Adoption of ifrsin vietnam challenges for the accounting profession

Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference Adoption of ifrsin Vietnam: Challenges for the accounting profession Researchers: Lê Thị Thuỳ Dung Hà Thị Thanh Huyền Nguyễn Diệu An Châu Thị Hải Yến Class: AC2015B&AC2015C Project instructor: MSc Nguyễn Trà My 556 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference I Introduction ResearchNecessity The adoption of IFRS means there will be changes in the work requirement of accountants There will be a need for accountants to update their knowledge, professional skills, and experience With the anticipated increase in financial reporting transparency that is likely to follow the IFRS adoption, accountants are expected to show higher sense of responsibility and accountability over financial information in order to align with the international standards, requirements, and expectations Researching the changes in the work requirement of accountants that are relevant to the IFRS adoption is essential for facilitating a smooth transition to IFRS and, more importantly, for upgrading the expectations of young accounting graduates Students that finish accounting courses and wish to build their careers as accountants will be faced with new expectations once Vietnam successfully adopts IFRS It is important that these students learn about what will be expected of them once they graduate Therefore, this topic bears a paramount importance and is highly practical for Vietnamese students studying towards a degree in Accounting ResearchPurpose This paper aims at studying the perceived impact of IFRS adoption for accounting profession The idea behind this research paper originated from the perception that Vietnam intends to apply the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the coming years , this will help Vietnamese businesses integrate into the global economy In the context of the economy that is in the process of deepening integration with the region and the world, to improve the business environment, sustainable development, support the stock markets, protect the investor‟s rights and attract foreign direct investment, the Government has requested to improve the transparency of financial information (ifrsvietnam.vn, 2017) On the other hand, in order to access capital flows in the international market, listing in foreign markets, the requirement to make IFRS financial reports is becoming increasingly urgent and indispensable for corporations, public companies The general theme behind this research is figuring out the difficulties and challenges when applying the International Financial 557 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Vietnam to stakeholders such as authorities, training institutions, enterprises as well as accountants, auditors, accounting students and the appropriate solutions for them, especially for those who are studying undergraduate studies at universities and colleges Because when IFRS is applied to Vietnam, the next generation of accountants should be well prepared for the path of integration and development of the global economy These will be further demonstrated throughout the Findings and Discussion section of this paper Research Objective and Scope: The objective of this research is to focus on Big4 and non-Big4 accounting firms in Vietnam (mainly ones in Hanoi) Researchers requested to meet the representative from these firms and enquire about how the firms plan to prepare their workforce for the IFRS transition Besides, researchers also aimed at finding out what these firms expect from future Accounting graduates in general and future successful recruits specifically The preliminary method for achieving these objectives is to interview recruitment representatives and managers from accounting firms (Big4 and non-Big4) in Hanoi that have branches across other cities in Vietnam ResearchQuestion: Vietnam plans to use IFRS in financial reporting in the near future (IFRS Vietnam.vn) The central question of this research is the challenges that are faced by accounting professional when IFRS is adopted in Vietnam In order to detect the impact of adopting IFRS into Vietnam for the accounting professionals, the following research questions were used as a ground basis for designing the interview questions and as an underlying research objective throughout theresearch What are the benefits and challenges posed by the accounting professionals in adopting IFRS inVietnam? What is needed to prepare before adopting IFRS intoVietnam? How will the adoption of IFRS affect the expectations of employers forgraduates? The specific interview questions outline and how 558 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference they were analyzed will be included in the Methodologysection Facilities and difficulty of the researchingprocess In the process of scientific research, selecting a suitable topic is the first difficulty that our group encountered as it plays a key role in determining the success of a research project Choosing a good, feasible, and achievable subject in student ‟s capacity was a challenging task Our team also spent a great deal of time in selecting and specifying the research topic