THE IMPACT OF ACCOUNTING COMPETENCY AND LEADERSHIP ON FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS IN VIETNAM

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY ********* TRAN THI YEN THE IMPACT OF ACCOUNTING COMPETENCY AND LEADERSHIP ON FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS IN VIETNAM Major : Accounting Code : 9340301 SUMMARY OF THE THESIS HO CHI MINH CITY – 2021 The Thesis is prepared at: University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City Thesis supervisor: Associate Professor, PhD Nguyen Phong Nguyen PhD Hoang Cam Trang Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: The thesis will be presented to the Thesis Board at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City At…….hours…… day…….month………year……… This Thesis can be found at the library of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City LIST OF RESEARCH WORKS OF AUTHOR Yen Thi Tran & Nguyen Phong Nguyen (2020) The impact of the performance measurement system on the organizational performance of the public sector in a transition economy: Is public accountability a missing link? Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), 1792669 Doi:10.1080/23311975.2020.1792669 (ESCI, Scopus Q2) Yen Thi Tran, Nguyen P Nguyen & Lam Dang Nguyen (2020) Results-oriented Culture and Organizational Performance: The Mediating Role of Financial Accountability in Public Sector Organizations in Vietnam Administration Doi: International Journal of Public 10.1080/01900692.2020.1841227 (ESCI, Scopus Q2) Yen Thi Tran, Nguyen Phong Nguyen & Trang Cam Hoang (2021) Effects of leadership and accounting capacity on accountability through the quality of financial reporting by public organisations in Vietnam Journal of Asia Business Studies Doi: 10.1108/JABS-02-2020-0077 (ESCI, Scopus Q2) Yen Thi Tran, Nguyen Phong Nguyen & Trang Cam Hoang (2021) The role of accountability in determining the relationship between financial reporting quality and the performance of public organizations: Evidence from Vietnam Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 40(1), 106801 10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2020.106801 (SSCI, Scopus Q1) Doi: INTRODUCTION The necessity of the topic Public sector organizations have always played a rather important role in all economies but are often perceived as ineffective Thus, the recent phenomenon of public sector development in developing countries has been a stronger demand for accountability by public institutions, both at the central and local levels (Ohemeng et al the, 2018) Van Helden and Ouda (2016) argue that in response to pressure from international donors, public entities in emerging economies have increasingly started to use accounting tools for decision-making, control and accountability assessment The ultimate goal of accountability is the legitimacy and efficiency of the use of public assets (Wang, 2002) Patton (1992) also emphasized that accounting information is an important tool for achieving accountability And to meet this purpose, the public sector's financial statements must ensure quality, which is a necessary and a prerequisite (Cohen, S and Karatzimas, 2017) Since then, many pressures have been placed on the need to introduce new accounting practices to improve public sector performance in order to provide better public services (Nuhu and Appuhami, 2016) In developing countries, it can be seen that the transition from cash to accrual accounting is a pervasive trend and an important part of the overall public finance reform (Tallaki, 2019) However, the application of accrual accounting also requires the use of more accounting estimates and this is likely to affect the quality of financial statements provided by public entities (Azmi and Mohamed, 2014) In particular, barriers to conversion to accrual accounting such as limited accounting capacity or lack of manager support have a negative impact on the performance of accrual accounting as well as the quality of accounting information and accountability (Nakmahachalasint and Narktabtee, 2019) The majority of previous studies have provided evidence of the effects of contingency factors on financial statement quality and accountability (Dewi et al., 2019; Mardinan et al., 2018; Nirwana and Haliah, 2018) Factors related to human resources are concerned by many researchers Because human resources are a special resource and play a decisive role in the success or failure of an organization (Brown, 2004) Also according to Brown (2004), human resources include the whole potential of people in an organization, from employees to senior leaders Considering to the extent that human resources factors have a direct impact on the quality of financial statements and accountability, accounting competency and leadership are considered the most important and key factors (Nakmahachalasint and Narktabtee, 2019) Furthermore, for the leaders in organizations, achieving high performance is considered the most important goal (Andersen et al., 2016) According to the agency theory, the provision of quality financial reports and good accountability role as the operational control mechanism of public institutions to enhance performance (Brusca and Montesinos, 2016) Therefore, the study on the impact of financial statements quality and accountability on the performance of public entities is to be supplemented with more empirical evidence Therefore, the author believes that the study of the impact of accounting competency and leadership on financial reporting quality and accountability; as well as the impact of the quality of financial statements and accountability on the performance of public organizations in Vietnam in the same research model are necessary and new Recognizing this urgency, the author chose the topic “The impact of accounting competency and leadership on financial reporting quality, accountability and performance in public organizations in Vietnam” is a research topic Research objective Overall goal: This thesis aims to build and test a model of the effect of accounting competency and leadership on financial reporting quality and accountability; at the same time, explore and test the impact of financial reporting quality and accountability on performance in public organizations in Vietnam Research questions Question 1: Do accounting competency and leadership affect the financial reporting quality of public orfanizations in Vietnam? How is their impact on financial reporting quality shown? Question 2: Do accounting competency and leadership affect the accountability of public orfanizations in Vietnam? How is their impact on accountability shown? Question 3: Does the quality of financial statements affect the accountability of public organizations in Vietnam? How is the impact of financial reporting quality on accountability shown? Question 4: Does the quality of financial statements affect the performance of public organizations in Vietnam? How is the impact of financial reporting quality on performance shown? Question 5: Does accountability impact the performance of public entities in Vietnam? How is the impact of accountability on performance shown? Question 6: Does the quality of financial statements have an indirect impact on performance through the mediating role of accountability in public organizations in Vietnam? How is this level of indirect impact shown? Subjects and scope of the research 4.1 Research subjects The research object of the thesis includes: accounting competency, leadership, financial reporting quality, accountability and performance in public organizations in Vietnam 4.2 The scope of research Scope of research space: Topic is limited in the public sector in Vietnam However, due to the limitations of funding and time, the main scope of the thesis survey is the administrative agencies at the local level: provincial, district, city, and commune level and public service units in Vietnam The author does not study in state-owned enterprises and business units Scope of research period: The thesis is studied from January 2018 to January 2021 Quantitative data survey officially takes place from September 2019 to August 2020 Research methodology The qualitative research method was used with the expert interview technique The results of the qualitative research phase provide additional scientific basis for: (1) Confirming and explaining relationships between research variables in the theoretical model when linked with the public sector context in Vietnam; (2) Confirm and adjust the scale of research concepts in the model to match the public sector context in Vietnam Because the scales in the model are inherited by the author from the previous research, the translation into Vietnamese may still contain semantic errors and may not be fully consistent with the Vietnamese context The quantitative research step is carried out by the author to address the objectives of testing as well as measuring the level related to: (1) the impact of accounting competency and leadership on financial reporting quality; (2) the effect of accounting competency and leadership on accountability; (3) the impact of financial reporting quality on accountability; (4) the impact of financial reporting quality on performance; (5) the impact of accountability on performance; (6) the indirect impact of financial reporting quality on performance through accountability The thesis’ contribution 6.1 Theoretical contributions First of all, the thesis has contributed to building a research model on the effect of accounting competency and leadership on financial reporting quality and accountability, as well as studying the impact of financial reporting quality and accountability to performance in public units in Vietnam Next, the thesis has contributed to clarify the concepts and scales of accounting competency, leadership, financial reporting quality, accountability and performance in public sector in Vietnam on the basis of inheriting previous researches in the world Besides, the thesis will provide additional empirical evidence to support the progressive theoretical foundation of New public management (NPM) theory applied in a developing economy such as Vietnam is that enhancing financial reporting quality and accountability will help public organizations improve their performance Accordingly, the thesis has provided a new empirical evidence on the mediating role of