New Policies Effective from Mid-October 2017

1. Conditions for the Certified Auditor and Accountant Examination

On August 31, 2017, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 91/2017/TT-BTC, which stipulates the examination, issuance, and management of auditor and accountant certificates.

Conditions for the auditor and accountant certification exams have been combined, no longer separated as before. Specifically:

- Has professional ethics, honesty, integrity, and a sense of law compliance;- Holds a university degree or higher in Finance, Banking, Accounting, Auditing, or other fields but must meet the required number of subjects; or has a degree issued by international accounting, auditing organizations.- At least 36 months of actual work experience in finance, accounting, or auditing;- Submits the complete application form and examination fees as prescribed;- Not falling into the categories specified in Clauses 1, 2 of Article 52 of the Law on Accounting.

Circular 91/2017/TT-BTC is effective from October 15, 2017.

2. Amendment to the Loan Application Form for Working Abroad

This notable content is mentioned in Circular 24/2017/TT-BLDTBXH, which amends and supplements several articles of Circular 45/2015/TT-BLDTBXH guiding the implementation of the National Employment Fund under Decree 61/2015/ND-CP.

Circular 24 amends several forms issued with Circular 45/2015/TT-BLDTBXH, such as:

- Form 01b: Loan application form for job creation, maintenance, and expansion (for lending to workers through households).- Form 02: Loan project for job creation, maintenance, and expansion.- Form 03b: Loan application form for working abroad under a labor contract (for lending to workers through households).

See detailed replacement forms in Circular 24/2017/TT-BLDTBXH effective from October 15, 2017.

3. Conditions for Exemption from Foreign Language Exam in the Promotion Exam to Social Work Titles

According to Circular 25/2017/TT-BLDTBXH (effective from October 15, 2017) issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, public employees taking the promotion exam to social work titles are exempt from the foreign language exam if they meet one of the following conditions:

- Men from 55 years old and women from 50 years old or older, as of December 31 of the exam organizing year;- Holds a second university degree majoring in foreign languages;- Studied and researched full-time abroad and were awarded a university degree, master's degree, or doctorate by a foreign training institution using one of the languages English, Russian, French, German, or Chinese in their training;- Holds a B1 foreign language certificate according to the European framework or a TOEFL PBT score of 450, TOEFL CBT score of 133, TOEFL IBT score of 45, IELTS score of 4.5 or higher for the promotion exam from rank III to rank II. Certificates must be valid for 2 years (24 months) as of the deadline for exam registration submission;- Is an ethnic minority person and working in an ethnic minority area (not applicable in the promotion exam from rank III to rank II).

4. Requirements for Number of Lecturers When Opening University Training Programs

The Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular 22/2017/TT-BGDDT on conditions, processes, and procedures for opening training programs and suspending enrollment, revoking decisions on opening university-level training programs.

Universities must ensure the number of lecturers when opening training programs in health sciences as per regulations:

- General Medicine: At least 02 PhDs in biomedical sciences, 06 PhDs in clinical medicine, and 01 PhD in preventive medicine (or public health).- Odonto-Stomatology: At least 02 PhDs in biomedical sciences, 02 PhDs in clinical medicine, and 03 PhDs in Odonto-Stomatology.- Traditional Medicine: At least 02 PhDs in biomedical sciences, 03 PhDs in traditional medicine, and 01 PhD in preventive medicine (or public health).- Preventive Medicine: At least 02 PhDs in biomedical sciences, 01 PhD in clinical medicine, and 04 PhDs in preventive medicine (or public health).

See details in Circular 22/2017/TT-BGDDT effective from October 23, 2017.

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