for accounting service companies:

Circular 72/2007/TT-BTC provides guidance on the conditions for registering to practice accounting for accounting service enterprises as follows:

- Must be registered to provide accounting services;- Must have at least 2 persons with an accounting practicing certificate or an auditor certificate issued by the Ministry of Finance, of which the director of the enterprise must be a person with an accounting practicing certificate or an auditor certificate for 2 years or more.

The Circular 72 also stipulates conditions for individuals registering to provide accounting services and those practicing accounting in accounting service enterprises as follows:

For individuals providing accounting services:

- Must have a clear background, professional ethics, honesty, integrity, and not fall under those prohibited from doing accounting under Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 51 of the Accounting Law;- Must have an accounting practicing certificate or an auditor certificate issued by the Ministry of Finance;- Must have an office and transaction address;- Must be registered to provide accounting services;- For foreigners registering to practice accounting individually in Vietnam, there must be an additional condition of being allowed to reside in Vietnam for 1 year or more, unless otherwise stipulated in international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory or accedes.

For persons practicing accounting in accounting service enterprises:

- Must have a clear background, professional ethics, honesty, integrity, and not fall under those prohibited from doing accounting under Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 51 of the Accounting Law;- Must have an accounting practicing certificate or an auditor certificate issued by the Ministry of Finance;- Must have a labor contract to work in an accounting service enterprise established and operating in accordance with Vietnamese law.

At any given time, an accounting practitioner may only register to practice at one accounting service enterprise, one auditing enterprise, or register to practice individually.

An individual registering to practice accounting for the second time onward must also meet the condition of fully participating in annual knowledge update programs as prescribed in Clause 6 of Circular 72.

Regarding the dossier for registering to practice accounting:

The director of the accounting service enterprise must base on the application for accounting practice registration of the accountant and the regulations on the conditions for practicing accounting to review whether the person meets the conditions for practicing in that year. If eligible, the director will prepare a dossier for the enterprise's accounting practice registration to be submitted to the professional association authorized by the Ministry of Finance for review and confirmation.

The initial accounting practice registration dossier includes:

- List of accounting practice registration for the year... (Appendix No. 03/KET) accompanied by the application for accounting practice registration of each individual who meets the conditions in the registration list;- Notarized copy of the business registration certificate;- Notarized copy or a signed and stamped copy by the director of the accounting service enterprise for the accounting practicing certificate or the auditor certificate of the enterprise director and the individuals listed in the registration;- Three 3x4 photos taken at the time of application registration for each individual listed in the registration.

Those who registered to practice accounting in the accounting service enterprise in the previous year, if deemed eligible to continue practicing in the following year by the enterprise director, do not need to submit a complete dossier like the initial registration but only need to submit an application for accounting practice registration according to the form.

An accounting service enterprise registering to practice accounting for the second time onward only needs to submit the "List of accounting practice registration for the year."

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