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The implication of applying IFRS in Vietnamese enterprises from an expert

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Article in Management Science Letters · January 2020

DOI: 10.5267/j.msl.2019.9.025

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 Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 551–564

Contents lists available at GrowingScience

Management Science Letters

homepage: www.GrowingScience.com/msl

The implication of applying IFRS in Vietnamese enterprises from an expert perspective

Ngoc Bui Thia, Tu Chuc Anhb* and Oanh Le Thi Tua

a
University of Labour and Social Affairs, Vietnam
b
Academy of Finance, Vietnam
CHRONICLE ABSTRACT

Article history: According to the survey results of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), currently, 131/143
Received: August 18 2019 countries (accounting for 93%) have had official statements on the application of IFRS with different forms.
Received in revised format: Au- Among countries which have not permitted IFRS application, there is also a tendency to adjust the national
gust 18 2019 accounting standards system to match up to IFRS. Vietnam is preparing a roadmap for the application of IFRS
Accepted: September 19, 2019 in 2022. This paper conducts a study with 23 in-depth interviews and survey with 92 experts who are university
Available online: lecturers, researchers from research institutes, experts in the fields of securities, banking, finance in order to
September 19, 2019 collect some ideas on the roadmap, subjects and scope of IFRS application; assess the benefits and challenges
Keywords: when applying IFRS; then give the implications of IFRS application process in Vietnam. The ideas are con-
IFRS sistent with the opinion that preparing IFRS financial statements will improve the transparency of financial
Benefits and challenges statements. However, experts think that the biggest challenge when adopting IFRS is associated with high ex-
IFRS application roadmap penses. Therefore, most opinions suggest that businesses need 3 to 5 years to prepare human resources and other
necessary conditions for IFRS application. In addition, in the first period, there is a need to apply IFRS to listed
companies, public companies, foreign-invested enterprises, encourage large companies to apply voluntarily.
Besides, the study suggests some implications about the implementation process for organizations, individuals
and the government.
© 2020 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada

1. Introduction

Along with the trend of globalizing economic cooperation and development, accountings is no longer an internal and separate
issue of each country. As a result, to meet the diverse demand of international investors, countries usually allow enterprises
to apply IFRS when preparing and presenting financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
are studied and developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) with a view to provide an international
framework for preparing and presenting fiancial statements for businesses. IFRS creates a common accounting language
worldwide, enhancing the transparency and the comparability of financial statements. The methods of adopting IFRS in
countries are really diverse: fully or partially apply, apply to separate fiancial statements or consolidated financial statements,
apply to public companies or all businesses. Since 2005, IFRS has been first applied in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and
Hong Kong for listed companies, followed by countries such as Brazil, Canada, Russia, South Korea, Malaysia, China and
Indonesia. Most recently India and Saudi Arabia are preparing to apply IFRS. The United States has not applied IFRS yet, but
they allow foreign companies listed on the New York stock exchanges to use IFRS financial reporting. In Vietnam, looking
back on the process of formation and development of accounting law, it can be seen that before 2000, the legal framework on
accounting was very meager: the Accounting and Statistics Ordinance issued in 1988, followed by the accounting regime
issued in accordance with Decision 1141 in 1995. Until 2000, when Vietnam's stock market opened and integrated, Vietnam
issued 26 Vietnam Accounting Standards (VAS) in the period of 2001 - 2005. To date, these accounting standards is no longer
suitable because: Firstly, there is a big difference between VAS and IFRS as some important contents of IFRS have not been
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (T. Chuc Anh)

© 2020 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada

doi: 10.5267/j.msl.2019.9.025
552

specifically guided in VAS, including: accounting at fair value, accounting problems of value reduction, recording asset losses,
agriculture, exploration and exploitation of mineral resources and accounting for financial tools. While transactions related to
these issues have actually happened. Secondly, the key difference between VAS and IFRS makes VAS financial statements
of a company incompatible when compared with other companies of the same field in the world, which does not meet the
needs of the target groups: foreign investors, foreign partners and international rating organizations. Therefore, the quality of
VAS financial statements has not been highly appreciated by international investors and funding organizations, creating
barriers for Vietnamese enterprises in accessing international capital flows. Thirdly, in fact, some Vietnamese enterprises
have also been preparing IFRS financial statements in parallel with the VAS financial statements for the purpose of
establishing the consolidated financial statements of the parent company in foreign countries. This makes accounting work
more complicated and expensive. Fourthly, Vietnam is in the process of administrative reform, attracting foreign investment,
attracting capital in the international capital market. Especially, the financial market in general and the securities market in
particular are having strong transitional moves, attracting more and more foreign investors and organizations. For the above
reasons, the application of IFRS is essential and urgent for Vietnam. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam is planning
to apply IFRS in 2022. To accomplish this task, one of the big questions for Vietnam now is: How to apply IFRS? Should we
apply fully or make appropriate adjustments? What are the subjects, scope of application? Benefits and challenges? What
should state agencies do to make the implementation process effective?

According to the report of the IASB, the application of IFRS has been implemented in many countries. Consequently many
studies have been conducted to assess the benefits and challenges as well as study the factors affecting IFRS effectiveness.
These following authors are some typical instances: Horton et al. (2016) studied and concluded that applying IFRS improved
the information quality of the capital market and increased the comparability of information. Hossain et al. (2015), Ashok
(2014), Odo (2018) studied the advantages and disadvantages of applying IFRS in Bangladesh and Nigeria. The results
indicate that the application of IFRS promises many benefits such as reducing capital cost, improving the quality of financial
statements and attracting foreign investors. Besides, some difficulties such as building a synchronous legal framework,
training employees need to be overcome to successfully apply IFRS. Kanthi Herath et al. (2017), Obazee (2007), Daske et al.
(2008) and Ball (2006) all proved that the benefits of IFRS were increasing foreign direct investment, minimizing the
difference in accounting of countries. Trabelsi (2016) suggested that the biggest challenge was the cultural harmony of
emerging countries and the United States – United Kingdom. Trabelsi (2016) recommended that, for these countries, the
international harmonization process began with the adaptation to Anglo-Saxon accounting culture. These studies focus on
clarifying the benefits and challenges of applying IFRS in each country. Thus, each research project only concentrates on one
or several typical reasons suitable to the economic situation, political context and the characteristics of the culture in that
country. Almost no work has comprehensively studied the benefits as well as fully assessed the difficulties in different aspects.
Moreover, to date, Vietnam is among a few countries in the world that have not applied IFRS yet. Therefore, there are not
many research projects about Vietnam. However, in the development trend of the market economy and international economic
integration, Vietnam is preparing a roadmap for IFRS application in 2022. For that reason, we conduct this study with 23
interviews and survey 92 experts who are who are university lecturers, researchers from research institutues, experts in the
fields of securities, banking, finance in order to collect their opinions on the roadmap, subjects and scope of IFRS application;
assess the benefits and challenges when applying IFRS; and then propose some ideas to help the Ministry of Finance, the
government in making policies enforced and more effective. This study aims at the following three objectives:

1. Presenting ideas and plans to apply IFRS in Vietnam,

2. Assessing the benefits and challenges of applying IFRS in Vietnam,
3. Developing a roadmap and orientation for Vietnam in applying IFRS.