accountability in the indirect impact of the quality of financial statements on performance in the public sector in Vietnam From there, these results will be of useful reference value for other developing countries 6.2 Practical contributions For state management agencies: The results of the thesis have provided solid scientific foundations for policy-issuing agencies for reference from which to propose suitable solutions to improve financial reporting quality, improve accountability, contribute to improving the performance of public units From there, reducing the burden on the state budget, as well as reducing public debt, making the Vietnamese economy develop better in the future For public organizations: The results of the thesis have provided a scientific basis to help leaders in the organizations recognize the importance of accounting competency and leadership in improve financial reporting quality and accountability In particular, the thesis was also a useful source of documents to help leaders in public units know how to improve and increase the performance of their organizations Public organizations, in particular, need to provide good quality financial reports and effectively exercise accountability For researchers on accounting: This study has added to a limited understanding of: (1) the role of leaders in strengthening financial reporting quality and accountability; (2) the role of financial reporting quality in enhancing accountability and performance; (3) the role of accountability in strengthening performance; (4) the mediating role of accountability on the indirect impact of financial reporting quality on performance in public organizations in Vietnam Structure of the thesis Chapter 1: Research overview Chapter 2: Theoretical basis Chapter 3: Research methodology Chapter 4: Research results Chapter 5: Conclusion and implications CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH OVERVIEW 1.1 Introduction Chapter presents previous studies in the world and Vietnam in three main research directions, including: factors affecting financial reporting quality, factors affecting accountability and factors affecting the performance of public sector On that basis, the author analyzes and clarifies the studies, pointing out research gaps 1.2 Overview of foreign studies 1.2.1 Study the factors affecting the quality of financial statements in the public sector 1.2.2 Study the factors affecting accountability in the public sector 1.2.3 Research on factors affecting performance in public sector 1.3 Overview of national research 1.3.1 Study the factors affecting the quality of financial statements in the public sector 1.3.2 Study the factors affecting accountability in the public sector 1.3.3 Research on factors affecting performance in public sector 1.4 Reviews of research overview 1.4.1 For foreign studies In short, previous studies around the world have shown that factors in the public organization context have an important influence on the implementation of accounting reforms, thereby affecting the quality of financial statements and accountability Accordingly, human resource capacity is of great concern because it has a direct impact on the quality of financial statements and accountability However, the research on the impact of accounting capacity and leadership on financial reporting quality and accountability has not been conducted by previous studies Moreover, most of the previous studies stopped at discussing each topic individually about the effects of factors on financial reporting quality, accountability or performance Some recent studies have considered (1) the impact of financial reporting quality on accountability (Dewi et al., 2019; Indriasih and Koeswayo, 2014); (2) the impact of financial reporting quality on performance (Bukenya, 2014; Nirwana and Haliah, 2018) and (3) the impact of 10 administrative and public service units account for the highest proportion in the number of public units in Vietnam (Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, 2015; General Statistics Office, 2018) According to the financial management decentralization, the public units are organized vertically corresponding to each budget level, usually divided into three budgeting levels: unit level 1, unit level and unit level Based on the degree of autonomy, administrative agencies are classified into two categories: units assigned with autonomy in funding and units not assigned with autonomy (Government, 2005, 2013b) According to Decree 16/2015/ND-CP, public service units are divided into groups: autonomous recurrent expenditure and investment expenditure, autonomous recurrent expenditure, partial autonomy of recurrent expenditure and guaranteed state budget the entire recurrent expenditure Up to the present time, the public sector in Vietnam has many different accounting regimes In particular, an important part of public accounting in Vietnam is the administrative and public service accounting system with the most application scope among the remaining accounting regimes (Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, 2015) The Ministry of Finance has revised it to be more suitable with the international trend of applying