HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam will soon apply international financial reporting standards (IFRS), which will require businesses to be well prepared to adapt to, experts sai๊d in a workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 16.

The event was co-organised by the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to discuss challenges and experience in applying IFRS, which are employed by more than 100 countries. At the workshop, HOSE Deputy Director Tran Anh Dao said Vietnam’s economy is gaining momentum in its global integration, which has not only brought opportunities to domestic firms but also required them to comply with international standards. IFRS are now a challenge to Vietnamese enterprises, she said, adding that there have been only a small number of commercial banks and major companies listed on the stock market practicing the standards. Listed companies are the first groups required to apply IFRS by the Finance Ministry, in line with the body’s roadmap for IFRS application by 2020. According to Dang Thai Hung, head of the Finance Ministry’s Department of Accounting and Auditing Policies, the standards will help enhance comparability and transparency. The National Assembly has approved a new principle included in the amended Accounting Law draft to facilitate IFRS practice in Vietnam, Hung said.-VNA