The research results contribute to help the policy makers develop a model to apply IFRS in accordance with the development
conditions of the economy and with the support of all economic sectors. The rest of the study is as follows: Section 2 reviews
the literature. Section 3 elaborates on the research methodology. Section 4 describes the data, analyses the empirical results
and presents the research results and discussion. Section 5 Conclusion and implications, indicates the limitations and
recommends for future researchs.

2. Literature review

The International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) is a set of accounting standards studied and developed by the
International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) with the goal of providing an international framework about preparing
and presenting financial statements for profit-making organizations. IFRS creates a common accounting language for
businesses worldwide, which enhances the transparency and comparability of financial statements. IFRS financial statements
are widely accepted in many countries, which will facilitate businesses to better access the international capital market. There
are several authors who have studied the application of IFRS in many countries such as: Odo (2018) conducted the testing of
IFRS application in Nigeria; Kanthi Herath et al. (2017) conducted research in Saudi Arabia; Miao et al. (2017) studied in
China through a case study combined with a survey of 394 enterprises; Trabelsi (2016) conducted research in underdeveloped
countries; Hossain et al. (2015) studied the advantages and disadvantages of applying IFRS in Bangladesh; Ashok (2014)
studied Indian businesses applying IFRS at the request of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) starting from
 N. Bui Thi et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 553

1/4/2011; Merve Kılıça et al. (2014) assessed the advantages of applying IFRS in Turkey, Mısırlıoğlu et al. (2013) conducted
research only in Turkish listed companies; DeFond et al. (2011) conducted research on samples from 14 EU countries; Alali
and High (2010) were particularly interested in IFRS application in Ireland; Cai and Wong (2010) examined the impact of
IFRS application on the integration of global capital markets among G8 countries; Nerudova and Bohusova (2008) investi-
gated the application of IFRS in small and medium enterprises in the Czech Republic; Reid and Smith (2007) analyzed the
costs and benefits of applying IFRS in the UK; Harris and Muller (2005) studied 31 foreign listed companies in the US; Joshi
and Ramadhan (2002) surveyed small companies in Bahrein. These studies are mainly about the benefits and challenges of
businesses when starting to apply IFRS. We synthesized, analyzed, assessed and selected the scales suitable to Vietnam's
economic, political and cultural conditions, including the following scales:
2.1. The benefits of IFRS application

The benefits of IFRS application have been confirmed in several prior research projects including: Increasing investment and
integration opportunities, attracting many domestic and international investors, promoting the integration process with the
world economy; Improving the transparency and reliability of financial statements; Increasing the comparability among busi-
nesses; Enhancing the corporate responsibility; Providing an important standard for accounting; Reducing frauds in financial
statements; Increasing bank loan opportunities. Overall, the study concludes that the benefits are worthy and far beyond ex-
pectations compared to the cost. Specifically:

Increasing investment and integration opportunities: IFRS creates a common accounting language for businesses worldwide.
So, when a country applies IFRS, it will be internationally recognized that the country has a complete market economy. It
represents a strong commitment by the Government in protecting investors and creating a healthy business environment for
the sake of sustainable development goals. It will then attract more foreign direct investment as the demand of international
investors is fulfilled. Odo (2018) conducted an inspection of IFRS application in Nigeria. The study used an overview and the
method of trend analysis to verify that the application of IFRS improved the quality of financial statements hence attracted
foreign investment and added value to the country. Kanthi Herath et al. (2017) proved that Saudi Arabia, when applying IFRS,
changed the investment environment, which allowed this country to diversify its economy, attract more foreign investment
opportunities and create more job opportunities for the younger generation. Hossain et al. (2015) studied the advantages and
disadvantages of applying IFRS in Bangladesh. The application of IFRS promised many benefits such as reducing capital
costs, improving the quality of financial statements, better accessing global capital markets and attracting foreign direct in-
vestment. Cai and Wong (2010) examined the impact of IFRS application on the integration of global capital markets among
G8 countries. Applying IFRS has attracted many foreign investors, strengthening global financial market integration as op-
posed to countries that have not applied IFRS yet.

Improving the transparency of financial statements: The application of IFRS helps to improve the transparency of financial
statements as IFRS require that the financial statements must be presented honestly, reasonably and publicly without
depending on the subjective will of the Board of Directors. Furthermore, IFRS also require businesses to explain in detail the
risks they possibly have to face, such as business risks, credit risks, liquidity risks, interest rates, exchange rates and policies.
Therefore, applying IFRS will provide more useful financial information, strengthening the protection of public rights when
deciding to invest in a business. Hossain et al. (2015) once again affirmed that IFRS application in the enterprises in
Bangladesh attracted more investment because of transparent and reliable financial statements. Kılıç et al. (2014), after
researching and assessing the advantages of applying IFRS in Turkey, concluded that it would ensure the comparability,
reliability, transparency and understandability of the information on the financial statements. Uyar and Güngörmüş (2013),
Arsoy and Sipahi (2009) approved that IFRS improved the quality of financial information, which helped businesses make
effective investment decisions and reduce capital costs. Horton et al. (2016), Jermakowicz and Gornik-Tomaszewski (2006),
Harris and Muller (2005) believed that in developing countries which applied IFRS, it not only improved the quality of
financial information and capital flows but also contributed to promoting national image thanks to transparent and public
information.

Increasing the information comparability among businesses worldwide: In the context where accounting is considered as a
global business language, IFRS application will give state authorities, owners, investors, especially foreign investors a tool to
evaluate and compare financial information between units in the same language, a common standard to make appropriate
economic decisions. Odo (2018) researched in Nigeria and confirmed the uniformity of accounting language when applying
IFRS was an undeniable value that helped compare financial statements worldwide. Arsoy and Sipahi (2009) also proved that
IFRS improved the quality of financial information, helping businesses make effective investment decisions because analyz-
ing and comparing financial statements of businesses in the same industry were easier and more convenient. Horton et al.
(2016) affirmed that applying IFRS improved the information quality of the capital market and increased the comparability
of information. Harris and Muller (2005) studied 31 foreign listed companies in the US that voluntarily applied IFRS. The
comparison results showed that the difference when applying IFRS with IAS and US GAAP was in improving the compara-
bility of financial statements.
554

Enhancing the corporate responsibility: Accounting standards aim to carefully present financial information, prioritize finan-
cial stability and safety rather than profit targets. With the above approach, IFRS requires businesses to immediately record
the losses due to asset depreciation, fluctuation in fair value, net realizable value or recoverable amount of assets is lower than
book value. Therefore, when applying IFRS, enterprises must have a more honest and objective attitude in reflecting their
financial weaknesses, reducing frauds in profit and loss statement, contributing to the prevention of negativity and corruption.
Ashok (2014) studied Indian enterprises applying IFRS at the request of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
starting from 1/4/2011. The results showed that by 2014, 30% of enterprises reported they were at a loss. The reason why
IFRS require businesses to present financial statements more honestly, enhance the corporate responsibility. DeFond et al.
(2011) conducted research on samples of 14 EU countries which required to apply IFRS and 10 countries which did not
require to apply IFRS in the period of 2003-2007. The results showed that international investment had a tendency to increase
after companies apply IFRS because the information was explained in more details, more reliable and more comparable.
Cirkveni et al. (2011) and Rezaee et al. (2010) emphasized that IFRS's role in pricing made accounting data less regulated,
especially incomes, which decreased frauds on financial statements.

