Roadmap for the implementation of IFRS in Vietnam: Benefits and challenges

S requires fair value recognition, while capital and financial markets are developing, it is impossible to 
get reliable information about fair value and many transactions are difficult to identify because different markets are not 
synchronized. KPMG Vietnam (2018) also received a consensus from in-depth interviews with 27 enterprises who supposed 
that the first implementation of IFRS would be expensive. Tu Chuc Anh et al. (2019) showed that the application of IFRS is 
expensive in terms of training costs, hiring experts. Research by Tu Oanh et al. (2019) also pointed out one of the biggest 
difficulties when applying IFRS in Vietnam is the conversion cost. 
The results of group comparison with Sample Test showed that there was no difference in the benefits and challenges of IFRS 
implementation by educational level, gender, position, region and enterprise size. ANOVA analysis showed that there was a 
difference in the benefits for policy makers by age group, there was a difference in the benefits for investors by type of enterprise. 
The research results are an objective basis for the implementation of IFRS in Vietnam because of the expectation of benefits for 
enterprises and authorities. In order to widely implement IFRS in Vietnam, it is vital to have a macro strategy from the 
Government, the consensus of policy makers, managers, accountants and lecturers. Some recommendations to promote the IFRS 
application process and promote the benefits of IFRS application in Vietnam are proposed as follows: 
Firstly, it is important to strengthen the dissemination and training of IFRS for experts, lecturers, auditors and accountants. For 
universities, it is necessary to strengthen the training and retraining about IFRS to produce competent and knowledgeable 
financial and accounting staff to apply IFRS in Vietnam. This is very important because IFRS is very complicated even for 
developed countries. 
Secondly, it is necessary to reach a consensus about the role and significance of financial statements presented according to 
IFRS. It is necessary to propagandize and widely advertise in many ways so that managers, investors and accountants find it 
vital to present financial statements according to IFRS. 
Thirdly, it is critical to complete mechanisms and policies for IFRS application in Vietnam. Additionally, it is necessary to 
develop regulations and guidelines for the implementation of some special IFRS techniques, such as recognition of loss on 
assets, accounting derivative instruments for hedging purposes, fair value accounting, investment in properties or biological 
assets. The implementation of IFRS is really a challenge on the level of development of the market, the qualifications and 
proficiency of auditors, accountants and investors in the market. For the capital market, stock market, preparing and presenting 
Financial Statements according to IFRS will help improve the transparency and sustainability of the market. However, preparing 
and presenting financial statements according to IFRS requires significant efforts from the government agencies in charge of 
accounting, enterprises, professional organizations and accountants. 
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