for a most feasible yet effective study The next difficulty is the search for materials as well as self-research skills Online resources are becoming more diverse and plentiful, but difficult to verify in terms of precision, which is essential for scientific research In addition, this is a fairly new topic so there was a scarcity of the amount of books available that are related to this specific topic Finding important and practical documents required dedication and persistence, sometimes quite expensive for students In particular, finding the appropriate interviewees for the scientific research was one of the challenges to reach the feasibilityin Studied results The number of people with in-depth knowledge of the selected research topic in Vietnam is limited, so interviewees available for effective and relevant data collection were also limited in quantity Last but not least, assigning the works among team members clearly, ensuring timely completion of the work was a learning curve that was new but essential to the research team ResearchStructure: Having realized that IFRS will be likely adopted in financial reporting in Vietnam, this paper attempts to delve into the understanding about the impact of IFRS for accounting professionals in the future and the perspective of experts in accounting field about this problem The remaining part of the paper is broadly divided into four parts (sections to 5) Section provides a brief recap of the meaning of IFRS and the adoption in a myriad of countries around the world This part also tackles the already known literature about 559 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference the experiences for Vietnam before IFRS implementation Section describes the methodological framework applied for the purpose of answering those research questions The semi- structured interview method was used in this research through two forms, which are the direct communications and indirect interviews via e-mail and survey This is also where the interview questions were designed and the method of its analysis are included Section 4, which constitutes the major part of this paper, presents the Findings and Discussions that results from the semi-structured interviews to clarify the connoisseur opinions about the desired effects and the difficulties of IFRS adoption into Vietnam to accounting professionals as well as the needs to prepare for the students after graduation Finally, section concludes the research and suggests further research II Literature review Introduction This chapter aims to provide a review of existing literature on matters related to IFRS Adoption and its impact on Vietnamese accounting profession The chapter begins with a brief capture of IFRS adoption situation around the world It then proceeds to discuss more closely the reality of IFRS adoption, with focus on successful implementation as well as the transition Finally, the chapter concludes by evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of IFRS adoption on the accounting profession in Vietnam Convergence of accounting standards is not a new topic to the accounting profession The IASC efforts to issue standards to serve as principles to be followed internationally were made as far back as 1973 (Sunder, 2002) A definition is mentioned that IFRS is a set of international accounting standards stating how particular types of transactions and other events should be reported in financial statements IFRS is issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, and it specifies exactly how accountants must maintain and report their accounts IFRS were established in order to have a common accounting language, so business and accounts 560 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference can be understood from company to company and from country to country (Staff, 2017) In recent years, there has been a trend towards a common globalized accounting standard with IFRS used in many parts of the world, including the European Union, Hong Kong, Australia, Russia and Singapore, among other nations (Dumont,2017) The accounting profession and reporting process however is shaped by other factors that go beyond the physical tangible statements, factors such as the economic, political, cultural and environmental situation of a reporting country (Uwuigbe et al, 2011; Demaki, 2013) It is not difficult to observe the variations in financial reporting practices and accounting standards from country to country that result from differences in the nature of the country ‟s legal system, the prevalence of finance providers, the influence of taxation, and the strength of the accountancy profession (Narayan et al 2000) Viet Nam is expected to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) instead of the current Vietnamese accounting standards (VAS) by 2025 in its efforts to enhance comparability and improve transparency (English.vietnamnet.vn,2017) “TheIFRSsareveryimportanttothemarketeconomy.Thisisbecauseinvestors‟co nfidence cannot easily be retained with information that is not comparable and this makes them uncertain about information given to them (www2.deloitte.com) The advantages of achieving convergence with IFRS are numerous Firstly, it