Greenlight for foreign audit firms

Saturday, April 26, 2008
The State Securities Commission (SSC) has announced that four foreign auditing firms have been allowed to audit securities issuers, listed companies and securities business firms.

The firms are Ernst & Young Viet Nam, Grant Thompton Viet Nam , Price- waterhouse Coopers Viet Nam and KPMG.

The companies are among 28 autiditing firms qualified to do the job.

Ministry of Finance’s Decision No 89 issued last October requires a qualified company to have a charter capital or ownership capital of at least 2 billion VND (125,000 USD) for domestic firms; and a charter capital of 300,000 USD or more for foreign invested firms.

A company must have at least seven auditors: and must have been in operation for at least three years, the decision states.

The SSC considers and gives permission to qualified firms just once a year.

Companies that carry out auditing must submit documents to the commission from October 1 to October 30 annually. The commission announces the results usually by November 15.

Vu Thi Kim Lien, SSC vice chairwoman , said the commission waited to announce the list because at the end of last year and the beginning of this year it was considering supplying new companies with new criteria. (VNA)