Improving the reliability of financial statements: IFRS requires that published information must reflect market developments
at the time of reporting through reassessment of fair value, recoverable value of assets and liabilities, use value, time value
and current value, not just past information at the time of transaction (historical cost). Therefore, IFRS financial statements
will provide business leaders more reliable information for assessing the financial position of the unit at the time of reporting
as well as forecasting business performance and future cash flow to make appropriate and effective economic decisions.
Horton et al. (2016), Rezaee et al. (2010) and Cirkveni et al. (2011) proved that IFRS improved the information quality of the
capital market because of more reliable financial statements. DeFond et al. (2011) studied EU enterprises in the period of
2003-2007 and the results showed that the information was more specific and more reliable, which increased international
investment. Joshi and Ramadhan (2002) surveyed small companies using IAS in Bahrein, 86% of them agreed that when they
applied IFRS they would improve bank loans opportunities and improve financial information efficiency because IFRS were
more flexible but more effective so the financial statements would be more reliable.

Providing an important standard for accounting: IFRS provides a universal set of standards for the whole world, it is a global
accounting language (Young & Zeng, 2015). In the trend of globalization and international economic integration, the appli-
cation of IFRS will limit conflicts in the financial statements, because the standards of accepted accounting principles are
different in each country (Joshi & Ramadhan, 2002; Rezaee et al., 2010).

Financial statement information is easier to understand: The preparation of IFRS financial statements helps enterprises pre-
sent financial statements in accordance with international standards, applying the correct principles to make financial state-
ments standardized and easy to understand (Young & Zeng, 2015; Alfredson et al., 2010; Ataman & Altuk Özden, 2009).
DeFond et al. (2011) investigated the impact of mandatory IFRS application on cross-border investment. Their research indi-
cated that the ability to compare and enhance the qualitative characteristics of accounting information is the main motivation
for applying IFRS. Indeed, the implementation of IFRS makes financial statements standardized, simple and easy-to-under-
stand, which attracts investment from foreign support funds (Alkhtani, 2012).

Reducing frauds in financial statements: When applying IFRS, the quality of the financial statements is improved remarkably
through enhancing accountability, increasing transparency and comparability (Young & Zeng, 2015, Merve Kılıça et al. 2014),
providing financial statement users with a significant amount of useful information for making management, administration
and investment decisions. DeFond et al. (2011) investigated the impact of mandatory IFRS application on cross-border in-
vestment. DeFond's research showed that the voluntary accountability of businesses and the enhancement of the qualitative
characteristics of accounting information is the key motivation for IFRS adoption. Trabelsi (2016) suggested that IFRS applied
in underdeveloped countries would help reduce frauds when preparing financial statements because the national standards
were somewhat arbitrary and subjective.

Increasing bank loan opportunities: Many countries have a demand for loans from international organizations such as WB,
IMF, ADB ... with low interest rates. In order to achieve this, according to the regulations of most international donors, the
presentation of financial information under international standards is a mandatory condition, therefore applying IFRS will
create favorable conditions for businesses to attract appropriate financial resources with lower costs and higher efficiency for
business activities, Kim et al. (2011). Kanthi Herath et al. (2017), studied in Saudi Arabia and pointed out that IFRS helped
to boost bank loan opportunities, increasing foreign direct investment. Cirkveni et al. (2011) emphasized that IFRS's role in
pricing made accounting data less adjusted, especially the incomes, which reduced frauds on financial statements, making it
easier for companies to borrow from the banks. Cai and Wong (2010) studied the group of G8 countries. In that, some countries
applied IFRS while other countries were still in progress. Cai and Wong discovered that having an internationally accepted
set of standards in financial statements would minimize the accounting diversity among countries. This reduction will play an
important role in lowering the need to re-prepare financial statements. As a result, countries which apply IFRS will have
favorable conditions for the movement of capital and the enhancement of global financial market integration in contrast to
countries which have not applied IFRS. Joshi and Ramadhan (2002) surveyed small companies in Bahrein and concurred with
the views of Cai and Wong (2010).
 N. Bui Thi et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 555

2.2 The challenges of IFRS application

Apart from the benefits, the application of IFRS also brings several challenges to businesses such as: expensive costs for the
first time application (consulting costs, costs of building information technology systems, costs of employee training), lack of
market information for some certain IFRS requirements about fair value, a lack of qualified employees who are knowledgeable
about IFRS. Specifically:

High cost for the first time application: When applying IFRS, it will generate some initial investment costs for employee
training, translating IFRS into the local language, changing information systems and accounting software (Kılıça et al., 2014).
Although the initial investment costs are relatively large, in the long term, the benefits from information transparency, attract-
ing investors will not only far outweigh the initial costs but also help businesses develop steadily and sustainably. Miao et al.
(2017) conducted a research in China through a case study combined with a survey of 394 enterprises. The authors clarified
that the challenges of applying IFRS in China included the costs of implementing IFRS, translating IFRS into Mandarin, IFRS
training; lack of infrastructure for consistent IFRS application. Mısırlıoğlu et al. (2013) confirmed that Turkish listed compa-
nies did not apply IFRS consistently or claimed that they complied with IFRS requirements despite the mandatory application
of IFRS in 2005, because the process of implementing IFRS for the first time was very difficult and required a large amount
of finance. It was very difficult for the first time and needed a large amount of finance. Nerudova and Bohusova (2008)
revealed that the application of IFRS in small and medium enterprises in the Czech Republic was remarkably difficult and
inappropriate. Therefore, if Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are required to adopt IFRS, it will lead to excessive costs
and inefficiency. Jones and Finley (2011), Winney et al. (2010), Artikis et al. (2010) and Taylor (2009) were all concerned
about the costs of getting acquainted with IFRS, human resource training, financial statements conversion, infrastructure
preparation and translating IFRS into local languages. Obazee (2007) believed that the biggest challenge when applying IFRS
was not about technical issues but other factors such as language and initial investment costs. This opinion was also relevant
to the research results of Daskevà et al. (2008) and Ball (2006), Winney et al. (2010); Bunea-Bontas et al. (2011).