benefits the economy by increasing the growth of its international business By encouraging the international investors to invest, it leads to more foreign capital flows to the country Financial statements prepared using a common set of accounting standards help investors better understand investment opportunities as opposed to financial statements prepared using a different set of national accounting standards The industry is able to raise capital from foreign markets at lower cost if it can create confidence in the minds of foreign investors that their financial statements comply with globally accepted accounting standards Finally, it offers 561 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference accounting professionals more opportunities in any part of the world if same accounting practices prevail throughout the world (Morgan McKinley Ireland, 2017) The International Financial Reporting Standard has many advantages but have some disadvantages also Some small entities have good accounting system but forced to incur the cost to change the new accounting system Local rules and regulation and tax laws of each country is different In some cases, entities may require to prepare different financial statements for local laws and tax departments (Shete, 2017) From the disadvantages and advantages that Viet Nam receives with the application of IFRS, the accountants, auditors as well as those preparing to enter the accounting profession should prepare some factors such as skills, knowledge, experiences Reality of IFRS adoption in somecountries: Successfulimplementation: Today, over 12,000 companies in over 100 countries have either mandatorily or voluntarily adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) including in most capital markets around the world (Company Watch 2015) Some countries of these are not only in Europe, but also in Asia such as Hong Kong, Singapore or Malaysia which adopted successfully this standard very early There are a myriad of skills and knowledge trained for accountants and auditors which help them have IFRS mindsets and use efficiently Besides, many desire Effects are brought for both of investors and accounting professionals by IFRS application First of all, European Union after 10 years application said that IFRS has succeeded in creating a common accounting language for the capital market The investors and businesses help support IFRS in improving the transparency and comparability of financial statements (IFRSVN, 2017) Secondly, Irvine and Lucas (2006) state that substantial benefits have been proposed by the adoption of IFRS, including a decreased cost of capital, greater mobility of capital, greater efficiency in the allocation of resources, and a decrease in the opportunities for earnings management expression 562 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference According to Yu (2009), there is evidence of increased foreign investment in accordance with the application of IFRS As the result, this can make competiveness for enterprises in the capital market Although accounting professionals across the world have listed various benefits of adopting IFRS, this is also a difficult task and has posed several challenges Firstly, adoption of IFRS means that the entire set of financial statements will be required to undergo a drastic change It would be a challenge to bring about awareness of IFRS and its impact among the users of financial statements (Dr.A.Vinayagamoorthy Ph.D, 2014) However, according to Paul Asiemo (2017), people have a tendency to resist change Uthman Saheed (2016) studied that this needs the high cost in the first time implementation of IFRS Furthermore, the IFRS is known as “principle based” standards that not prescribe detailed rules, leaving the task of actual accounting processing to the discretion of individual companies and auditors (Tokyo Foundation, 2011) Transactions of similar nature may, therefore, be processed quite differently according to how they are interpreted by each company (Tokyo Foundation,2011) This can easily give rise to window dressing (Tokyo Foundation, 2011) Besides, the aim of a global comparability in financial reports might not be realized if standards in the IFRS were not applied in a uniform and consistent manner (Joshi et al., 2008) There was also the problem of translation of the standards in countries where English was not the dominant language (Perera and Baydoun, 2007; Sunder, 2007) Language problems could result in diversity in interpretation and application of the IFRS (Perea and Baydoun, 2007; Sunder, 2007) Translators with a good knowledge of English and technical accounting concepts were needed to provide the same quality of standards, and people with this expertise were rare (Tan et al.,2007) In general, each country will choose a suitable route for them which depend on the characteristics of each country's economy Although IFRS helps accounting professionals work easier, they are also confronted with numerous devastating effects The countries who adopted IFRS have added 563 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference the references or have changed in the financial reporting language to adapt with a new standard Countries