IPSAS 2.3 Foundation Concepts 2.3.1 Accounting competency By analyzing research papers on accounting competency of many professional accountancy organizations, Palmer et al (2004) agree that accounting knowledge, general business knowledge, technology knowledge, communication skill, problem solving skill, computer skill, interaction skill, positive personal attitudes and qualities are important basic criteria that a good qualified accountant will show out when working 2.3.2 Leadership 11 Leadership is a popular and rich term with many different academic definitions used to describe (Crosby and Bryson, 2017) In a broad sense, there are two perspectives on leadership in organizations (Howell and Hall-Merenda, 1999) In this thesis, the author mentions leadership that focus on the level of leadership assisting employees in handling public sector affairs (Tummers and Knies, 2016) 2.3.3.Financial reporting quality In the public sector, when it comes to the quality of financial statements, most researchers refer to the quality characteristics of financial statements in the view of IPSASB (2013) Accordingly, the quality characteristics of the financial statements are real measures of perceived quality of accounting information (Afiah and Azwari, 2015; Cohen, S and Karatzimas, 2017; Mardinan et al., 2018) More specifically, IPSASB (2013, 2018a) emphasizes that the quality of the financial statements is the attributes that make information in the financial statements truly useful to the user and support the ability to achieve the financial report's goals 2.3.4 Accountability Parker and Gould (1999) views; Sinclair (1995) reflects the concept of accountability quite comprehensively The concept of accountability can be understood as the fact that public entities must report information to stakeholders about the compliance, accuracy and efficiency of the process of using public resources; at the same time, take responsibility for their own actions On that basis, accountability when linked to general purpose financial statements in the public sector, Mack and Ryan (2006) argue that the accountability of public entities is reflected through the effectiveness of the assessment public accountability and financial accountability are based on information the public entity provides on general purpose financial statements 12 2.3.5 Performance The performance of organizations in general and public organizations in particular is a vague concept, difficult to find valid measures (Nitzl et al., 2019) In a broad sense, performance is the actual performance of an entity relative to its intended performance, such as the achievement of goals and objectives (Im and Lee, 2012) In terms of specific aspects, Van de Ven and Ferry (1980) found that performance should include indicators for quantitative and qualitative performance that the unit has achieved 2.4 Background Theories 2.4.1 New public management Theory The main purpose of NPM theory is to encourage public entities to use resources efficiently and effectively by applying progressive private sector governance practices (Hood, 1991, 1995) Accordingly, the NPM theory is very useful in explaining the purpose of current public accounting reforms in countries around the world is to improve the quality of financial statements (Cohen, S and Karatzimas, 2017), to improve accountability (Bowrey et al., 2016) and ultimately improving the performance of public entities (Christensen and Lægreid, 2015) 2.4.2 Institutional Theory Institutional theory is one of the key perspectives in management and organization theory (Tallaki, 2019) Meyer and Rowan (1977) recognize that the institution as a major determinant of the organizational structure, in particular, under pressure from external and internal actors should the organization be forced to comply a set of expectations for legitimacy, so that the new organization can survive Likewise, DiMaggio and Powell (1983) argue that over time, in a well-established region , organizations tend to move to assimilation, although at first they show sizable diversity DiMaggio and Powell (1983) described the identification process as isomorphic 13 and distinguished two types of isomorphism: competitive isomorphism and institutional isomorphism 2.4.3 Contingency Theory Contingency theory was used for the accounting field developed in the mid-1970s in explaining the factors that influence the process of implementing accounting reforms in organizations In the field of public sector accounting, Luder (1992) is considered to be one of the first to have applied the contingency model to explain government accounting innovation Accordingly, the contingency model seeks to explain what and how internal and external factors influence innovation in public sector accounting information systems 2.4.4 Agency Theory Agency theory appeared in the 1970s, and was initially popularly used in the private sector Some of the first conducted studies revolved around information asymmetry that occurred by owners and managers (agents) of the insurance industry (Jensen and Meckling, 1976) After that, many studies have applied this theory in many different fields Zimmerman (1977) is considered to be one of the first