Responsibilities and rights of the chief accountant according to the law

1. What are the standards and conditions of a chief accountant?

According to Article 54 of the Accounting Law 2015, the standards and conditions of a chief accountant are as follows:

“Article 54. Standards and conditions of a chief accountant

1. The chief accountant must have the following standards and conditions here:

a) Standards specified in Clause 1, Article 51 of this Law;

b) Have accounting expertise and skills at intermediate level or higher;

c) Have a chief accountant training certificate;

d) Have practical work experience in accounting for at least 02 years for people with expertise and expertise in accounting from university level or higher and actual working time in accounting is at least 03 years for people with expertise and expertise in accounting at intermediate or college level.

2. The Government specifies the standards and conditions of chief accountants appropriate to each type of accounting unit.”

Accordingly, chief accountants must have the standards and the following conditions:

– Standards specified in Clause 1, Article 51 of this Law;

– Have accounting expertise and skills at intermediate level or higher;

– Have a chief accountant training certificate;

– Have practical work experience in accounting for at least 02 years for people with accounting expertise and skills from university level or higher and actual working time in accounting is at least 03 years for people with accounting expertise and skills at intermediate or college level.

2. Can a joint stock company have 2 chief accountants?

According to Article 53 of the Accounting Law 2015, the regulations on chief accountants are as follows:

“Article 53. Chief accountant

1. The chief accountant is the head of the unit’s accounting apparatus, responsible for organizing and performing accounting work in the accounting unit.

2. Chief accountants of state agencies, organizations, public service units using the state budget and enterprises in which the State holds more than 50% of charter capital, in addition to the tasks specified in Clause 1 of this Article, also have the task of helping the legal representative of the accounting unit monitor finances at the accounting unit.

3. The chief accountant is under the leadership of the legal representative of the accounting unit; In case there is a superior accounting unit, it is also subject to the direction and inspection of the chief accountant of the superior accounting unit in terms of expertise and operations.

4. In case the accounting unit appoints a person in charge of accounting to replace the chief accountant, the person in charge of accounting must meet the standards and conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 54 of this Law and must perform the responsibilities and rights prescribed for the chief accountant specified in Article 55 of this Law.”

Accordingly, the chief accountant is the head of the unit’s accounting apparatus and is responsible for organizing and carrying out accounting work in the accounting unit. As for the head, it must be one person, not many people, so a Joint Stock Company cannot have 2 chief accountants. At the same time, the title of chief accountant is also related to the issue of responsibility for accounting, signing accounting documents, related to bank accounts, etc. Therefore, it is impossible to arrange two chief accountants with parallel responsibilities and powers.

3. How are the responsibilities and rights of the chief accountant regulated?

According to Article 55 of the 2015 Accounting Law, the responsibilities and rights of the chief accountant are stipulated as follows:

– Chief accountant has the following responsibilities:

+ Implement legal regulations on accounting and finance in the accounting unit;

+ Organize and operate the accounting apparatus according to the provisions of this Law;

+ Prepare financial reports in compliance with accounting regimes and accounting standards.

– Chief accountant has the right to independence in terms of expertise and accounting operations.

– Chief accountants of state agencies, organizations, public service units using the state budget and enterprises in which the State holds more than 50% of charter capital, in addition to the rights specified in Clause 2 of this Article, also have the following rights:

+ Provide written opinions to the legal representative of the accounting unit on recruitment, transfer, salary increase, rewards, and discipline of accountants, storekeepers, and treasurers;

+ Require relevant departments in the accounting unit to provide complete and timely documents related to the chief accountant’s accounting work and financial supervision;

+ Reserve professional opinions in writing when opinions differ from those of the decision maker;

+ Report in writing to the legal representative of the accounting unit When detecting violations of financial and accounting laws in the unit; In case you still have to comply with the decision, you must report to the immediate superior of the person who made the decision or the competent state authority and will not be responsible for the consequences of implementing that decision.