ACCA Vietnam Leads Effort to Localize Global Sustainability Standards
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Vietnam has spearheaded the creation of the country’s first Vietnamese terminology for international sustainability reporting standards, specifically IFRS S1 and S2.
This marks the first Vietnamese translation of such international standards, and it is expected to serve as a foundational tool for the local professional community to access, adopt, and integrate more rapidly with global practices.
Experts emphasize that a high-quality, consistent translation is absolutely essential.
Any deviation from the original International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) concepts could severely risk reports being rejected by international partners, global banks, or external auditors.
The terminology is, therefore, not just a practical linguistic tool for individual enterprises and regulators but a strategic step forward in accelerating Vietnam’s deeper integration with international economic norms.
To Quoc Hung, country manager of ACCA Vietnam, underscored the importance of this work, highlighting that in the contemporary era of green transition and increasing financial transparency, IFRS S1 and S2 are rapidly becoming guiding references for businesses and policymakers worldwide.
He acknowledged that despite the global significance of these standards, the language barrier remains a significant challenge for local practitioners.
To effectively overcome this obstacle, ACCA Vietnam collaborated extensively with numerous experts to produce this landmark terminology for sustainability reporting standards.
Strategic Importance of Consistent Concept Transfer
The process of accurately translating the new sustainability standards goes far beyond simple linguistic conversion; it is fundamentally a complex procedure of concept transfer that demands professional, legal, and international expertise to ensure uniformity and avoid misapplication.
Pham Quoc Hung, an experienced ACCA member, Vice-Chairman of the ACCA Members’ Advisory Committee, Deputy General Director of Grant Thornton Vietnam, and head of the translation board, warned that any lack of consistency in terminology could easily result in widespread misinterpretation and misapplication, thereby distorting both the preparation and the eventual presentation of sustainability reports.
He elaborated that “Localising international standards into Vietnamese helps businesses interpret and apply new concepts correctly, and lays the groundwork for long-term sustainability strategies.”
Hung stressed that “This support is particularly important for small- and medium-sized enterprises, which make up 97 per cent of Vietnam’s business community, as they face mounting pressure to disclose transparent information comparable with global standards.”
The guiding principle for the translation team, as he noted, was that the resulting terminology must be accurate in meaning, but also consistent and fully aligned with the legal framework and professional documents already in use across Vietnam.
“Every term was carefully weighed to balance scientific rigour with accessibility for practitioners,” he concluded.
This meticulous approach ensures that the new terminology serves as a reliable bridge between global reporting requirements and local execution.
Accelerating Integration and Net-Zero Commitments
The new standardized terminology is viewed as a prerequisite for ensuring that corporate disclosures in Vietnam are globally aligned and verifiable, playing a critical role in accelerating the nation’s financial integration and its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions.
Sharing this strategic view, Lang Trinh Mai Huong, another prominent ACCA member and Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation at the State Audit Office of Vietnam, emphasized that a standardized terminology is the essential precursor for effective global alignment.
She explained their review process, stating, “When reviewing, we particularly focused on three aspects: accuracy, consistency, and usability.”
Huong also highlighted that she meticulously examined international trends, specifically how supreme audit institutions and various accounting associations worldwide are translating and applying sustainability terminology, ensuring that Vietnam’s effort is not isolated but is fully part of the global knowledge flow.
She concluded that the terminology could become an immensely important tool for accelerating Vietnam’s integration in financial and sustainability reporting, simultaneously supporting the nation’s ambitious commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Furthermore, in the realm of education, ACCA member To Vi Hung, a judge of the Sustainability Reporting Awards (SRA) for listed companies, expressed strong expectation that the terminology will soon be adopted as an official reference in both academia and practice, allowing universities to integrate it into curricula and enabling students to learn the language of IFRS from an early stage, thereby building long-term capacity.
