Vietnam — Business: Accounting

Why this matters

The VAS-vs-IFRS gap trips up multinational finance teams every year at group consolidation time — budgeting for a proper conversion/mapping process (either via your local accounting firm or an in-house controller familiar with both frameworks) avoids scrambling at year-end.

Key facts

• Statutory accounting must follow Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS), issued by the Ministry of Finance, which differ from IFRS in areas like provisioning, certain revenue recognition timing, and fixed asset treatment.
• Bookkeeping records must be maintained in Vietnamese and in VND as the base currency — a parallel foreign-language/foreign-currency record can be kept for internal/group reporting purposes but doesn't replace the Vietnamese statutory books.
• Annual financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, notes) must be prepared and, for most companies above certain size/type thresholds (including all foreign-invested enterprises), independently audited by a licensed Vietnamese audit firm.
• The fiscal year is the calendar year by default, though companies can apply to the tax authority to use an alternative 12-month period.
• E-invoicing (hóa đơn điện tử) is mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses, integrated with the tax authority's system — proper e-invoice issuance is central to VAT input credit claims and general bookkeeping accuracy.
• Most foreign-invested companies engage a local accounting/audit firm (Big 4 or reputable local firms) given the VAS complexity and language requirement, rather than attempting fully in-house bookkeeping without local expertise.

Steps

1. Set up VAS-compliant bookkeeping from day one — Engage a qualified local accountant or accounting firm to establish Vietnamese-language, VND-based statutory books compliant with VAS from the company's first transactions.
2. Implement e-invoicing — Register and integrate an e-invoicing system connected to the tax authority before issuing any invoices, since this underpins both VAT compliance and clean bookkeeping.
3. Arrange the annual independent audit — Engage a licensed Vietnamese audit firm well before fiscal year-end to review and audit annual financial statements, a mandatory step for foreign-invested enterprises.
4. Build a VAS-to-IFRS/GAAP reconciliation process — If reporting to a foreign parent under IFRS or US GAAP, establish a clear mapping/reconciliation process between local VAS statutory accounts and group reporting requirements.
5. File annual financial statements — Submit audited annual financial statements to the tax authority and statistical office within the statutory deadline after fiscal year-end.

Costs

• Local accounting/bookkeeping service: USD 100-500+/month depending on transaction volume
• Annual independent audit: USD 1,000-5,000+ depending on company size/complexity

Timelines

• Annual financial statement filing deadline: Within 90 days of fiscal year-end (aligned with CIT finalization)

Required documents

• VAS-compliant bookkeeping records (Vietnamese language, VND)
• E-invoices for all sales and purchases
• Annual audited financial statements
• Fixed asset register and depreciation schedules

Common mistakes

• Attempting to run bookkeeping solely in a foreign language/currency without maintaining the mandatory Vietnamese/VND statutory books.
• Not budgeting for the mandatory annual independent audit, which surprises founders used to jurisdictions with higher audit exemption thresholds.
• Discovering VAS-to-IFRS reconciliation gaps only at group consolidation time instead of building the mapping process from the start.
• Using non-compliant invoicing instead of the mandatory e-invoice system, corrupting both VAT credit claims and the integrity of the books.

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