Outsourced Accounting: Contract, Conditions, Responsibility

Many businesses, especially small ones, outsource their full accounting work instead of building an in-house accounting team. The Law on Accounting allows this, but it sets conditions for the service provider, requires the contract to be in writing, and does not transfer all responsibility away from the business.

Quick answer: a business may outsource accounting and chief accountant services to a qualified accounting service provider, which may be a company or a household business, under a written contract. The business must provide complete, timely and truthful information and documents, and pay the fees. The provider is responsible for the accounting figures under the contract. The legal representative of the business remains responsible for the outsourcing and for the accounting work.

What accounting services can a business outsource?

Clause 13, Article 3 of the Law on Accounting defines accounting service business as providing accounting, chief accountant, financial statement, accounting advisory and other accounting work. Within that scope, a business-sector accounting unit may outsource (Clause 1, Article 22, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP):

Accounting services: the person assigned has the rights and responsibilities of an accountant under Clauses 2 and 3, Article 51 of the Law on Accounting.
Chief accountant or accounting supervisor services: the person assigned has the rights and responsibilities of a chief accountant under Article 55 of the Law on Accounting and meets the standards in Article 54 (Clause 4, Article 56).

Accounting work is carried out under the corporate accounting regime. Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC (applying to financial years beginning from 01/01/2026) guides vouchers, accounts, bookkeeping and financial statements. Micro enterprises follow a separate regime under Circular 58/2026/TT-BTC for financial years beginning from 01/7/2026 onward (for businesses that use the calendar year, from 01/01/2027).

Which businesses need a chief accountant?

An accounting unit must appoint a chief accountant, except that a micro enterprise only needs to appoint an accounting supervisor (Point b, Clause 2, Article 20, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP; Clause 2, Article 3, Circular 58/2026/TT-BTC). If a chief accountant cannot be appointed immediately, the unit may appoint an accounting supervisor or outsource chief accountant services. The period for an accounting supervisor is up to 12 months, after which a chief accountant must be appointed (Clause 1, Article 20).

A chief accountant must meet the standards in Article 54 of the Law on Accounting: a chief accountant training certificate and at least 02 years of practical accounting experience for a university-level qualification, or 03 years for an intermediate or college qualification. A business with no state capital and a charter capital below 10 billion VND requires a qualification from intermediate level upward. Other businesses under Point i, Clause 2, Article 21 of Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP require a university qualification or above.

What must an accounting service provider meet?

Businesses providing accounting services come in three forms: a limited liability company with two or more members, a partnership, or a private enterprise (Clause 1, Article 59, Law on Accounting). A business may only operate when it meets the conditions and holds a certificate of eligibility to provide accounting services (Clause 2, Article 59). The main conditions under Article 60 are:

A limited liability company: at least two capital-contributing members are practicing accountants; and the legal representative, director or general director is a practicing accountant.
A partnership: at least two general partners are practicing accountants. A private enterprise: at least two practicing accountants, the owner is a practicing accountant, and the owner is the director.

The provider must take out professional liability insurance to compensate clients for losses. The minimum compensation is not less than the service fee collected from the client (Clauses 1 and 3, Article 28, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP). A provider may not provide services if the person managing, running or directly performing the service is a relative of the manager, operator or chief accountant of the outsourcing business, except for certain types set out in Article 25.

What should the outsourcing contract include?

The law only requires the contract to be in writing. The items below are built from the Law on Accounting and Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP to help a business prepare a complete contract:

Contract content	Basis
Written form; the provider’s certificate of eligibility to provide accounting services	Clause 2, Article 56 and Clause 2, Article 59, Law on Accounting
Scope: accounting, chief accountant or accounting supervisor services, financial statements, advisory	Clause 13, Article 3, Law on Accounting
The person assigned, who must meet the standards and must not fall into any category barred from doing accounting or providing services	Article 51 and Article 54, Law on Accounting; Articles 19 and 25, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP
Obligations of the outsourcing business: providing complete, timely and truthful information and documents; paying the fee under the contract	Clause 3, Article 56, Law on Accounting
Responsibility for accounting information and figures of the provider and the person assigned	Clause 5, Article 56, Law on Accounting
Professional liability insurance and the amount of compensation	Article 28, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP
Handover of vouchers and books when the person changes or the contract ends; storage and retention of records	Clause 3, Article 51, Law on Accounting; Clause 4, Article 20 and Articles 12 to 14, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP
Fees, term and conditions for termination	As agreed between the two parties

How is responsibility divided between the business and the provider?

Provider and person assigned: responsible for accounting information and figures as agreed in the contract (Clause 5, Article 56, Law on Accounting). A person assigned to act as chief accountant has the responsibilities and rights of a chief accountant (Clause 4, Article 22, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP).
Outsourcing business: must provide complete, timely and truthful information and documents relating to the work, and pay the fees (Clause 3, Article 56).
Legal representative: responsible for the outsourcing decision (Clause 5, Article 22, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP) and for organizing and directing accounting work (Clause 3, Article 50, Law on Accounting).

