To succeed in the auditing profession!

Along with the development of the market economy, independent auditing has formed and developed, increasingly becoming an essential demand for business activities and improving the management quality of enterprises in Vietnam. Currently, the entire auditing sector has more than 300 companies regularly operating, and the scale of operation of these companies continues to grow; the number of auditors working in auditing companies has reached over 5,000 people. In addition, many foreign auditing companies are interested in the Vietnamese market, which is why students majoring in Accounting and Auditing haveGood skills after graduation often lead to quickly finding a job in the exact field of study.

However, becoming a professional auditor is a long journey for young auditors. Let’s meet and listen to the insights of Mr. Nguyễn Mạnh Hiền – General Director of SCS Global Auditing Co., Ltd. about the path in the auditing profession.

1. Hello, in the context of the auditing team growing rapidly both in quantity and quality, what are your personal observations about the current auditing team?

Answer:

It is true that the team of auditors is becoming increasingly stronger. As far as I know, the total number of auditors registered to practice by the end of December 2018 was 2,037 people, out of a total of 5,080 people who were granted the Vietnamese auditor certificate. In my opinion, the strong growth in the number of auditors in recent years is partly due to the increased demand for auditors to meet the development of the industry, and partly due to changes in the regulations on the conditions for taking the auditor practice exam (according to Circular 41/2017, only 36 months of experience is required instead of 60 (for accountants) or 48 (for auditors) as before).

Every day, I still work with a lot of auditors and feel that the quality of the auditors has improved in recent years, but it is still uneven: the auditors at large auditing firms are of relatively good quality while in some small auditing firms the quality is limited due to various reasons.

2. The auditing profession is becoming more and more ‘priced’ in the society of the economy and is the destination of many students with attractive incomes, so according to your experience, is auditing an easy profession to pursue?

Answer:

Independent auditing has the function of providing assurance services, increasing users’ confidence in the financial statements of entities. Although according to recent statistics, the auditing industry is not the most attractive in terms of income, newcomers will learn a lot when working in auditing, which serves as a foundation for their future career. Personally, I find that working in auditing is neither easy nor difficult; it requires auditors to prepare appropriate knowledge and skills, as well as sharpness and dedication.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hien presents the certificate PA – Professional Auditor to the students

3. According to you, do students who study the accounting and auditing major at university acquire enough knowledge to start working in auditing immediately after graduation?

Answer:

Major universities offering accounting and auditing programs in Vietnam all have regular programs and advanced programs. In the advanced programs, the study materials used are often textbooks from developed countries such as the US and the UK. Meanwhile, Vietnamese textbooks are also increasingly improved. However, for various reasons, most of the interns or recent graduates I have met still do not meet the sufficient knowledge and skills required to work as an auditor in a professional environment.

4. As an employer, what skills do you require your Auditors to have?

Answer:

An auditor is a person who performs assurance services, based on risk assessment and conducting audit procedures to gather sufficient appropriate audit evidence as a basis for forming an audit opinion on the financial statements. Therefore, I always require my auditors to have solid knowledge of accounting, taxation, audit evidence collection techniques, as well as business and social knowledge. In addition, computer skills, especially proficiency in Excel, are indispensable, along with foreign language skills since audited clients in Vietnam are often foreign-invested enterprises that account for a significant proportion.

5. In your opinion, is participating in a course like “BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL AUDITOR (PA)” really necessary for students switching to auditing, especially for fresh graduates?

Answer:

The PA course is suitable for final-year university students and recent graduates who wish to work professionally in the field of auditing. In this course, students are trained to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for the job, update their knowledge of accounting and taxation, as well as the latest case studies, practice auditing techniques, use computers, etc.

Image: Course structure PA – Becoming a Professional Auditor

6. With over 20 years of experience working in the auditing field, do you have any advice to share with those who want to succeed in the auditing profession?

Answer:

Currently, there is no exact definition of success in the field of auditing! Due to the nature of the profession, staff turnover in auditing is relatively high, and the proportion of auditors who continue in independent auditing after 5 years of work is not large. For auditors who manage to “stay” in the auditing profession for more than 2 years, it is considered “successful” because they have overcome the difficulties and challenges in the early stage of the career ladder. To “succeed” in this phase, you need to prepare knowledge and skills as mentioned above thoroughly, maintain good health, and always find passion in your work.Thank you very much for your sharing!