IFRS is complicated with strict regulations on information disclosure: One of the greatest benefits of IFRS is to enhance the
transparency of financial statements. However, poor sense of law compliance and professional ethics, unwillingness to pub-
licize the financial situation or weakness cover-up will be the barriers to the process of approaching international practice.
Trabelsi (2016), Kılıça et al. (2014) indicated that the biggest difficulty when applying IFRS is to implement regulations on
accountability and information disclosure. All the information about the financial situation, cash flow, performance results
and other information needs to be publicly available on a large scale. Nerudova and Bohusova (2008) discovered that the
application of IFRS in SMEs in the Czech Republic was relatively difficult and inappropriate. Because of the complexity,
SMEs was not capable of finance and human resources to completely operate under IFRS regulations. Alali & Cao (2010)
were particularly interested in applying IFRS in Ireland, the problem they encountered was the complication, novelty and
strict regulations on information disclosure in terms of quantity and quality of information, deadlines and responsibilities for
information. Consistent with this view, Winney et al. (2010), Jones and Finley (2011) were also afraid that IFRS were com-
parably inconvenient and strict about the information disclosure of enterprises.

Businesses have difficulties in technology and human resources: In the process of applying IFRS, small businesses always
face with human resources issues. First of all, accounting personnel, most of whom have not received intensive training on
IFRS. Next is the number of experts and auditors who do not know well enough about IFRS, with hardly any experience and
skills of preparing IFRS financial statements (Kılıça et al., 2014; Müllerova et al., 2010). Odo (2018) conducted a study in
Nigeria and found that the qualifications of accountants were not sufficient to meet IFRS requirements. He said that despite
facing many challenges, their country could overcome by strengthening professional accounting training, raising awareness
of managers and scientists to shorten the knowledge gap and provide sufficient resources to support sustainable IFRS
implementation. Poudel et al. (2014) clarified that the application of IFRS in Nepal was ineffective due to objective reasons
such as corruption, underdeveloped capital markets and the lack of qualified and well-trained accountants, who were capable
of understanding and applying IFRS consistently in Nepal. Mısırlıoğlu et al. (2013) carried out a survey in Turkey and
indicated that enterprises could not apply IFRS completely and properly because of limited accounting qualifications.

Difficulty in recruiting qualified accountants to prepare financial statements: IFRS are also a relatively new issue for many
countries. The issues specified in IFRS are remarkably complicated, requiring appropriate accountants and users. There are
not many accountants who are knowledgeable about IFRS in developing countries, so enterprises face many difficulties in
recruiting accountants. Odo (2018) provided the research results in Nigeria, 80% of businesses did not have well-qualified
accountants to implement IFRS effectively; Hossain et al. (2015) studied the advantages and disadvantages of applying IFRS
in Bangladesh and also confirmed that it was difficult for small businesses to recruit accountants to apply IFRS. Trabelsi
(2016), Reid and Smith (2007) analyzed the costs and benefits of applying IFRS in the UK but were concerned about their
complication and challenges. The problem of training accountants and financial experts with fundamental knowledge about
IFRS is the concern of researchers in Hungary (Artikis et al., 2010, Jones & Finley, 2011).

A lot of information is judgmental and subjective: Applying IFRS uses several accounting estimates, which requires flexibility
along with the necessary professional judgments, making accounting information inaccurate. For example, the concepts of
556

fair value and financial tools will be considerably influenced by accountants. Meanwhile, accountants are often influenced by
stereotypical culture and always limit uncertainty and risks (Oghogho, 2016). Christie et al. (2010) conducted a study with
243 US accountants participating in the survey. The results showed that 65% of respondents used US GAAP and 21% used
tax accounting rules. Only 2% of respondents used IFRS. Accountants did not want to apply IFRS to small businesses because
they had not completely mastered the contents specified in IFRS. Taylor (2009), Jones & Finley (2011) and Chand et al.
(2010) were also afraid that subjective judgments might easily lead to frauds in financial statements.

Market information: Eloho et al. (2016), Trabelsi (2016), Jones & Finley, 2011, Artikis et al. (2010), Reid and Smith (2007)
prove that because IFRS’s target is to present the assets and liabilities of enterprises at market value at the time of reporting,
it is necessary for the market to be relatively developed to provide reliable information. Most of the emerging markets only
provide some basic information, such as the price of listed shares, prices of trading fuel and agricultural products. However,
with regard to other information such as the value of land and resources, there is a big difference between the published price
of the Government and the actual transaction price. In addition, in order to assess the ability of debt recovery and pricing of
enterprises, other information such as the credibility and market shares is required, so the application of IFRS to a transforming
economy may face some certain difficulties in the short term.

Difference between domestic financial mechanisms and policies and IFRS: Some financial mechanisms and policies of
different countries differ remarkably from IFRS. Thus, if the government do not adjust the mechanisms and policies timely,
especially for state-owned enterprises, it will cause difficulties due to inconsistencies in the approaching method, making
businesses confused when applying the law. Trabelsi (2016), Obazee (2007), Siaga (2012), Alp & Ustundag (2009) and Artikis
et al. (2010) assessed that the biggest difficulty was the harmonization of culture, legal mechanisms and policies of each
country with IFRS's mechanism, culture and law. Obazee (2007) believed that the main factors affecting IFRS implementation
in Europe, America and the rest of the world were cultural issues; legal, educational, and political obstacles in those countries
rather than technical issues. This once again explained the statistics of Siaga (2012), which showed that although 40% of
African countries had IFAC access, only 28% of IFAC members in Africa applied IFRS.

3. Methodology

3.1. Qualitative research method

In order to facilitate the implementation and reliability of the research results, we conducted this study with 23 direct inter-
views including 5 lecturers from 3 universities, and 3 State management officials at the Ministry of Finance, 4 chief account-
ants, 4 directors and finance directors, 3 researchers of accounting research institute, 4 chief auditing managers of 4 large
auditing companies. Those selected for the interviews all held a PhD degree, and Master’s degree for the chief accountants
and the auditing managers. For each subject, the interview aimed at different objectives. Specifically, with regard to lecturers’
group, we focused on their assessment of the scope of IFRS application, advantages and disadvantages. With regard to the
State management officials’ group, we focused on the assessment of the subjects and the roadmap for IFRS application. With
regard to the chief accountants’ group, we considered the benefits and challenges for first time application. With regard to the
directors’ group, we collect the information about the roadmap and the ability to implement IFRS in the unit.

