(sav.gov.vn)- On the morning of 13 October, at the headquarters of the State Audit Office of Viet Nam (SAV), Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan received a courtesy visit from a delegation of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), led by Ms Ayla Majid, Global President of ACCA.
Accompanying the ACCA delegation were Mr Ren Varma, Regional Director for Mainland Southeast Asia; Mr To Quoc Hung, Country Director of ACCA Viet Nam; and representatives of ACCA in Hanoi.
Representing SAV at the meeting were Mr Nguyen Ba Dung, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation; Mr Hoang Van Luong, Director General of the Department of General Affairs; Mr Pham Huy Thong, Deputy Director General in charge of the Information Technology Department; Mr Nguyen Quang Tung, Deputy Director General of the Administrative Department; and officials from the Department of International Cooperation.
At the meeting, Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan expressed his pleasure in welcoming Ms Ayla Majid and her colleagues to SAV. Tuan congratulated ACCA on its continued growth and development over more than 120 years since its establishment in 1904, and highly appreciated the achievements attained by ACCA globally as well as by ACCA Viet Nam in recent years. He expressed his strong confidence that, with its long-standing history and profound professional expertise, ACCA would continue to make significant contributions, together with SAV, to the development of the global accounting and auditing profession in general and in Viet Nam in particular.
Providing an update on Viet Nam’s socio-economic situation and the operations of SAV, Tuan noted that during the first nine months of 2025, despite numerous challenges facing the domestic economy, particularly the severe impacts of flooding, the country, under the leadership of the Party and the State, had made concerted efforts at all levels to implement socio-economic development tasks with a view to achieving the highest possible growth targets for 2025. Accordingly, GDP growth in the third quarter of 2025 reached 8.2%, with the full-year growth rate targeted at over 8%; export turnover was projected to increase by more than 15% year-on-year, while foreign direct investment inflows were expected to exceed USD 25 billion.
In particular, as of 1 July 2025, Viet Nam completed a major administrative restructuring from central to local levels. This reform included the merger of several ministries and agencies, the abolition of the district-level administrative tier, and the consolidation of provincial-level administrative units from 63 to 34 localities. These reforms aim to reduce intermediary layers, streamline the organisational apparatus, and enhance effectiveness, efficiency and overall quality of national governance.
Against this backdrop, Mr Ngo Van Tuan noted that SAV has also reorganised its internal structure. Currently, the institution comprises 31 units, including 9 advisory departments, 8 specialised audit departments, 12 regional audit offices, and 2 service-delivery units. With regard to its core mandate, in 2025 SAV is implementing approximately 125 audit tasks through 180 audit delegations and issuing around 200 audit reports. To date, most of these tasks have been completed, and SAV is preparing to implement its audit plan for 2026 in the context of a shortened timeframe for the submission of final state budget total accounts, which has been reduced from 18 months to 12 months under the amended State Budget Law.
Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan further noted that from 2026 onwards, Viet Nam aims to achieve double-digit economic growth of 10% or higher. This ambitious target will pose significant challenges for SAV, and the Office therefore looks forward to receiving even stronger support and cooperation from ACCA in order to fulfil its assigned responsibilities effectively.
Thanking the Auditor General for his comprehensive remarks, Ms Ayla Majid expressed her pleasure at the opportunity for the ACCA delegation to visit and work with SAV. She also conveyed her appreciation for the close and constructive cooperation that SAV has consistently extended to ACCA over the years. With regard to bilateral cooperation, Ms Ayla Majid noted that SAV has been one of ACCA’s important partners, particularly since the two sides first signed a Cooperation Agreement in 2009 (renewed in 2014 and followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in 2019). These instruments have laid a solid foundation for the effective implementation of a wide range of cooperative activities, thereby strengthening professional support between the two institutions.
Over the years, the two sides have organised high-level visits and working meetings in Viet Nam and at ACCA headquarters in the United Kingdom, as well as jointly hosted international seminars and conferences focusing on topics such as the role of supreme audit institutions in enhancing the effectiveness of public expenditure, tax auditing, and the efficiency of public investment.
In the area of training and capacity building, ACCA has supported the training of numerous SAV auditors through its professional qualification programmes, cooperated in the development of SAV training materials, and jointly organised capacity-building programmes for audited entities. In addition, ACCA has delivered a wide range of specialised training courses for finance and accounting staff of several major commercial banks in Viet Nam.
In particular, the visit by Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan to ACCA headquarters in October 2024 marked an important milestone, opening up further practical avenues for cooperation in the subsequent period.
Outlining future directions for cooperation, Ms Ayla Majid expressed her hope that the two sides would continue to consolidate their strategic partnership through regular dialogues aligned with national development priorities and international professional standards, and would consider extending the Memorandum of Understanding for the period 2025–2030.
She further noted that both sides would expand cooperation in human resources development, policy consultation and cross-sectoral collaboration; develop innovative cooperation frameworks; and promote transparency and sustainable development through the application of digital technologies, big data and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as by strengthening environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in audit activities.
ACCA also expressed its wish to continue working closely with SAV to enhance the capacity of audited entities, particularly in the banking sector, thereby contributing to a more transparent and resilient financial system.
In addition, ACCA proposed strengthening cooperation in research and innovation, and invited SAV to participate in ACCA’s Regional Research Network in order to share experiences and policy perspectives on emerging global issues.
“We firmly believe that, building on a solid foundation of cooperation, our two organisations will continue to contribute to the development of a modern, transparent and sustainable public audit system, serving as a model within the region,” Ms Ayla Majid stated.
Expressing his sincere appreciation for Ms Ayla Majid’s forward-looking perspectives, Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan noted that the rapid advancement of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has significantly accelerated the application of information technology, particularly AI, in audit activities. As a result, auditing practices are expected to undergo profound qualitative changes, shifting from traditional “ex post and sample-based auditing” towards “ex ante control and comprehensive oversight”.
“At present, this issue is being widely discussed within professional forums of INTOSAI and ASOSAI. We therefore hope to progressively realise pre-audit mechanisms, so that societal resources can be used in a more transparent and effective manner than under purely ex post approaches,” the Auditor General stated.
Regarding future cooperation orientations, the SAV leadership expressed strong agreement with ACCA’s proposals to focus on auditing in the digital environment and the application of AI. At the same time, SAV expressed its wish for ACCA’s support in applying information technology and AI to auditing in emerging areas such as auditing for the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change auditing, and information technology auditing. SAV also hopes that ACCA will share valuable experience and best practices in building technological platforms to support audit activities in the coming period.
In particular, Tuan noted that during the 2026–2030 period, SAV will undertake two critically important tasks: formulating its Development Strategy to 2040, with a vision to 2045; and drafting and submitting to the National Assembly a new Law on State Audit to replace the current legislation, thereby establishing a renewed legal framework in the years ahead. In this regard, SAV expressed its strong desire for ACCA’s continued support in the implementation of these important tasks.
The Auditor General reaffirmed his commitment to further strengthening cooperation between the two institutions, creating favourable conditions for the effective implementation of joint activities in the coming period, and expressed his confidence that the partnership between SAV and ACCA would continue to grow in depth, substance and effectiveness.