currently applying and looking to applyIFRS: Some countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, India are now in process of applying IFRS in accounting profession Although implementation IFRS is a very significant step forward, they face several challenges and obstacles The first challenge is providing adequate training to prepare practitioners with professional skills (Fazeena Fazneen Hussain, PriyashniVandana Chand, and Prena Rani, The University of the South Pacific, 2012) In India, it is a key challenge to ensure companies, auditors, regulators and investment community is appropriately to apply and interpret IFRS (Dr A Vinayagamoorthy Ph.D, 2014) The second challenge is different official languages other than English, it creates difficulties in understanding and applying (Tokar, 2005) Furthermore, Tokar (2005) added that timely IFRS translation into national language is another obstacle to gain a smooth transition The third challenge is distinguished in the accounting culture of countries as Japan, Thailand may result in problems in interpretation and applying IFRS (Noryuki, Andreas Hallmann, Simone Domenico, Scagnelli, 2015 and Sasisri Phruettiyanan, 2010) To deal with those challenges, countries recommended appropriate solutions in the case of each country For instance, in Japan, the JICPA established the Japan Federation for Accounting Education and Learning so that improve judgment skills in the accounting professions (Noryuki, Andreas Hallmann, Simone Domenico, Scagnelli, 2015) Besides, countries could focus on translation into national languages like Thailand, it expects only a one-year gap between the IFRS effective date and the adoption, due to the need to translate IFRS into the Thai language (Amelia Limijaya, 2017) In addition, Amelia Limijaya (2017) point out recommendations of ANC (2016) and Baskerville & Evans (2011) that “Some suggestions as to how to handle this translation issue are given, such as standard-setters need to consider other related areas when translating the 564 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference standards, for example linguistic, anthropology and psychology aspects, and they must be aware of this issue at the earliest stage possible so they can bear in mind the potential language and translation difficulties that may be encountered by non-English speaking countries” For countries in term of processing of implementation IFRS, they are applying IFRS in positive ways As in the case of Indonesia, it needs to fasten the process of IFRS implementation, in order to stay on track for the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 (Amilia Limijaya, 2017) The accounting profession in Vietnam andIFRS Currently, Vietnam is in term of processing of preparing for implementation IFRS in accounting profession From countries have adopted IFRS- implementation in accounting profession in Asia, Vietnam could consider their experiences, especially Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysiathe countries have similar economy with Vietnam The experiences of Thailand point out is that the first and key step to prepare adopt IFRS is enhancing necessary skills for practitioners such as professional knowledge, English skill, having ability to adapt in new accounting culture in which professional judgment must be emphasis (MA Nguyen Thi Thu Van; MA Nguyen Thi Phuoc; MA Hoang Thuy Dieu Linh, 2017) In short, with the globalization and presence of ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025, Vietnam needs to have strategic IFRS implementation action plans to achieve an integrated as well as cohesive economy of the world Along with the extensive economic integration, the demand for high quality accounting and auditing in Vietnam is expected to increase rapidly in the coming time (MS Vu Mai Phuong,2017) New challenges and opportunities are emerging more than ever when trade liberalization agreements with labor mobility have become reality Currently there are about 200 universities, colleges and hundreds of accounting and auditing vocational courses by Enterprises organized in any form According to a survey in Hanoi Job Exchange in the first months of 2016, Accounting - Finance ranked among the top job seekers (laodong.vn,2017) In fact, the number of trained 565 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference According to the reform point of view, a myriad of experts suggest that Vietnam should follow IFRS full adoption in the financial reporting system instead of VAS (MSc Le Thi Thanh Hue – MSc Phan Hong Nhung, 2014) This is due to the fact that foreign investors not want to have the problem of "Vietnamized” IFRS standards (Financial Times, 2016) They believe that there are more benefits received in countries who fully adopted IFRS compared to countries that apply only 80 to 90 percent of the IFRS standards As can be known, IFRS is an international accounting language, so intact application will make it easier for service supplier organizations to communicate with foreign investors (Baomoi.com, 2016) However, many difficulties that application units will be confronted by the simultaneous adoption because of the lack knowledge about IFRS in their accounting professionals (Interviewee 2, 2018) Especially with lawmakers and the trainers who have different understanding of IFRS will cause confusion and influence in the process of preparing financial statements (Interviewee 1, 2018) Moreover, most of Vietnamese companies prepare financial statements on the historical cost convention whilst IFRSrecognizes costs at fair value (MSc Vu Thi Duyen, 2017) The use of the historical cost convention as the unit of measurement may be credible but less relevant for the information provided by the financial statements Fair value is used more in the measurement and recognition the elements of financial statements in IFRS (MSc Vu Thi Duyen, 2017).Besides, Vietnam is popular with the small and medium enterprises which require the need for a separate accounting system With full IFRS adoption at the same time, these firms will face many difficulties in fulfilling the requirements due to the complexity, on one hand, and the limited capacity of accounting professionals which are not enough to sufficiently adapt, on the other hand (MSc Vu Thi Duyen, 2017) Therefore, Vietnam should adopt IFRS step by step in following an appropriate roadmap to reach full adoption in the future (Interviewee 3,2018) Roadmap for the adoption of IFRS inVietnam: 580 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference According to the orientation of the Ministry of Finance in Vietnam, in 2018, several businesses are selected as the pilot objectives for IFRS adopting on the basis of assessing differences in Vietnam's financial mechanism with IFRS; meanwhile, organizing research activities, workshops to facilitate the sharing and consulting of knowledge by experienced groups and individuals, businesses, universities about VAS / VFRS and IFRS, and training on IFRS translation and interpretation (Accounting and Auditing Policy Department, Ministry of Finance, Sep 2017) In the period from 2018 to 2020, a few of the IFRS standards (from 10 to 20 standards) are picked out by experts in accordance with Vietnamese practical conditions and the compliance declaration, adoption to all of public welfare institutions from 2020 as well as building the guidelines for the adoption of IFRS (Tam Pham, 2017) Until 2023, Vietnam expects to enhance the number of adopted IFRSs (from 10 to 30 standards) which would encourage and assist qualified businesses to prepare and present IFRS-compliant financial statements (MSc Vu Thi Duyen, 2017) In the final stage between 2023 and 2025, Vietnam aims to fully comply with IFRS (Accounting and Auditing Policy Department, Ministry of Finance, Sep 2017) In addition, relevant ministries and sectors continue to support businesses and universities to develop comprehensive IFRS guidelines and to amend, supplement and update them in line with international practices (MSc Vu Thi Duyen, 2017) Thus, after 2025, the standards in Vietnam will be divided into three levels: Public welfare institutions that adopt IFRS, other units who adopt VAS or VFRS, and Small and Medium Enterprises with separate accounting systems (Tam Pham, 2017) As a result, the adoption of IFRS will not only help reach towards the right direction of Vietnam's vision in 2035 and ASEAN policies, but also catch the pace of development of other successful economies in the region and in the world (Financial Times, 2016) In particular, in the current period, when Vietnam integrates into the global economy in the flat-bottomed market with the participation of the ASEAN Economic Community (Baomoi.com, 2016) 581 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference Solution for Vietnamese businesses and accounting students in IFRSadoption: The application of international standards IFRS in financial reporting is an indispensable trend in the period of global economic integration (ftmsglobal.edu.vn, 2018) As a common language in international accounting, IFRS improves the transparency and reliability of financial information presented on financial statements However, the process of applying IFRS in developed and developing countries shows that this is a long, difficult and time consuming process (MA Nguyen Thi Thu Van, MA Nguyen Thi Phuoc and MA Hoang Thuy Dieu Linh, 2017) Recognizing the benefits, challenges and necessity of IFRS, recommended solutions should be applied in order to have a smooth, quick and successful route as follows: On the side of the authorities, firstly, the Ministry of Finance should issue official documents to clearly guide the adoption and full implementation of IFRS in Vietnam in the coming time to guide universities and colleges in teaching IFRS to students in Accounting and Auditing majors In addition, the Ministry should also build and develop a team of highly qualified, experienced experts in the field of IFRS (MA Nguyen Thi Thu Van, MA Nguyen Thi Phuoc and MA Hoang Thuy Dieu Linh, 2017) It is important to have an organ to maintain the balance between two parties to make the final decision whether the reports prepared according to the new standard is right or wrong (Interviewee 4, 2018) Secondly, it is necessary to formulate research groups, compile with the VAS and integrate the IFRS in line with the accounting system, the legal framework as well as