The process of interviewing and information collection was always close to the objectives and the research questions in order
to understand the views of each subject. We outlined some basic questions to be active in the interviews. We made notes and
recorded the interviews. After the interview, we prepared the situation description and sent them back to the interviewees to
verify the information and correct if it had been wrong. The data analysis steps are as follows:

- Step 1: Aggregate data into the same excel file according to the basic questions set. Flexible answers take separate items for
later coding.
- Step 2: Read through the entire data file; Re-read to find the words or clusters of keywords, common problems in interviews,
put together and assign classification criteria (group name). Interview segments with the same content are put in the same
excel box. Read again to clarify the idea of each paragraph and unify classification criteria.
- Step 3:
+ Filter the data by code, compare the appearance of that code with research questions to find the link between the code and
information related to IFRS.
+ Repeat this task several times to find and build relationship between the factors.

3.2. Quantitative research methods

Building scale

The preliminary scale is based on the inheritance of prior studies and adjusted to adapt to the situation in Vietnam. Based on
the initial preliminary scale, 4 new scales were added after interviewing the experts. Conduct a survey of 15 forms to check
the contents of the questionnaire and adjust the official scales. The questions in the questionnaire were assessed according to
 N. Bui Thi et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 557

Liker scale 5 levels (1- Strongly disagree; 5- Strongly agree). The study is conducted through survey forms sent to experts
who are state managers, researchers, lecturers of universities in Vietnam. Experts who participated in the in-depth interview
did not participate in the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire is designed with 2 main parts, including: (i) IFRS benefits
to Vietnam; (ii) Challenges when Vietnam applies IFRS. In addition, the questionnaire was supplemented with questions
about the IFRS application roadmap in Vietnam and personal information of surveyors. The scales are inherited from prior
studies, namely:

The scale of benefits of applying IFRS includes 9 questions inherited from prior studies: Odo (2018), Kanthi Herath et al. (2017);
Horton et al. (2016); Trabelsi (2016); Hossain et al. (2015); Young and Zeng, 2015; Merve Kılıça et al. (2014); Ashok (2014);
Cirkveni et al. (2011); DeFond et al. (2011); Köse (2009); Arsoy & Sipahi (2009); Cheung et al. (2008); Harris and Muller
(2005); Joshi and Ramadhan (2002) and 01 additional question from the results of interviews with experts: “Vietnam's financial
statements will be publicized in international forums and be recognized”.

The scale of difficulties when applying IFRS includes 5 questions, inherited from prior studies of Miao et al. (2017),
Mısırlıoğlu et al. (2013), Nerudova and Bohusova (2008), Jones & Finley (2011), Artikis et al. (2010); Winney et al. (2010),
Alali & High (2010); Taylor (2009); Nerudova and Bohusova (2008); Daskevà et al. (2008); Reid and Smith (2007); Obazee
(2007); Zeghal and Mhedhbi (2006) and Ball (2006) and 03 additional questions from the in-depth interview results: “Vi-
etnam's legal framework is not synchronized”; “Language barriers" and "Pressure from international consulting companies in
Vietnam”.

Describe the research sample

We sent a questionnaire via email to experts who were managers and lecturers of universities with convenience sampling
method. The total number of valid collected forms was 92, of which 88 were university lecturers, 4 were managers of schools,
state research institutes and auditing institutes. The level of interviewees is Master (45.7%), followed by Doctor (38%), As-
sociate Professor (14.1%). In terms of age, the majority of respondents is between 30 and 40 years old (59.8%), followed by
40 to 50 years old (23.9%). Sample details are shown in Table 1.

Table 1
Survey sample statistics
Sample = 92 Percent (%)
Male 20 21.7
Gender
Female 72 78.3
< 30 9 9.8
30 - 40 55 59.8
Age
40 - 50 22 23.9
Above 50 6 6.5
Professor 1 1.2
Associate Professor 13 14.1
Highest level Doctor 35 38.0
Master 42 45.7
Bachelor 1 1.1
Manager 4 4.3
Job position
Lecturer 88 95.7

4. Research results

IFRS awareness

When being asked about assessing the shortcomings in providing financial statement information of enterprises in accordance
with Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS), experts have a high consensus on the inadequacies in the current regulations
(accounting for 90.2%). Experts' opinions indicate that changes in current regulations in preparing and presenting necessary
financial statements are necessary in order to meet the practical requirements and international integration.

IFRS application roadmap in Vietnam

Regarding IFRS application roadmap in Vietnam, the majority of experts believe that Vietnam can apply IFRS in 3 to 5 years
(accounting for 45.65%), followed by 5 to 10 years (accounting for 38.04%). Apart from that, some believe the application of
IFRS in Vietnam are close in the coming time (less than 3 years) and others are pessimistic about the time when Vietnam will
apply IFRS (See Fig. 1).
558

< 3 yrs 11.96% Other 5.4%

3 - 5 yrs 45.65%
No 9.8%
5 - 10 yrs 38.04%

Unknown Yes 84.8%

4.35%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%

Fig. 1. IFRS application roadmap in Vietnam Fig. 2. IFRS are better than VAS

IFRS are better than Vietnamese Accounting Standards

The majority of respondents said that the application of IFRS would be better than applying current accounting standards
(accounting for 84.8%). This result is consistent with the interview results of experts. Specifically, experts believe that IFRS
ensures the comparability, transparency and require strict adherence to regulations on information disclosure and professional
ethics. Therefore, applying IFRS will improve the quality of information on financial statements; attract investment and en-
hance business cooperation opportunities, competitiveness and international economic integration; improve the quality of
information, quality of accountants and business efficiency, rapidly integrate into international accounting standards. On the
contrary, a few people disagree with the above point of view, others have different opinions. Specifically, whether or not IFRS
application is better depends on the subjects of application, conditions of application as well as the legal infrastructure of
Vietnam (See Fig. 2).

Subjects of IFRS application

According to the quantitative survey results, when being asked about which businesses should apply IFRS, a greater number
of experts think that Vietnam should apply to public companies first (66.30%). Financial Analyst of Unilever Vietnam Inter-
national Co., Ltd: “Proposing a pilot application to listed companies before implementing mandatory application of all busi-
nesses.” The chief accountant of Vietnam Dairy Products Company: “Application method: pilot application for a number of
subjects. We should not implement mandatory application to all businesses immediately”. This is also a common trend of
countries in the world (126/150 countries). The results of in-depth interviews reveal the application roadmap of the subjects
in more detail, namely: In the first period (2020-2022), Vietnam should apply to listed companies, public companies and
foreign-invested enterprises. Because these units are applying IFRS in accordance with the regulations of the parent company
for the consolidated financial statements of the group. For that reason, this is a comparably plausible subject. In the second
period (2022-2025), we should encourage large companies to voluntarily apply. In the third period (after 2025), we should
apply to all businesses (See Fig. 3).

