Implications of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) adoption of Higher Education of Accounting (HEA) in Vietnam: the institutional perspective
Creators: name: Nguyen, My
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 350199
subject: Accounting, auditing and accountability not elsewhere classified

description: Problem Statement: Due to the rapid development of the Vietnamese economy and the benefits that a timely and smooth transition into IFRS could bring to Vietnam, it is of particular importance to study the implications of IFRS adoption on accounting education. This study has investigated the issue
by using the knowledge and experience of accounting students, academics, and employers, who are anticipated to be the primary beneficiaries of IFRS-integrated education. This research is timely as IFRS is expected to be fully implemented in 2025, and the time of writing this thesis is a crucial period for
Vietnam's preparations and adjustments.

Research Aim: With a desire to understand what IFRS adoption means to HEA in Vietnam, this research aims to identify the implications of change and recommend effective strategies to facilitate this change in the context of Vietnam. In other words, this research aims to explore the implications
of the IFRS adoption decision by 2025 on HEA in Vietnam.

Research Questions

RQ1: What implications and perceived importance does the IFRS adoption roadmap to 2025 have for HEA in Vietnam?
RQ2: How has HEA changed to facilitate the transition to IFRS adoption by 2025 in Vietnam?
RQ3: What strategies are recommended for HEA during the transition period to facilitate full IFRS adoption by 2025 in Vietnam?

Method Design: This research adopts a mix-method approach. Qualitative methods include content analysis and semi-structured interviews, while quantitative methods include a survey. Qualitative thematic analysis together with quantitative ranking and hierarchical regression were used to analyze
the research data.

Findings: The findings of this research are aligned with the three research questions. In terms of implications, despite recognizing the importance and benefits of IFRS adoption, the level of resistance from academics, the language barrier, the scarcity of IFRS materials, and the lack of innovative
teaching methods are still significant obstacles. In terms of change, although some change has started to happen in accounting programs (academic content, teaching approaches, and learning attitudes), IFRS-related content constitutes less than 5% of the academic programs merely attaining the first two
levels of Bloom’s taxonomy (remember and understand). In terms of strategies, while the language barrier, teaching approaches, and budgetary constraints still post considerable obstacles to IFRS adoption, it was found that the most recommended strategies for universities are university newsletters, expert workshops, and accounting competitions and networking events.

Contributions: This study's contributions are threefold. In terms of theory, Institutional Isomorphism theory and Curriculum Implementation Theory are both used as a theoretical framework, whereas the latter has not been widely used in this research field. In terms of method, this study contributes to current literature with a 3-method structure (strengthened by content analysis), whereas most mixed-method studies only use 2, mostly interviews and surveys. In terms of practical contribution, this study recommends that in the short term, universities focus on lowering the language barrier, in the medium term, on teaching approaches, and in the long term, on diminishing budgetary constraints.