What to check before signing

Ask for copies of the provider’s certificate of eligibility to provide accounting services and the practicing certificates of the person to be assigned. Outsourcing to an individual or organization that does not meet the conditions for practice or service is a prohibited act (Clause 13, Article 13, Law on Accounting).
Match the scope of work with the business’s filing and finalization obligations. See the article regular tax obligations and CIT 2026.
Agree in advance on the handover of vouchers and invoices each month; see the article on e-invoices.

How Thái Tín supports companies that outsource accounting

Thái Tín helps businesses define what needs to be outsourced and connects them with qualified accounting partners:

Review needs: type of business, scale, number of vouchers, and whether a chief accountant or only an accounting supervisor is required.
Connect the business with accounting partners that hold a certificate of eligibility to provide accounting services and have suitable practicing accountants.
Prepare a list of work to be included in the contract and a schedule for handing over vouchers and books.

For newly established businesses, see also the article on tax and accounting tasks for new businesses. To start, please send us the type of business, its size and the accounting work you currently need, so that we can prepare a plan and connect you with the right specialist partner.

Questions and answers

Can a business outsource both accounting and chief accountant work in one package?

Yes. Clause 1, Article 56 of the Law on Accounting 88/2015/QH13 allows an accounting unit to sign a contract with an enterprise or household business providing accounting services to outsource accounting or chief accountant services. Clause 1, Article 22 of Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP states that a business-sector accounting unit may outsource accounting work, chief accountant work or accounting supervision. The person assigned as chief accountant must meet the standards in Article 54 of the Law on Accounting (Clause 4, Article 56).

If accounting is outsourced, is the legal representative still responsible?

Yes. The legal representative is responsible for the decision to outsource accounting, chief accountant or accounting supervision services (Clause 5, Article 22, Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP). Clause 3, Article 50 of the Law on Accounting provides that this person is directly liable for the consequences of violations they commit, and jointly liable for violations committed by others that fall under their management.

Must the outsourcing contract be in writing?

Yes. Clause 2, Article 56 of the Law on Accounting requires that outsourcing of accounting or chief accountant services be made under a written contract in accordance with the law.

What conditions must the accounting service provider meet?

A business may only provide accounting services if it meets the conditions of the law and holds a certificate of eligibility to provide accounting services (Clause 2, Article 59 of the Law on Accounting). For a limited liability company with two or more members, Article 60 requires at least two capital-contributing members who are practicing accountants, and a legal representative, director or general director who is a practicing accountant. Providing accounting services without a certificate is prohibited (Clause 11, Article 13).

Does a micro enterprise have to appoint a chief accountant?

No. Point b, Clause 2, Article 20 of Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP allows a micro enterprise to appoint an accounting supervisor without being required to appoint a chief accountant. Circular 58/2026/TT-BTC (effective 01/7/2026, applying to financial years beginning from 01/7/2026), Clause 2, Article 3, provides that a micro enterprise is not required to appoint a chief accountant, and that the accounting supervisor may sign on behalf of the chief accountant on vouchers, accounting books and financial statements.

Legal basis · verification date

Verified 20 October 2026 · next review 18 January 2027. The content is general guidance and does not replace advice for a specific case.

Law on Accounting 88/2015/QH13 (effective 01/01/2017), consolidated text 25/VBHN-VPQH (Official Gazette Nos. 535 and 536, 17/3/2025), incorporating amendments by the Law on Tax Administration 38/2019/QH14 and Law 56/2024/QH15 (effective 01/01/2025): Clause 13, Article 3 (accounting service business), Clauses 11 and 12, Article 13 (prohibited acts), Article 50 (responsibility of the legal representative), Article 51 (accounting staff and handover), Articles 54 and 55 (chief accountant), Article 56 (outsourcing), Articles 59 and 60 (conditions for accounting service providers).
Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP (issued 30/12/2016, effective 01/01/2017; Official Gazette Nos. 51 and 52, 15/01/2017): Articles 12, 13 and 14 (retention period for accounting records), Article 19 (persons not allowed to do accounting), Article 20 (chief accountant and accounting supervisor), Article 21 (standards), Article 22 (outsourcing), Article 25 (cases where services may not be provided), Article 28 (professional liability insurance).
Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC (issued 27/10/2025, effective 01/01/2026, applying to financial years from 01/01/2026; Official Gazette Nos. 1563 and 1564, 16/11/2025): Article 1 (scope: vouchers, accounts, accounting books and financial statements), Article 3 (internal control and governance rules set by the business itself), Article 31 (effect; replaces Circular 200/2014/TT-BTC).
Circular 58/2026/TT-BTC (issued 25/5/2026, effective 01/7/2026; Official Gazette No. 323, 11/6/2026): Clauses 1 and 2, Article 3 (micro enterprises: outsourcing accounting work, no chief accountant required), Article 12 (effect; replaces Circular 132/2018/TT-BTC).
Checked for amendments or replacements on 20/10/2026: Decree 151/2018/NĐ-CP only repeals certain points of Article 30 and Article 34 of Decree 174/2016/NĐ-CP and does not affect the articles used in this article. No amendment to Articles 19 to 22, 25 and 28 has been found. A draft decree amending the rules on accounting service business (the Ministry of Finance sought comments at the end of July 2026) and a draft law amending the Law on Accounting had not been issued when this was checked; this article does not rely on those drafts.