All enterprises 33.70% IFRS part 20.65%

Puplic companies 66.30% All IFRS 79.35%

0.00% 20.00%40.00%60.00%80.00% 0.00% 20.00%40.00%60.00%80.00%100.00%

Fig. 3. Subjects of IFRS application Fig. 4. Scope of IFRS application in Vietnam

Scope of IFRS application in Vietnam

Most experts suggest that Vietnam should apply IFRS partially in accordance with the current situation (79.35%) instead of
the whole application in Fig. 4. Some contents are relatively urgent to make the information on financial statements of Viet-
namese enterprises compliant with international practices such as financial tools, revenue, leasing, insurance contracts, etc.
This is also a choice of many countries which follow the “conversion” method, which allows accountants to learn gradually
about the standards, provide a reasonable time frame to change the national legal framework. According to the interview
results, the expert opinion of FPT Joint Stock Company is that: “Suggesting the Big Bang method for IFRS application. This
 N. Bui Thi et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 559

means that all accounting standards are applied at the same time, for both separate financial statements and consolidated
financial statements”. The chief accountant of Vietnam Airlines: “Suggesting the application of all IFRS system at the same
time; In the short term, the government should apply IFRS in a voluntary way to the consolidated financial statements of some
businesses”. According to an expert of the Economic Research Institute: “We should apply the entire IFRS system at the same
time.”

IFRS knowledge preparation

In order to assess the preparation of IFRS knowledge, we asked the surveyed subjects about attending IFRS training courses
or learning about IFRS by means of books and friends or related practical work. The results showed that the majority studied
IFRS through books (89.1%), followed by participating in training courses (71.7%), exchanging with friends (67.4%). For
practical experience, only 32.6% of the participants had ever studied IFRS through consulting for businesses.

Working experience 32.6% 67.4%

Friends communication 67.4% 32.6% Yes
Trainning courses 71.7% 28.3%
No
Reading books, magazine about IFRS 89.1% 10.9%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0%

Fig. 5. Information channel to learn IFRS

According to the interview results, for accountants: “Almost know nothing about IFRS”. Others said, “Learn about IFRS
through the training sessions of the ACCA or the Ministry of Finance”. For auditors “Trained at Deloitte Vietnam Company
Limited”, others said, “Have a chance to learn about IFRS because customer company uses IFRS”, a few learn through trans-
lated documents or online newspapers. Only a few people know IFRS through practical experience. These figures are com-
pletely consistent with the survey results presented in Fig. 5.

Compare IFRS knowledge preparation

In order to compare the preparation of IFRS knowledge of experts in Vietnam by group of academic level, age, gender, we
conducted a test to examine the difference in distribution among groups without equal variance with Kruskal Wallis Test. The
results showed that, in terms of educational level, “reading books about IFRS” and “Work experience” are statistically signif-
icant (Sig. <0.05), “attending training course” is statistically significant with Sig = 0.058. Assessing the preparation of
knowledge for applying IFRS in Vietnam, there is a difference among 5 groups in terms of educational level when squaring
X2 = 10.489 and Sig. = 0.033 (for reading books and newspapers), X2 = 12,927 and Sig. = 0.01 (for work experience) and X2
= 9.120 (for attending training course) (Table 2). Accordingly, for reading books about IFRS, the average rank of professors
and associate professors’ group is the highest (51.5), followed by the doctor group (average rank of 47.56) and the master's
degree (44.93), the bachelor group has the lowest result. This shows that highly-qualified professionals read more books about
IFRS than the rest. This result is on the contrary to the study of Uyar and Güngörmüş (2013) and Kılıç et al. (2014). In terms
of training courses, professors participate in fewer training courses than the other groups. As for IFRS information through
work experience, the bachelor's group stays at the highest rank (Table 3).

Table 2
IFRS knowledge preparation of experts
Over all Kruskal Wallis Chi-Square
Preparedness Yes (%) No (%) Level of education Age
Communicating 67.4 32.6 6.175 6.539***
Reading books, magazines about IFRS 89.1 10.9 10.489** 2.381
Training courses 71.7 28.3 9.120*** 7.854**
Working Experience 32.6 67.4 12.927* 4.084
* Significant at the 0.01 level ** Significant at the 0.05 level *** Significant at the 0.1 level

Table 3
Kruskal-Wallis Test – assessing IFRS preparation by academic level
Reading books, magazines about Training courses Working Experience
Academic level N Mean Rank N Mean Rank N Mean Rank
Professor 1 51.50 1 13.50 1 31.50
Associate Professor 13 51.50 13 52.42 13 45.65
Doctor 35 47.56 35 51.61 35 55.16
Master 42 44.93 42 40.88 42 39.17
Bachelor 1 5.50 1 59.50 1 77.50
Total 92 92 92
560

The Kruskal Wallis Test result by age indicates that “attending training courses” and "exchanging with friends" is different
by age, respectively Sig. = 0.049 <0.05, X2 = 7.854 and Sig. = 0.088 <0.1) and X2 = 6.539 (Table 3). In terms of hierarchy,
the age of 40-50 achieves the highest ranking both in exchange with friends and in attending training courses. Next, the group
of 30-40 and the group of above 50 are relatively equal in ranking. The group of under 30 is at the lowest rank in attending
training courses and the group of above 50 is at the lowest rank in exchanging with friends.

Table 4
Kruskal-Wallis Test – assessing IFRS preparation by age
Communicating Training courses
Age N Mean Rank N Mean Rank
< 30 9 35.94 9 28.83
30 - 40 55 48.12 55 47.79
40 - 50 22 51.05 22 51.14
> 50 6 30.83 6 44.17
Total 92 92

Benefits of IFRS application in Vietnam

The content of assessing the benefits of IFRS application in Vietnam is inherited from prior studies, the authors selected, analyzed
and assessed to find the most suitable scale for the characteristics of the economy, politics and culture of Vietnam, including 9
scales and 01 additional content from in-depth interview results. With the Likert scale of 5 levels, the average value is summarized
in Table 5. When assessing the benefits IFRS application in Vietnam, all 10 contents of the survey were approved by experts, the
average value was from 3.53 to 4.02 (Table 5). In that, the content “More transparent financial statements information” reached
the highest level of agreement (mean 4.02). This content is highly appreciated by the respondents, which is similar to the results
of previous research by Hossain et al. (2015); Kılıça et al. (2014) and Madawaki (2012). The content “Information comparability
with enterprises worldwide” achieved 4.0 mean. This result is consistent with previous studies of Odo (2018); Merve Kılıça et
al. (2014), Uyar & Güngörmüş (2013), Arsoy & Sipahi (2009), Horton et al. (2016) and Harris and Muller (2005). Other contents
such as higher enterprises responsibility, more reliable financial statements information, providing important standards for
accounting also achieved mean from 3.8 to 3.89. The study of Rezaee et al. (2010) also illustrates similar results when assessing
the effectiveness of IFRS financial information for users. The content of “Financial statements are publicized and recognized
worldwide” supplemented by in-depth interviews also reaches the mean of 3.82. These results are the basis for promoting IFRS
application in the information disclosure of financial statements of Vietnamese enterprises.