the Vietnamese economy Building websites, forums about IFRS in Vietnam is an effective way to exchange, discuss and share information and experiences between professionals, businesses and IFRS training institutions Thirdly, policymakers and IFRS qualified professionals, as well as IFRS training institutions, universities and colleges nationwide should have a coordinated and mutually supportive network in order to provide the most appropriate and practical policies for the training and application of IFRS in Vietnam (MA 582 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference Nguyen Thi Thu Van, MA Nguyen Thi Phuoc and MA Hoang Thuy Dieu Linh, 2017).On the side of universities, colleges and IFRS training facilities in general Most of colleges and universities in Vietnam not have formal IFRS training programs, leading to students graduating without a clear concept of IFRS For that reason, the universities and colleges should include IFRS in the training, this should be well prepared from the stage of designing textbooks, learning materials to the reference materials in the specialized curriculum (MA Le Thi Thanh Hue and MA Phan Hong Nhung, 2018) In addition, organizing professional seminars to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and improve IFRS teaching experience for lecturers to ensure that IFRS training is of high quality is also of utmost importance for educational institutions The preparation of these training institutions with the purpose of preparing the next generation of high-quality accounting human resources with in-depth knowledge of IFRS, participating in businesses in the globally integrated economy In addition, to meet the requirements of teaching IFRS, the lecturers need to have access to innovative didactic methods such as simulation and casting method in association with problem solving and case analysis and many other alternative solutions (Dai Khai, 2017) It is necessary to assist students and lecturers in maximizing access to documents needed in the IFRS training process, encouraging students to participate in scientific research, standardized international libraries at Vietnamese universities and colleges According to MA Tran Manh Dung and MA Nguyen Thuy Hong, using case studies with the business judgement assessment of the exams will provide opportunities to test the students‟ evaluation ability about the requirements of IFRS.In particular, enhancing the role of professional accounting and auditing associations such as: ACCA, CPA Australia and ICAEW in training, disseminating knowledge of IFRS to thehuman resources in the sector, technical support for enterprises to apply (smarttrain.edu.vn, 2018) are considered important issues to be addresses It is also important to encourage corporations to build IFRS training programs for employees, as some auditing firms have successfully applied Particularly, 583 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference “PwC has a wide network in the auditing system It is a pioneer company in regularly organizing training courses for employees as well as partners.Interns can be trained for months, official staff are trained on a number of occasionthroughout the year” (Interviewee 1, 2018) Nowadays, the training programs of the Big companies are following international accounting standards, held at all levels ofemployees every year (Interviewee 3,2018).On the side of learners, the students need to take time to learn about IASB, understand the nature of the IAS/IFRS standards, how these standards are being applied in each country, and how it will be if applied in Vietnam (Interviewee 1, 2018) In the process of recruiting, the Big companies usually focus on the English ability, self-study and self-research skills of the candidates (Interviewee 1, 2018).Students who are studying the VAS standards in universities and colleges, the addition and updating of IFRS knowledge is a forefront, help them firmly grasp future career opportunities (ftmsglobal.edu.vn, 2018) They need to be quick to familiarize themselves with the modern accounting model, fit for IFRS in which students will play a main role in training processes In particular, each student must regularly update themselves on information about IFRS through channels, books and compare it to other standards (Interviewee 4, 2018).Experience from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia shows that one of the indispensable steps for the preparation and implementation of the IFRS applying roadmap is to improve the quality of staff who would directly use IFRS Using IFRS means applying principle-based accounting, which is a challenge when it comes to requiring practitioners to be able to make professional judgments in normal courses of their jobs Particularly, in the context of Vietnam joining the AEC ASEAN Economic Community, accounting is one of the eight sectors that are allowed to move in the region, thus increasing the pressure on Vietnamese accountants to have deep expertise, and good knowledge in economics, finance, foreign languages, and computer skills Apart from improving the quality of accounting professions, students are potential candidates that cannot be ignored in the future, so it can be worth