Requirements in internal audit activities at the State Bank of Vietnam

Requirements in internal audit activities at the State Bank of Vietnam (Internet image) 

1. What are internal audit activities?

According to Clause 3, Article 3 of Circular 06/2020/TT-NHNN, internal audit activities involve supervision and inspection by organizations, individuals, internal controllers and/or authorized persons of departments and individuals during performance of their duties in order to discover inadequacies, deficiencies and violations, thereby taking or requesting a competent authority to take timely actions against them in order to ensure safe and effective management and use of resources and operation of units, and compliance with laws.

2. Requirements for internal audit activities of the State Bank of Vietnam

Specifically, Article 15 of Circular 06/2020/TT-NHNN stipulates the requirements for internal audit activities of the State Bank of Vietnam as follows:

- Determine scope of audit, perform tasks and exchange audit results without any interference and access audit information and documents without any limitation.

- Upon carrying out an internal audit, controllers and internal auditors must adopt an objective, fair and unbiased attitude and avoid all conflicts of interest with audited units, and must be proficient and meticulous in work.

Controllers and internal auditors has the right and obligation to report issues that may affect their independence and objectivity before and during an internal audit at a unit to a competent person in accordance with the SBV’s Internal audit regulation.

- Do not deploy controllers and internal auditors to audit:

= Activities or units to which they are responsible for carrying out or manage within the last 03 (three) years.

= Regulations, processes and procedures which they are mainly responsible for establishing.

= A unit that has their relative who is the head of the unit, the chief accountant (or the head of the accounting department), the head of the internal control department/division or the full-time internal controller.

3. Principles of internal audit activities of the State Bank of Vietnam

Internal audit activities of the State Bank of Vietnam are conducted based on the principles specified in Article 14 of Circular 06/2020/TT-NHNN, specifically as follows:

- Ensure the independence, truthfulness, objectivity, publicity and transparency.

- Comply with laws, SBV’s regulations and business processes; adhere to audit programs and plans approved by the Governor.

- Do not interfere in or obstruct the normal operation of audited units; protect state secrets and secrets of audited units.

- The Governor shall make a final decision on controversial issues concerning internal audit activities of SBV.

4. Regulations on the management and provision of instructions on internal audit activities of the State Bank of Vietnam

The Governor shall provide instructions on and inspect internal audit activities of SBV, including:

- Promulgating or authorizing promulgation of documents, rules and processes regarding internal audit of SBV.

- Approving annual and unscheduled plans for internal audit of SBV.

- Deciding to appoint and dismiss controllers.

- Taking necessary measures to manage and supervise internal audit of SBV, including measures to take prompt measures against violations of law and regulations on internal audit; providing instructions on supervision and assessment of internal audit activities to make sure objectives are achieved and internal audit activities are carried out in an effective manner.

- Providing adequate and necessary resources for internal audit activities; decide issues concerning interests of internal auditors.

- Providing instructions on handling or handling, within his/her power, complaints, denunciations and propositions from audited units and other organizations and individuals related to internal audit activities of SBV.

(Article 18 of Circular 06/2020/TT-NHNN)

Thanh Rin

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