to introduce agency theory to public accounting researchers (Kurtenbach and Roberts, 1994) This theory is concerned with finding mechanisms by which the agent can work hard to best benefit the owner when he or she has more information than the owner and has other interests different from the owner (Sinnadurai, 2018) 2.5 The development of research hypotheses 2.5.1 The impact of accounting competency on financial reporting quality 2.5.2 The impact of leadership on financial reporting quality 2.5.3 The impact of leadership on accountability 2.5.4 The impact of accounting competency on accountability 2.5.5 The impact of financial reporting quality on accountability 2.5.6 The impact of financial reporting quality on performance 14 2.5.7 The impact of accountability on performance 2.5.8 Indirect impact of financial reporting quality on performance through the mediating role of accountability 2.6 Proposed research model On the basis of the supporting background theories and related previous studies, the author proposes a research model as follows: Accounting competency H1 (+) H4 (+) Financial reporting quality H5 (+) H2 (+) Accountability Leadership H3 (+) H6 (+) Performance H7 (+) Control variables - Size - Age H8 (Mediating hypothesis) Source: The author proposed based on background theory and previous research Figure 2.1: Proposed research model 2.7 Conclusion chapter CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Research process To achieve the goals set out by the thesis, the author uses the mixed research method (Creswell and Creswell, 2017; Creswell and Hirose, 2019) The use of qualitative research methods in combination with quantitative research methods is particularly important in studies investigating data because they enhance the validity of research results (Creswell and Hirose, 2019) The author 15 carried out in sequence is the qualitative method used first and then the quantitative research method 3.3 The scale of concepts First of all, accounting competency is inherited based on the research of Palmer et al (2004) Next, leadership refers to the leader's ability to support the employee as the employee performs his or her duties (Tummers and Knies, 2016) Financial reporting quality is the quality characteristics of information contained in a financial report that makes it useful to users (IPSASB, 2013) Accountability when associated with general purpose financial statements in the public sector, the author has measured from the point of view of Mack and Ryan (2006) The performance is measured by Van de Ven and Ferry (1980) by seven observed variables, representing quite comprehensively the types of performance 3.4 Qualitative research method 3.4.1 Expert interviewing method In this study, in-depth interviews with each expert were applied when performing qualitative research Furthermore, this study uses a semi-structured questionnaire approach for in-depth interviews because it is more flexible than a structured questionnaire form 3.4.2 Choose an expert template Experts are selected according to the convenient method combined with the judgment method The author chooses 10 experts including lecturers and practicing experts with knowledge of public accounting And professionals work in a variety of public sectors including treasury, financial institutions, education, health, public administration, social insurance and national reserve 3.4.3 Design expert interview table 16 The content of the interview consists of three main parts Part asks about the expert's personal information Part includes 10 questions related to the confirmation and clarification of relationships among research variables in the proposed model Part contains seven questions regarding the validation and clarification of measuring research variables in the public sector context in Vietnam 3.4.4 Qualitative research results The author also conducted a pilot survey with questionnaires formed after talking with experts The author tested the questionnaire by 10 chief accountants in public units in Vietnam 3.5 Quantitative research method 3.5.1 Preliminary quantitative research 3.5.1.1 Samples and sampling methods The analytical unit in this thesis is the organization The author chooses the sample according to the convenient method, the expected sample size is 100 The author has sent 150 questionnaires to the survey subjects via email and directly 3.5.1.2 Tools and methods of data processing The author performs measurement model verification operations on SmartPLS software 3.5.2 Formal quantitative research 3.5.2.1 Samples and sampling methods Respondents are people within the organization that focus on the people who generate the financial statements and the people who typically use the financial statements The sample was selected by the norm method with an expected sample size of 300 3.5.2.2 Data collection methods 17 The author collects data through direct questionnaire distribution and online survey link The official survey period is expected from September 2019 to May 2020 3.5.2.3 Tools and methods of data processing This study uses SEM The author uses SmartPLS software with PLS method used to test the measurement model and hypotheses in the research