Table 5
Assessing the benefits of IFRS application in Vietnam
Over all Kruskal Wallis Chi-Square
No. Benefits Mean Std. Deviation Age
1 More transparent financial statements information 4.02 1.02 6.556***
2 Information comparability with enterprises worldwide 4 0.93 5.328
3 Higher enterprises responsibility 3.89 0.98 7.886**
4 More reliable financial statements information 3.86 0.98 10.493**
5 Financial statements are publicized and recognized worldwide 3.82 1.06 9.099**
6 Providing important standards for accounting 3.8 0.96 8.027**
7 Increasing investment and integration opportunities 3.79 1.07 9.151**
8 Financial statements information is easier to understand 3.62 0.86 6.651***
9 Reducing frauds in financial statements 3.54 0.80 11.857*
10 Increasing bank loan opportunities 3.53 1.07 6.366***
* Significant at the 0.01 level
** Significant at the 0.05 level
The content “financial statements information is easier to understand” (mean = 3.62), more reliable (3.86) are similar to
previous research results of Young and Zeng (2015), DeFond et al. (2011), Alkhtani (2012), Alfredson et al. (2009) and
Ataman and Altuk Özden (2009) when indicating that financial statements are easier to understand and more reliable if a
general standard system is applied consistently. Particularly, the content “Reducing frauds in financial statements” and “In-
creasing bank loan opportunities” have the lowest average value (mean = 3.54 and 3.53). This result is consistent with the
research of Young and Zeng, 2015, DeFond et al. (2011), Trabelsi (2016), Merve Kılıça et al. (2014) on assessing the benefits
of applying IFRS to SMEs in Turkey: reducing frauds and increasing bank loans opportunities. Kim et al. (2011) also had a
similar result by assuming that IFRS would help businesses have certain incentives from banks on interest rates and loan
terms. The results of the study all maintained a mean above average level, which shows that IFRS application in Vietnam
would bring more benefits from the perspective of experts. These results are basically consistent with many prior studies.
Nevertheless, some studies have the opposite results such as Jeanjean and Stolowy (2008), which assumed that applying IFRS
for preparing financial statements had little impact on the quality of information provided to users because they depended on
personal information. Conducting the comparative test of IFRS benefit assessed by age, gender and academic level, the results
show that there are only some differences among these opinions by age. The response describes that there is no difference in
 N. Bui Thi et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 561

qualifications for assessing the benefits of IFRS application. All contents are statistically significant, except for "Information
comparability with enterprises worldwide”. The content “Reducing frauds in financial statements” is significant at level Sig.
= 0.008, X2 = 11,857 and there is an obvious difference between age groups. The group of above 50 years old regards this
benefit as the highest (mean rank = 71.83), followed by the group of under 30 (mean rank = 58.17), the other two age groups
have a mean rank of 45.66 and 36.91 respectively (Table 6). With the remaining contents, the group of above 50 years old has
the highest mean rank (mean ranks from 65 to 75.83), the remaining groups are comparably similar.

Table 6
Kruskal-Wallis Test – assessing the benefits by age

Increasing bank loan op-

formation is easier to un-
standards for accounting

and integration opportu-

Financial statements are

Financial statements in-

More transparent finan-

statements information
More reliable financial

Reducing frauds in fi-

Increasing investment
Higher enterprises re-

publicized and recog-

cial statements infor-

Providing important

nancial statements
nized worldwide
sponsibility

derstand
mation

nities
Age

portunities
Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean
N Rank N Rank N Rank N Rank N Rank N Rank N Rank N Rank N Rank
< 30 9 44.11 9 42.78 9 50.33 9 55.00 9 43.44 9 46.89 9 52.06 9 58.17 9 45.22
30 – 40 55 42.45 55 42.85 55 42.13 55 41.72 55 45.27 55 44.46 55 42.77 55 45.66 55 45.33
40 – 50 22 52.57 22 50.77 22 47.86 22 48.52 22 43.73 22 43.43 22 47.55 22 36.91 22 43.14
> 50 6 65.00 6 69.83 6 75.83 6 70.17 6 72.50 6 75.83 6 68.50 6 71.83 6 71.50
Total 92 92 92 92 92 92 92 92 92

Difficulties of IFRS application in Vietnam

The difficulties of applying IFRS scale is inherited from the studies of Miao et al. (2017), Mısırlıoğlu et al. (2013), Nerudova
and Bohusova (2008), Jones & Finley (2011), Winney et al. (2010), Nerudova and Bohusova (2008); Alali & High (2010);
Reid and Smith (2007); Artikis et al., 2010, Jones & Finley (2011), Zeghal and Mhedhbi (2006) and 03 additional questions
from the interview results. Comments are collected on the Lirket scale of 5 levels. The results are shown in Table 7.

Table 7
Assessing the difficulties of IFRS application in Vietnam
Kruskal Wallis Chi-
Over all Square
STT Difficulties
Education
Mean Std. Deviation Age Level
1 First time of application is expensive 3.95 0.942 0.712 7.371
2 The legal framework of Vietnam is not in synchronized with the international 3.93 1.003 1.656 3.927
3 legal framework
Language barrier 3.84 1.041 4.706 5.303
4 IFRS are complicated with strict regulations on information disclosure 3.77 0.996 3.631 5.790
5 SMEs have difficulties in technology and human resources 3.70 1.046 5.434 12.627**
6 Difficult to recruit qualified accountants to prepare financial statements 3.62 1.067 7.493*** 11.718**
7 A lot of information is subjective 3.53 1.032 3.212 4.122
8 Pressure from the international consulting companies in Vietnam 3.34 1.009 3.198 2.264
* Significant at the 0.01 level ** Significant at the 0.05 level *** Significant at the 0.1 level

