Can foreign language be used in accounting records in Vietnam?

Can a foreign language be used in accounting records in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 11 of the 2015 Accounting Law has the following provisions:

1. The language of accounting shall be Vietnamese. Where a foreign language must be used on an accounting record, accounting book, or financial statement which is used in Vietnam, it is required to use both Vietnamese and that foreign language.

2. Numbers used for accounting are Arabic numerals; the thousands separator is a dot (.); and the decimal mark is a comma (,).

...

Thus, according to the above regulations, the writing on accounting records must be Vietnamese. If a foreign language must be used, a translation into Vietnamese must be provided. Therefore, accounting records can still be used in foreign languages, but they must be translated into Vietnamese.

If the enterprise fails to translate the accounting records from foreign language into Vietnamese, will it be fined?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 8 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP on regulations on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of independent accounting and auditing has the following provisions:

2. A fine ranging from VND 5.000.000 to VND 10.000.000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) The accounting record having insufficient copies as specified in the regulations;

b) Signing accounting records which have insufficient contents;

c) Signing accounting records ultra vires;

d) Inconsistent signatures or signatures not matching those in the signature registry;

dd) Accounting records having insufficient signatures as specified in those records;

e) Failure to translate accounting records in foreign language to Vietnamese;

g) Loss or damage of accounting documents and records while in use.

Thus, according to the above regulations, the act of failing to translate accounting documents in a foreign language into Vietnamese according to regulations may be sanctioned in the form of a fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000. This is the fine for the organization.

Best Regards!