model of the thesis In addition, the author also used SPSS 22 software to descriptive statistics, test method bias and test differences between groups of qualitative variables 3.5.2.4 Steps for data analysis After the collected data has been checked and discarded the invalid answer sheets, the author encodes the research variables according to the conventional symbols and input them into excel After that, the author conducted specific data analysis steps, including: descriptive statistics (minimum value, maximum value, average value, standard deviation), testing of the measurement model, method bias test (using Harman test), structural model test, determine the differences between groups of qualitative variables 3.6 Conclusion chapter CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Qualitative research results The author has approached 10 experts The time for conducting expert interviews takes place from May to July 2019 The author approaches experts in two forms: face-to-face interview (including 18 experts); Call to exchange and email to ask experts to answer (including experts) 4.2.1 Evaluate the suitability of the research model The qualitative research results show that the research model proposed by the author based on theoretical summation is completely consistent with the opinion of experts in Vietnam Therefore, the previously proposed research model is retained and used as the official research model for the thesis 4.2.2 Evaluate the conformity of the scale The research model has research concepts with a total of 58 observed variables after expert comments, including: accounting competency, leadership, financial reporting quality, accountability, performance, age and size 4.3 Preliminary quantitative research results 4.3.1 Evaluate the reliability of the scale 4.3.2 Evaluate the convergence value of the scale 4.3.3 Evaluate the discriminant value of the scale Through a preliminary survey with 100 samples, using SmartPLS software to analyze data, the author found that the scales ensure the criteria of a good scale, namely, to ensure the most reliable internal consistency, ensure converging value and guarantee distinctive value Therefore, the questionnaire used for the preliminary survey will be used for the formal quantitative research step 4.4 Official quantitative research results 4.4.1 Descriptive statistics of the survey sample Data was collected through direct paper surveys in combination with sending survey links to surveyed subjects The survey period lasts from September 2019 to August 2020 The author has obtained 235 valid responses, including: 85 administrative agencies 19 (accounting for 36.1%), 144 public service units (accounting for 61.3%) and other public organizations (accounting for 2.6%) 4.4.2 Test the measurement model The measurement model evaluation step shows that the scales used in official quantitative research satisfy the criteria of a good scale (guarantee reliability, convergence value, discriminant value) and suitable for testing research hypotheses 4.4.3 Test of the bias due to the method The single Harman factor only accounts for 32.9% of the total variance extracted of the whole model, less than the threshold of 50% Therefore, the bias due to the method is not a serious problem affecting the results of the thesis (Tehseen et al., 2017) 4.4.4 Structure model testing Table 4.6: Results of structural model analysis Biến phụ thuộc Financial reporting quality tβ value Accountability Performance Kết luận β tvalue β t-value Direct impacts Hypothesis H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 Independent variables Accounting competency Leadership Leadership Accounting competency Financial reporting quality Financial reporting quality Accountability 0.28 3.65 Accepted 0.22 2.64 Accepted 0.37 6.40 Accepted 0.16 2.65 Accepted 0.35 6.44 Accepted 0.24 3.29 Accepted 0.36 5.26 Accepted 20 Indirect impact Financial reporting quality -> Accountability -> Performance Accountability is the mediating variable for the indirect impact of H8 financial reporting quality on performance: β =0,12; t-value = 3.83 Control variables 0.63 Size 0.04 0.04 0.73 Age Adjusted R2 0.18 0.48 Accepted 0.27 Source: Results of data analysis 4.4.5 Test the differences between groups of qualitative variables The results show that there is no difference in accounting capacity and leadership roles by type of public unit and level of autonomy However, there are differences in financial accountability and performance by type of public organization And there is also a difference in the quality of financial statements according to the level of financial autonomy In addition, there is no difference in performance by geographic area and time of the survey 4.5 Discuss research results 4.6 Conclusion chapter CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Conclusion 5.2.1 Summary of the research process 5.2.2 Qualitative research results Research model and the scales used to measure the variables in the thesis's model were originally built through theoretical No No 21 summation In order to increase the persuasion and feasibility of the thesis topic, this study exchanged with experts with in-depth knowledge of public accounting