Survey results show that 7/8 contents reach mean from 3.53 to 3.95. In that, the majority believe the biggest difficulty is “First
time of application is expensive”. The study of Miao et al. (2017), Mısırlıoğlu et al. (2013), Nerudova and Bohusova (2008),
Jones & Finley (2011), Winney et al. (2010) and Bunea-Bontas et al. (2011) also pointed out that the difficulties that enter-
prises had to face when applying IFRS were expensive costs such as accounting training, changes in accounting information
systems, hiring consultants. Merve Kılıça et al. (2014) also claimed that the cost of implementing IFRS for SMEs was the
biggest obstacle. “The legal framework of Vietnam is not in synchronized with the international legal framework” and “Lan-
guage barrier” were also major obstacles for Vietnam (mean = 3.93 and 3.84). This result is consistent with the research of
Trabelsi (2016), Obazee (2007), Siaga (2012), Alp & Ustundag (2009) and Artikis et al. (2010) when businesses have to
translate international accounting standards into their national languages, obstacles in translating terms and concepts. Re-
spondents also suggested that IFRS are complicated with strict regulations on information disclosure (mean = 3.77). Kılıça et
al. (2014), Trabelsi (2016), Nerudova and Bohusova (2008), Alali & Cao (2010), Winney et al. (2010), Jones & Finley (2011)
revealed that SMEs in Turkey had difficulties because of IFRS's detailed rules because they were adapting to regulations
based on specific instructions. SMEs have difficulties in technology and human resources (mean = 3.7); Difficult to recruit
qualified accountants to prepare financial statements (mean = 3.62) are also consistent with the results of previous publications
such as spending time on accounting training, technical preparation to convert from national standards to international
standards (Kılıça et al., 2014; Müllerova et al., 2010; Odo, 2018; Poudel et al., 2014; Mısırlıoğlu et al., 2013). Another
difficulty that businesses encounter is “A lot of information is subjective” when preparing IFRS financial statements.
562

Vietnamese enterprises are now familiar with preparation method according to specific regulations of the accounting regime,
while the regulations on preparing and presenting financial statements under IFRS contain a lot of estimated and subjective
information of the accountants This is a significant difficulty in Vietnam's accounting practice (Eloho et al., 2016). Christie
et al. (2010) Chand et al. (2010) describe that the international financial reporting standards require a lot of subjective infor-
mation of accountants. The content “Pressure from the international consulting companies in Vietnam” only reached a low
level (mean = 3.34). When comparing the assessment of difficulties from expert groups by gender, age, academic level, results
indicate that in terms of academic level, the content “Difficult to recruit qualified accountants to prepare financial statements”
and “SMEs have difficulties in technology and human resources” have a significant difference. There is an outstanding
difference by the group of Professors and Bachelors, specifically, the Professors group’s assessment is more than that of the
Bachelors group. Similarly, in terms of age, there is a significant difference in the difficult assessment between the age group
of above 50 and the age group of under 30 in “Difficult to recruit qualified accountants to prepare financial statements”. The
age group of under 30 has higher assessment than that of the age group of above 50. Detailed figures are described in Table
8 and Table 9 below:

Table 8
Kruskal-Wallis Test – assessing difficulties by academic level
Difficult to recruit qualified accountants to pre- SMEs have difficulties in technology and
Edu_level pare financial statements human resources
N Mean Rank N Mean Rank
Professor 1 55.00 1 19.50
Associate Professor 13 35.12 13 40.42
Doctor 35 41.54 35 40.41
Master 42 54.99 42 55.12
Bachelor 1 3.00 1 3.50
Total 92 92

Table 9
Kruskal-Wallis Test – assessing difficulties by age
Difficult to recruit qualified accountants to prepare financial statements
Age
N Mean Rank
< 30 9 65.06
30 - 40 55 47.38
40 - 50 22 39.23
> 50 6 37.25
Total 92

5. Conclusions and implications

Vietnam is one of the countries that have not allowed or requested enterprises to prepare and present IFRS financial statements.
Financial statements of Vietnamese enterprises are in accordance with Vietnamese Accounting Standards, issued from 2001 to 2005,
based on IAS. Along with the changes in the transactions of the market economy, Vietnamese Accounting Standards have revealed
many limitations. In addition, the trend to unify regulations to prepare and present financial statements under IFRS is developing
worldwide. To contribute to improving the business environment, supporting the development of the stock market, attracting foreign
investment, in line with the general trend of the world, the application of IFRS in Vietnam is significantly necessary. Research results
from an experts’ perspective, the benefits include:
 Improving the quality of financial statements, providing many useful and reliable information;
 Transparency of financial information, helping the subjects using information have a better understanding of the
financial situation of enterprises, creating favorable conditions for enterprises when implementing capital
mobilization, increasing investment opportunities and attract investment;
 Financial statements information is publicized and recognized worldwide, which provides lenders sufficient
information to rank enterprises, improve their position and credibility in the international market.
 IFRS application helps enterprises enhance their responsibility and reduce frauds in financial statements.
Apart from the benefits, applying IFRS in Vietnam will certainly create many challenges. Difficulties from the opinions of
experts include:
 Expensive cost in the first period of preparing IFRS financial statements because businesses usually have to hire
consultants as the internal staff often do not have enough knowledge about IFRS; the costs of recruiting, training
and developing IFRS personnel; costs of building and maintaining the IT system for the purpose of preparing IFRS
financial statements.
 Language barrier is also a challenge because Vietnam have to convert all IFRS from English to Vietnamese, it may
be difficult to explain the similarity of the terms and concepts.
 N. Bui Thi et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 563

 As IFRS allows many judgments to be done instead of complying with principles such as the current VAS, the
professional ethics issues of accountants when disclosing information requires more honesty.

The study also presents that Vietnamese experts have had some preparation for IFRS: learning information through books and
magazines, attending training courses, exchanging with friends. According to the assessment of experts on applying IFRS in Vi-
etnam, it is advised that the government apply partially and apply to public companies. Experts also indicate that Vietnam will apply
IFRS in the near future (about 3 to 5 years). The research results will provide useful and reliable information for the Ministry of
Finance on the application of IFRS in Vietnam through 23 in-depth interviews and a survey of 92 experts who are researchers,
university lecturers, business managers, state managers, chief accountants, and auditing managers of large auditing companies. From
the challenges mentioned above, the interviewed units also propose some petitions to the Government, the Ministry of Finance
and the state management agencies as follows:
 Strengthening IFRS training for accountants to meet the requirements of preparing and presenting IFRS financial
statements. Training through undergraduate programs, short-term training courses.
 Improving the English level of accountants to increase their accessibility and self-learning.
 Issuing legal documents which facilitate the operation of dynamic markets and are compliant with international
legal framework.
 Improving professional ethics for accountants to avoid using subjective judging information to falsify the nature
of accounting information.
 Developing guidance framework, sharing practical experience and reference materials to IFRS to promote IFRS
recognition process in Vietnam. Documents need to be translated in accordance with Vietnamese semantics to
help readers easily approach and learn.
 Proposing the Government to build a unified data center nationwide so that enterprises can provide information
and exploit and use such general information.
 Proposing the Ministry of Finance to provide guidance on the differences between VAS and IFRS so that enter-
prises can learn and apply IFRS.
 Proposing that businesses will receive tax incentives if they voluntarily apply IFRS.
 Proposing the Ministry of Finance to support the dissemination and training of IFRS for the whole economy;
building a department for technical support for enterprises during the time of pilot IFRS application.
 Legalizing IFRS financial statements instead of VAS financial statements so that enterprises only have to imple-
ment one accounting standard system (either VAS or IFRS).
 Incentive mechanisms are necessary for pioneering enterprises in voluntary application.
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