learning from the Chinese 584 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference experience, which is one of Asian countries that brought IFRS to universities as part of formal training programs Universities in Vietnam can integrate accounting and auditing training programs such as ACCA, CPA or CAT into the curriculum framework so students are sufficiently exposed and have an early access to IFRS, as well as more international career certificates to increase competitiveness in the context of international labor market integration (MA Nguyen Thi Thu Van, MA Nguyen Thi Phuoc and MA Hoang Thuy Dieu Linh, 2017) V Conclusion and Recommendation Reinstating research topic and research objectives With the anticipated increase in financial reporting transparency that islikely to follow the IFRS adoption, accountants are expected to show higher sense of responsibility and accountability over financial information in order to align with the international standards,requirements, and expectations Researching the challenges in the work requirement of accountants that are relevant to the IFRS adoption is essential for facilitating a smooth transition to IFRS and, more importantly, for upgrading the expectations of young accounting graduates Our group that finish accounting courses and wish to build their careers as accountants will be faced with new expectations once Vietnam successfully adopts IFRS.The researchers expect that the plans to prepare workforce for the IFRS transition will differ between Big4 and non-Big4 accounting firms These plans will also differ depending on the client portfolios of each firm But essentially, we expect the accounting profession in Vietnam– in light of the IFRS adoption – to be substantially affected due to: - The need for extensive training (to enhance knowledge, skills,experience), - The need for increased integrity and transparency of theirwork, - The need for increased level of responsibility andaccountability Summarizingfindings 585 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference In the finding and discussion process, we recognize that besides the practical benefits that IFRS brings, many challenges that need to be anticipated and carefully prepared beforemaking the decision to adopt IFRS in Vietnam to minimize risks Interviewees‟ and researchers ‟ perceptions about challenges of IFRS implementation in Vietnam for the accounting profession are shows as follows: Quality of human resource needs to be supplemented and further trained International standards (IFRS) should be interpreted and understood correctly, avoiding bias Training costs for IFRS need to be prepared in advance because of the high cost IFRS is not yet popular in Vietnam, so it is very new and manyother items compared to VAS Accountants, auditors need to understand its complexity and improve its expertise Bringing IFRS into Vietnam to apply will bring challenges not only for accountants, auditors but alsostudents Contributions to knowledge and to thesociety - Contribute to improve the understanding of accountants in accountingwork - Introduction and inspiration for more specific and in-depth studies ofIFRS - Overview of the impact and importance of applying IFRS helps to provide the Ministryof Finance with information on the benefits and limitations of the application of IFRS for the purposes of orientation to improve and overcome limitations in the most optimalway - Help businesses understand and prepare for innovation when Vietnam applies IFRS in the future Researchlimitations In general, this research is quite successful when it comes to clearing objectives In addition, during the research process there are many limitations that need to be overcome so that the research becomes more valuables and persuasive The objective of the study was to interview 10 subjects in the accounting profession However, the focus of the research team is primarily on big4 and non-big accountancy firms, which, during the 586 Proceedings the 10th students scientific research conference period of research and consultation, accountants are busy during the busy season so the rush time and the long wait is unavoidable Therefore, the research team only interviewed directly and through Email objects Data collection through live interviews is no longer alien to the researcher In this case, we acknowledge that interviewing five subjects is not enough to collect data and opinions accurately and objectively This may make the research less convincing However, our group has already compared and compared the results of previous studies to produce results and reaffirmed the value of the research to create more convincing for the reader Future researchrecommendations This study also presents some benefits and disadvantages of replacing VAS with IFRS, but does not focus on describing and deepening the level of harmony between the two The research team wanted and made a few suggestion topics related to this topic: - Determine the level of harmony between Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS / IFRS) relating to 10 major accountingstandards affecting financialstatements; - Trends of integration with IAS / IFRS and 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