What are the penalties for violations against regulations on audit statements?

Pursuant to Article 48, Decree 41/2018/ND-CP, violations against regulations on audit statements shall be penalized as follows:

1. A fine ranging from VND 5.000.000 to VND 10.000.000 shall be imposed on the auditor that commit one of the following violations:

a) Signing audit statements ultra vires;

b) Signing audit statements before the financial statements’ audit dates.

2. A fine ranging from VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 shall be imposed on the auditor that commit one of the following violations:

a) Signing audit statements despite the fact that he/she is not an audit practitioner;

b) Signing audit statements for more than three consecutive years for an audited unit.

3. A fine ranging from VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 shall be imposed on the auditing firm in the following cases :

a) Appointing an audit practitioner to sign audit statements ultra vires;

b) Publishing an audit statement which is signed before the financial statements is;

c) The audit statement does not have sufficient audit practitioners’ signatures;

d) Failure to explain sufficiently and punctually the qualified opinions in audit statements upon request of the competent authority or representatives of audited units’ owners.

4. A fine ranging from VND 20.000.000 to VND 30.000.000 shall be imposed for failure to explain the qualified opinions in audit statements upon request of the competent authority or representatives of audited units’ owners.

5. A fine ranging from VND 20.000.000 to VND 40.000.000 shall be imposed the auditing firm committing one of the following violations:

a) Appointing a person who is not an audit practitioner to sign audit statements;

b) Appointing an audit practitioner to sign audit statements for more than three consecutive years for an audited unit.

6. Additional penalties:

a) The audit practitioner committing the violation mentioned in Point a, Clause 2 of this Article shall have his/her certificate of audit practice registration suspended for 3-6 months from the day the decision on penalty imposition comes into effect (if the person is an audit practitioner at the time the violation is discovered);

b) The auditing firm recommitting the violation mentioned in Point a, Clause 5 of this Article shall have its certificate of eligibility to provide audit services suspended for 6-12 months from the day the decision on penalty imposition comes into effect.

As an established company in the field of tax and legal consulting, Vinasc hopes to adequately inform our customers to help them mitigate the risk during operation in Vietnam. Should there be any further concern, please contact Vinasc’s Customer Care department for timely support.