[REPORT] ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING PROFESSION IN THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT REPORT

To provide an overview of the contemporary accounting and auditing profession, covering aspects such as education and training, the impact of technological changes, recruitment, employment, and the gap between practical requirements and training within institutions, highlights characteristics related to gender and generational perceptions in the profession, Navigos Group together with the Ho Chi Minh City Accounting Association, the Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants, and Smart Train Academy jointly conducted and published the report of Accounting and auditing profession in the contemporary context.

The report includes the following main contents:

1. Scale and capacity of higher education institutions for accounting – auditing
2. Accounting and auditing careers in the contemporary context
3. Gender, generation, and profession

>>> Get access to your free report right here: Vietnamese – English

This report is based on a statistical analysis of publicly available data from 128 universities and seven branches that offer programs in Accounting and Auditing nationwide, along with a survey of 471 enterprises and 833 individuals working in the accounting and auditing field, conducted in August and September 2023.

SECTION I: SCALE AND CAPACITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS FOR ACCOUNTING – AUDITING

Training in accounting and auditing at institutions is undergoing substantial growth and large-scale development. However, faculty resources have not kept pace and there is a necessity for enhancing quality assurance. Interestingly, the training of the Accounting – Auditing major is concentrated in developed socio-economic areas.

1. Higher education institutions offering accounting and auditing programs

Accounting – Auditing programs are developing rapidly and hold a significant position within universities. Throughout the country, there are 128 universities offering these majors, accounting for 54% of the total number of universities in Vietnam, with a concentration in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and several other provinces and cities.

2. Enrollments in accounting and auditing programs

The Accounting – Auditing sector accounts for a significant proportion of the regular university training scale nationwide, with 92,187 students enrolled, representing 4.9% of the total number of university students across the country.

3. Academic staff

The faculty faces challenges in keeping up with the training scale. The current student-to-faculty ratio in the Accounting – Auditing sector is 29.2. Compared to the overall average of 24.2 students per faculty member across all fields, the student-to-faculty ratio in the Accounting – Auditing sector is 20% higher.

The percentage of faculty with doctoral degrees in the Accounting – Auditing sector is 27.5%, which is still lower than the overall average of 32.4% across all universities, according to data from the Ministry of Education and Training.

4. Program quality assurance status

There are 62 accredited programs in this field, accounting for 5.4% of the total number of accredited programs at universities.

5. Distribution based on socio-economic regions

The Red River Delta, with Hanoi as its center, leads in the number of training institutions, training scale, and faculty. The Southeast region, including Ho Chi Minh City, ranks second. The Central Highlands lags behind in accounting and auditing training. The concentration in certain socio-economic regions is associated with the local economic and social conditions, such as business development, per capita income, and foreign investment. However, it also reflects the attraction of students to major urban areas, posing challenges in meeting the demand for accounting and auditing personnel in other localities.

SECTION II: ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING CAREERS IN THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT

1. The impact of technology advancement

The technology trends considered to have the greatest impact include: Document digitization, Big Data and analytics, Workflow digitization, and Job automation. From a business perspective, the application of technology in the accounting and auditing field mainly relates to internal drivers such as the benefits it brings to the company and meeting business requirements by reducing processing time and avoiding the need for additional staff as growth occurs. Meanwhile, the biggest challenges they face are cost, human resources, and security issues. Individuals working in accounting and auditing value the increased benefits of technology application, such as improved efficiency, flexibility, convenience, and the reduction of tedious tasks. The application of technology does not cause much concern for accounting and auditing professionals, except for the increased complexity of work. 

2. Recruitment and employment

The demand for hiring in the accounting and auditing field is still quite limited, although there is more optimism from medium and large enterprises. However, recent graduates still face significant difficulties in finding employment. The most common challenge for businesses in recruitment is that candidates do not meet the required professional qualifications. Additionally, changes in the working environment have a strong impact on accounting and auditing professionals. They also tend to experience significant job changes.

3. The gap between education and practical requirements

The gap between actual requirements and academic training is notably large across all surveyed aspects. Accounting and auditing professionals expect to receive additional training in specialized knowledge, IT application skills, soft skills, and other supplementary knowledge and skills. Solutions to bridge this gap focus on students making an effort to acquire practical knowledge and skills during their studies, schools innovating their teaching methods, and strengthening connections between educational institutions, businesses, and professional organizations.

SECTION IV: INSIGHTS FROM THE REPORT ADVISOR FROM NAVIGOS GROUP

“The Accounting and Auditing Profession in the Contemporary Context Report brings a lot of practical value, not only for students and institutions, but also for workers, businesses, and government agencies. The most notable point is that the report shows the gap between actual requirements and training for the Accounting – Auditing industry in Vietnam. From there, institutions can improve the quality of training, update and add new business requirements to the program; Businesses can consider harmonizing the interests of employers and job seekers; Both students and workers can proactively learn and develop the necessary skills to improve themselves and enhance their competitive advantage in the labor market…” – Ms. Chu Thi Ngoc Hanh, FCCA, CPA (Aust.), CPA (Vn), Chief Financial Officer of Navigos Group Vietnam Joint Stock Company & Report Advisor.

Ms. Chu Thi Ngoc Hanh – Chief Financial Officer of Navigos Group Vietnam Joint Stock Company, Advisor for the Report spoke in the discussion

She also shared Navigos Group’s vision of the general labor market in Vietnam: “Vietnam is still an attractive destination for global investors, especially in the Manufacturing sector, so the need for human resources in the Manufacturing industry is still stable and increasing. The trend of foreign investment will shift from labor-intensive industries to industries with high technical content and automation, so the demand for labor quality in these industries will be high. As more goods are produced thanks to technology, goods consumption is a key factor for any business. Therefore, the need for Sales and Marketing positions will remain. Over the years, the number of jobs in the Accounting – Auditing sector has often ranked third after the Manufacturing, Business – Marketing sectors and this trend is likely to continue.

Jobs that require simple, repetitive or administrative tasks, such as data input, invoicing, etc., will more and more be replaced by machines and AI. This will result in fewer job opportunities, and job seekers will need to learn new skills and expertise to respond to changing labor market requirements. In the future, businesses will still focus and invest in technology, automation, and digitization of their businesses and the Accounting – Auditing industry cannot stand aside from that trend.”

The seminar brought a lot of valuable and up-to-date information, briefly shaping the context of the Accounting – Auditing profession at the present time and in the future.