Report on Implementation of Accounting Standards and Statutory Audits in the Kindom of Cambodia
Date
2016-07-30
Authors
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Publisher
National Accounting Council (NAC)
Abstract
Description
In January 2016, the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia passed the Law on Accounting and Auditing. Article 7 of this law gives authority to the National Accounting Council to monitor and control enforcement of regulations related to accounting and auditing.
In order to support the planning and management of the National Accounting Council, a study was conducted to determine the rate of compliance with accounting standards and statutory external audit in effect in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
This study consisted of in-person interviews with 50 organisations followed by an online survey sent to 3,560 organisations, of which 363 responded. It was found that 43% of companies required to follow accounting standards did so. Also, it was found that 59% of companies required to have an external audit did so. The rate of compliance with the external audit drops to 47% when financial institutions and audit firms are excluded. These rates of compliance should be regarded as an upper estimate of the actual rate of compliance.
There were several reasons given by companies for non-compliance. The main reason was that compliance was not required by shareholders or management. Other reasons included lack of regulator enforcement, lack of human resources, and cost.
There are four recommendations to the National Accounting Council. First, it is recommended that the National Accounting Council set a quantifiable goal of compliance and that progress towards that goal is measured with an annual survey. Second, the National Accounting Council should limit the scope of its activities in order to enforce compliance with existing regulations. Third, the National Accounting Council should continue its campaign to create public awareness of accounting and audit requirements. Fourth, the National Accounting Council should review the criteria for selecting companies subject to the statutory audit to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs.