How Are an Enterprise’s Accounting Documents Prepared and Signed?

Update: From 01/01/2026, Circular 200/2014/TT-BTC expired and was replaced by Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC providing the enterprise accounting regime. The rules on preparing, signing and controlling accounting vouchers are now governed by Article 10 of Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC, Articles 16 and 19 of the Law on Accounting 2015 (amended by Law No. 56/2024/QH15, effective from 01/01/2025) and Decree 174/2016/ND-CP.

Accounting vouchers are the legal basis for bookkeeping and preparing financial statements. Enterprises need to understand the rules on the contents, preparation, signing and control of accounting vouchers to ensure the legality of their accounting records and avoid the risk of administrative sanctions.

1. Principal contents of an accounting voucher

Under Clause 1, Article 16 of the Law on Accounting 2015 (amended by Law No. 56/2024/QH15), accounting vouchers must contain the following principal contents:

• a) The name and number of the accounting voucher;
• b) The day, month and year of preparing the accounting voucher;
• c) The name and address of the agency, organization, unit or individual preparing the accounting voucher;
• đ) The contents of the arising economic or financial transaction;
• e) The quantity, unit price and amount of the economic or financial transaction written in figures; the total amount of the accounting voucher used for cash receipts and payments written in figures and in words;
• g) The signatures and full names of the preparer, the approver and other persons related to the accounting voucher.

Note: Law No. 56/2024/QH15 has removed the former requirement to state the “name and address of the agency, organization, unit or individual receiving the accounting voucher” (former point (d) of Clause 1, Article 16). Enterprises are no longer required to show this content on accounting vouchers.

2. Rules on preparing, signing and controlling accounting vouchers

Under Article 10 of Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC:

• 1. All economic and financial transactions arising in connection with the enterprise’s operations must be documented by accounting vouchers. An accounting voucher shall be prepared only once for each arising economic or financial transaction;
• 2. The preparation and signing of accounting vouchers shall comply with the Law on Accounting, guiding documents of the Law on Accounting, the guidance in this Circular and its amending, supplementing or replacing documents;
• 3. The delegation of signing authority on the enterprise’s accounting vouchers must conform to the law, management requirements and internal governance rules to ensure strict control and the safety of the enterprise’s assets and capital, and to determine the responsibilities of the individuals concerned;
• 4. The chief accountant (or a person authorized by the chief accountant) may not sign “per procurationem” the title of the enterprise’s manager or executive on accounting vouchers, except where the law provides otherwise.

3. Rules for signing accounting vouchers

Under Article 19 of the Law on Accounting 2015 (amended and renamed “Signing and confirming accounting vouchers” by Law No. 56/2024/QH15):

• Accounting vouchers must bear all signatures according to the titles prescribed on the voucher. Signatures on accounting vouchers must be made with non-fading ink; they may not be signed with red ink or with an engraved signature stamp. The signature of a person on accounting vouchers must be consistent. The signature of a visually impaired person on accounting vouchers shall be made in accordance with Government regulations;
• Signatures on accounting vouchers must be made by persons with authority or authorized persons. It is strictly prohibited to sign accounting vouchers before all contents of the voucher within the signer’s responsibility have been recorded;
• Accounting vouchers for cash disbursement must be approved by the person with disbursement-approval authority and signed by the chief accountant or an authorized person before disbursement. Signatures on accounting vouchers used for cash disbursement must be made on each copy;
• Electronic vouchers must bear electronic signatures; a signature on an electronic voucher has the same value as a signature on a paper voucher.

4. Order of circulating and inspecting accounting vouchers (practical experience)

The contents of this section are practical organizational experience, not legal citations. To meet the voucher control requirement (Clause 3, Article 10 of Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC requires signing delegation to conform to internal governance rules), enterprises commonly organize voucher circulation in this order: preparing (or receiving) the voucher → inspecting the voucher → recording in accounting books → archiving.

When inspecting accounting vouchers, practice commonly focuses on:

• The clarity, truthfulness and completeness of the criteria and recorded elements on the voucher;
• The legality and validity of the arising economic or financial transaction recorded on the voucher;
• The accuracy of the figures and information on the voucher.

An accounting voucher may only be used as the basis for bookkeeping after it has been inspected and found compliant; non-compliant vouchers must be supplemented and completed before bookkeeping.

5. Sanctions for violations of the rules on accounting vouchers

Under Clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP, violations of the rules on accounting vouchers — such as signing accounting vouchers without authority, inconsistent signatures, signing with red ink or fading ink, or failing to translate accounting vouchers as prescribed — may be fined from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000.

6. Translating foreign-language accounting vouchers

Under Clause 5, Article 5 of Decree 174/2016/ND-CP, accounting vouchers written in a foreign language, when used for bookkeeping and for preparing financial statements in Vietnam, must have their principal contents prescribed in Clause 1, Article 16 of the Law on Accounting translated into Vietnamese; the translation must be attached to the original foreign-language version. Documents accompanying foreign-language accounting vouchers (contracts, investment project dossiers, finalization reports, etc.) are not required to be translated, unless requested by a competent state authority.

How ANT Legal can help

ANT Legal advises on compliance with accounting and tax laws; reviews accounting voucher and book systems; and assists enterprises in handling issues arising when working with tax authorities and auditors. For advice on your specific case, please contact our lawyers at 0966.475.966.

The AI Legal Council of ANT Legal reviewed this article under its internal 7-step process (cross-checked against current law — Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC, Law on Accounting 2015 (amended by Law 56/2024/QH15), Decree 174/2016/ND-CP, Decree 41/2018/ND-CP; Circular 200/2014/TT-BTC expired on 01/01/2026). This is not confirmation that a human lawyer has reviewed your specific case.