Applying international experiences on internal audit in Vietnam

s an objective requirement in Vietnam. However, training auditors with professional skills to meet social needs and meet international standards is a difficult issue for organizations and universities. According to the latest report of IIA Audit Executive Center (2018 Global America Pulse of Internal Audit), there are some skills of Internal audits which are in demand and also most difficult to find: Table 3. Demanded skills and Skills found hard What skills are in demand? How hard are they to find Skills being actively recruited Rate Skills most difficult to recruit 1 Analytical/Critical thinking 74% 1 Cybersecurity and Privacy 2 Communication 63% 2 Data Mining and Analytics 3 Business Acumen 60% 3 Industry-Specific Knowledge 4 Accouting and Finance 56% 4 Innovative Thinking 5 Risk management Assurance 55% 5 Fraud Investigations and/or Auditing 6 Process Improvement 52% 6 Business Acumen 7 Data Mining and Analytics 50% 7 Analytical/Critical thinking 8 Innovative Thinking 45% 8 Risk management Assurance 9 Industry-Specific Knowledge 45% 9 Persuasion and Collaboration 10 Cybersecurity and Privacy 39% 10 Process Improvement Source: The IIA Global (2018, pg 125) With the necessary skills and hard-to-find skills, the orientation for the training of internal auditors in Vietnam in particular and in the world in general. Besides training basic knowledge base of auditors, the priority of training skills such as Analytical/Critical thinking, Communication, Business Acumen, Cybersecurity and Privacy, Data Mining and Analytics, Industry-Specific Knowledge ... is strategic training orientation for building the team of internal auditors profession Implementation of Auditting Tools: the application of technical means in the workplace is an inevitable requirement in all fields and sectors. However, the level of application depends on many factors such as nature of industry, level of development ... The application of auditing tools in Vietnam is still poor, so the work efficiency is not high. In the current industrial revolution 4.0, the application of technical tools is quite common. According to the IIA, the application of Electronic Workpapers is 77%, Data Analytics (62%), Automation of routine Internal audit tasks (18%) and Automation of analysis of evidence (13%). In the future, internal auditors will be step by step used by Robotics and artificial intelligence to maximize the efficiency of their work Table 4. Deploy the Best Navigation Tools 513 Implementation of Technology Sollution Full or Partial 1 Electronic Workpapers 77% * New technologies create agile and future-focussed functions 2 Data Analytics 62% * Today`s tools of the trade - Audit management systems - Data analytics 3 Automation of routine Internal audit tasks (e.g. robotics process automation) 18% *Tomorow`s tools of the trade - Robotics - Artificial intelligence 4 Automation of analysis of evidence (e.g. automated judgement, artificial intelligence) 13% * Deploy sollutions that will yield dynamic results/insight Source: The IIA Global (2018, pg 85) Resources for IA: According to Mr Hoang Hung – PwC Partner – Vietnam markets Leader, International Expert at World Bank and Ministry of Finance`s Internal Audit Project, the resources for internal auditing include three divisions: The chief audit Excutive, the number and quality of internal auditors and budget for internal audit activities. Beside the human resources factor, the budget for internal audit contributes largely to audit effectiveness. This budget includes: salary, Technology and Infrastructure, Capacity building, Use of external experts/outsourcing. In Vietnam, due to poor awareness of the role of internal auditing, leading to limited budget allocation, resulting in limited scope of audit, audit time, audit density is not suitable, since internal audit effectiveness has not been promoted. In the future, it is necessary to have appropriate investment to improve the efficiency of internal audit in enterprises Figures 3. Essential resouces for IA activities (Source: Hung, Hoang Ngoc, 2018, International Conference ) 5. Conclusion Chief Audit Excutive (CAE) Quanlity and capability of IA staff Budget for Internal Audit activities • Salaries • Technology and Infrastructure • Capacity building • Use of external experts/outsourcing 514 In order to build and promote the effectiveness of internal audit in Vietnam in accordance with international practices, there should be coordination between the concerned parties. First, State agencies in promulgating legal regulations on the application of internal auditing in economic units as well as international integration in internal audit. Secondly, It should focus on training internal auditors at universities as well as other training institutions. With respect to resources, internal audits should be given greater attention and proper investment in the performance of the audit function. In addition, the application of scientific and technological advances to the implementation of internal audit should be promoted by organizations and enterprises to improve the effectiveness of internal audit in Vietnam, creating added value for business 6. References Assoc. Prof. Vinh, Thinh Van and Dr. Hung, Pham Tien (2014), Internal Audit, Finance Express, Hanoi, Vietnam. Dr. Binh, Trinh Thanh (2018), ‘TransformingThe Internal Audit Activity: An Imperative Need for Local Banks in Viet Nam’, Proceeding of International Conference “Bulding and Implementing an effective internal audit function in Vietnam and around the world”, Finance Express, Hanoi, pg.41-44. Hung, Hoang Ngoc (2018), ‘Key challenges to establishing an Internal Audit function in Vietnam’, Speaker of International Conference Building and Implementing an effective Internal Audit function in Vietnam and around the world, Vietnam Association of Accounting and Auditting, Smart Training, August 21st , 2018. 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