in Vietnam, including: trainers and practice professionals in public institutions The results of discussions with experts help confirm relationships between variables, but also help improve the scale used for quantitative survey steps 5.2.2 Quantitative research results The preliminary quantitative study obtained 100 samples and analyzed using SmartPLS software to re-check the values of scales developed from theory and interviewed experts at qualitative research step The results show that the scales used in the preliminary step all ensure reliability, convergence value and discriminant value Quantitative research officially obtained 235 samples and analyzed using SmartPLS software and SPSS 22 software Data analysis steps include: descriptive statistics, measurement model retesting, bias test, testing structural models and testing differences between groups of qualitative variables The main results show that eight hypotheses proposed by the theoretical model are accepted with a high level of significance However, the influence of the control variable (size, age) on performance was not accepted in this study 5.3 Implications 5.3.1 Theoretical implications The thesis has made a theoretical contribution by making theoretical implications Studies on the interaction between accounting competency, leadership, financial reporting quality, accountability and performance are still scarce, especially in an 22 emerging country like Vietnam The thesis has analyzed the interactive relationships between accounting competency, leadership, financial reporting quality, accountability and performance in an integrated model 5.3.2 Administrative implications The thesis also bring some governance implications for public units in Vietnam Specifically, the value of this study is in helping public entities to see clearly the causes of poor financial reporting and accountability, from which the implications are found to overcome At the same time, research results also help public agency managers pay more attention to the quality of financial statements and accountability because they have a significant impact on the performance 5.4 Limitations and new research directions First of all with horizontal data using one-point survey questionnaires, this study did not control for time bias when the author measured the variables Therefore, designing a study over a long period of time with data for variables collected at different times may better explain cause-and-effect relationships in this research model Furthermore, selecting a sample of the study who is within a public organization may influence non-objective evaluation Therefore, researchers should use other analytical techniques, for example, Marker Variable Technique according to Lindell and Whitney (2001) to check the bias due to sampling method to increase persuasion for selecting people within the organization to survey 23 In addition, the public sector in Vietnam is very large With certain limitations, the author has access to 100 public organizations in the preliminary quantitative research step and 235 public organizations in the official quantitative research step Therefore, researchers in the future should try to increase the number of samples to better represent the public sector as a whole in Vietnam In addition, future studies may test a competition model which demonstrates the mediating role of the quality of financial statements on the indirect impact of accounting competency on accountability; as well as the indirect effect of leadership on accountability 5.5 Conclusion chapter Chapter summarizes the research process On that basis, giving implications for research, specifying the limitations of the thesis and proposing some new research directions CONCLUSION In summary, the thesis is conducted to explore and actually examine the effects of accounting capacity and leadership roles on financial reporting quality and accountability; as well as the impact of financial reporting quality and accountability on the performance of public entities in Vietnam using the PLS-SEM methodology Theoretical model is developed mainly based on research overview 24 and background theory On the theoretical basis, the scale of the research concepts is proposed to be used for the measurement of the variables in the model By qualitative research, research models and scales are more complete for quantitative survey After a preliminary quantitative inspection with 100 samples, the results showed that the used scales ensure the criteria of a good scale Next, the author conducted a formal survey with 235 samples to evaluate the measurement model, then test the bias due to the method and finally test the structural model The findings of this study show that the eight proposed hypotheses are accepted with plausible significance The findings from the thesis are quite consistent with the fundamental theories and have certain new points compared to previous studies in foreign countries and in Vietnam However, this study also has certain limitations such as sample size, sampling method or data collection method Therefore, future studies need to overcome these limitations ... 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