Conservatism versus change in the Vietnamese accounting field?

Abstract

The paper explores the probability of substantive change in the Vietnamese accounting field from a Bourdieuian perspective. The research question is, "Do the 2 million practitioners in the Vietnamese accounting field look forward to changes that may be brought about by Anglo Saxon institutions such as, the large accounting firms, the international standards and the foreign accounting professions?" Semi structured interviews were conducted to draw from respondents their feelings and thoughts on the possibility of change. Of the 44 interviewees the bookkeepers were more generally negative with regard to change. By contrast, those representatives of other groups such as professional accountants, managers and academics were more open to change and saw merit in following accounting principles.

The (un)suitability of fair-value accounting in emerging economies: the case of Vietnam

“…(Vietnamnet, 2012) State intervention has implicitly become a "common practice" in Vietnam protecting the interests of officeholders while potentially undermining regulations (e.g., prescribed commercial banks not to conduct credit risk assessment and make a provision for bad debts). This partly reflects a finding from Nguyen et al's (2013) study: "The Government establishes policy of rules [rule-based uniform accounting system] to assert their benefits. I understand that whoever comes to the 'throne', new regulations would then be issued to protect their patron's power" (p. 478).…”

“…prescribed commercial banks not to conduct credit risk assessment and make a provision for bad debts). This partly reflects a finding from Nguyen et al’s (2013) study: “The Government establishes policy of rules [rule-based uniform accounting system] to assert their benefits. I understand that whoever comes to the ‘throne’, new regulations would then be issued to protect their patron’s power” (p. 478).…”

“…Within this institutional environment, the high level of discretion given is closely associated with a high risk of financial misconduct – which the State and its agencies might not be capable of controlling (Nguyen et al , 2013). According to a member of the State Securities Commission of Vietnam, the common issues in public companies’ financial statements are limited disclosures and inadequate verification of cash, inventory and fixed assets on hand (Dau Tu Chung Khoan, 2017).…”

“…This replaced Accounting Law 2003[4] and constituted a milestone in Vietnamese accounting. With respect to standard setting in Vietnam, IAS 5 /IFRS have gradually been adopted but with some adjustments to take account of the country’s particularities (Nguyen and Nguyen, 2012), including the State’s exclusive control over the economy through its rule-based systems (Nguyen et al , 2013). This distinctive setting challenges the successful implementation of FVA in Vietnam, as this approach allows a high level of discretion in financial reporting.…”