Penalties for Appointing an Unqualified Chief Accountant

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Quick answer: An enterprise that appoints a chief accountant who does not meet the standards and conditions under the Law on Accounting 2015 (as amended by Law No. 56/2024/QH15) commits a legal violation and is subject to administrative penalties in the accounting and auditing sector. In addition to monetary fines, the enterprise is subject to the remedial measure of being required to appoint a chief accountant who meets the standards and conditions.

Legal basis

Law on Accounting 2015 — Articles 54, 55 (chief accountant standards and conditions);
Law No. 56/2024/QH15 — amending and supplementing the Law on Accounting 2015;
The effective decree on administrative penalties in independent accounting and auditing.

Chief accountant standards and conditions (recap)

Professional ethics, honesty, integrity and law compliance;
Accounting professional qualification of intermediate level or higher;
Holding a chief accountant training certificate;
Actual accounting experience: at least 02 years (university degree or higher) or 03 years (intermediate or college level);
Not falling into cases prohibited from doing accounting work.

Forms of penalties

Monetary fines for appointing a person who does not meet the standards and conditions as chief accountant (specific fine levels under the effective penalty decree);
Remedial measure: being required to appoint a person meeting all standards and conditions as chief accountant within the time limit in the penalty decision;
Failing to appoint a chief accountant/accounting officer is likewise a punishable violation.

Key notes

Enterprises should check the appointee’s dossier (degrees, training certificates, work history) before issuing the appointment decision;
The Law on Accounting 2015 was amended by Law 56/2024/QH15 — when applying, consult the amended contents, not the old version of the law.

How ANT Legal can help

ANT Legal advises on accounting organization, accounting law compliance and handling administrative violations. For advice on your specific case, please contact our lawyers at 0966.475.966.

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