CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FINANCIAL OPENNESS AT STATE ENTERPRISES

Pursuant to Decree No. 59/CP of October 3, 1996 of the Government issuing the Regulation on financial management and business cost-accounting at State enterprises;
Pursuant to Decree No. 27/1999/ND-CP of April 20, 1999 of the Government amending and supplementing the Regulation on financial management and business cost-accounting at State enterprises issued together with Decree No. 59/CP of October 3, 1996 of the Government;
Pursuant to Decree No. 07/1999/ND-CP of February 13, 1999 of the Government issuing the Regulation on exercising democracy at State enterprises;
Pursuant to Decision No. 225/1998/QD-TTg of October 20, 1998 of the Prime Minister issuing the Regulation on financial openness toward the State budget at all levels and units of budget drafting, State enterprises and funds with revenues coming from the people�s contributions;
The Ministry of Finance provides the following guidance for the carrying out of financial openness at the State enterprises:

I. AIM OF FINANCIAL OPENNESS AT STATE ENTERPRISES

- To properly exercise the powers, obligations and responsibilities of laborers in the realization of democracy at State enterprises, practicing thrift and fighting against waste and corruption, raising the efficiency of production and business activities and preserving and developing the capital of the State.

- To supply the State management agencies with the grounds to assess the situation and efficiency of the business activities of the enterprises, hence to take measures to strengthen the management of the enterprises.

- To provide the basis for domestic and foreign investors to study and decide to invest in the enterprises, and for creditors to evaluate the capacity of payment of due debts.

II. CONTENTS AND FORM OF FINANCIAL OPENNESS

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- Each year, the independent State enterprises, member enterprises with independent cost-accounting and the centralized cost-accounting sector of the State corporations must compile and send their financial reports to the State agency as currently prescribed. The State corporations must make the integrated financial report of the whole corporation and send them to the financial management agency of the same level, the General Tax Department and the agency that decides the establishment of the enterprise.

- The Managing Board or the Director of the enterprise (for State enterprises without managing boards) shall have to explain the financial questions at the request of State agencies in performing their managerial function as prescribed by the Government.

2. Openness to the Party organization, mass organizations and laborers at the enterprise:

At the end of each quarter and each fiscal year the Managing Board or the Director of the enterprise (for enterprises without managing boards) has the duty to publicize a number of financial situations and the settlement of the interests of the laborers at the enterprise as follows:

a/ Contents to be publicized:

+ To publicize the situation of the properties, the debts to be paid, the capital of the State, the funds, the turnover, the total production cost, the business results, the remittances to the State budget, to the social welfare and health insurance funds, the trade union expenditures, the situation of the labor and income of the laborers at the enterprise and the various allocations from the State budget.

+ The report to explain (or illustrate) the situation of the management of the capital and properties, management of the turnover and expenditures, the implementation of the financial policies and regimes, the application of measures for the practice of thrift and the fight against waste and corruption at the enterprise, particularly in the assurance of the interests of the workers such as wages and bonuses, social and health insurances and other welfare benefits.

Basing itself on the characteristics of the lines and branches of business and the receivers of the information of the enterprise, the managing board or the director (for enterprises without managing boards) shall agree with the standing board of the Party Standing Committee and the Executive Board of the trade union on which contents that need to be periodically reported to the key leading officials of the Party and mass organizations, the sections and departments at the enterprise as well as which contents that need to be reported to the workshops and production teams as well as to all laborers of the enterprise. The document for publicization must be signed and sealed by the Chairman of the Managing Board or the director (for enterprises without managing boards).

b/ Form of openness:

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- Congress of laborers and employees (with the participation of all or only representatives) held in each production team or group and each section or department then in the whole enterprise.

- Information briefed at the periodical meetings of the key officials of the enterprise.

- Popularization of the information at the meetings of the enterprise at the workshops, teams (groups) and sections (departments) organized by the personnel responsible for production.

- Information given at the meetings of the trade union and other political and social organizations at the enterprise.

- Written information notices or printed matters sent to each production team (group) and each section (department) or posted up at convenient places in the enterprise.

- Information given through the broadcasting system of the enterprise.

3. Publicization outside the enterprise is aimed at providing the investors and customers with a basis for their decision on economic relations with the enterprise:

The contents that need to be publicized to the investors and customers are: the statutory assets actually existing at the time of the publicization, the debts to be paid (in which the overdue debts must be also specified) the properties structure and business results of the enterprise. In addition, the enterprise has the duty to meet other requests depending on its relations with the creditors and investors.

The enterprises operating in the public-utility sector in the domain of national defense and security are not allowed to publicize data on the properties for special use in national defense and security.

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The time points for financial publicization by the State enterprises is stipulated at Article 11 of Decision No. 225/1998/QD-TTg of January 20, 1998 of the Prime Minister. More concretely:

Financial publicization by the State enterprises shall be made periodically every quarter and year. The time for financial publicization for each quarter and each year is prescribed for each form of publicization as follows:

- 60 days after the last day of the quarter and year for the form of publication of printed matters (the data basis for publicization is the reports on quarterly and yearly financial account settlement made according to current prescriptions).

- 30 days after the last day of each quarter and of the year for the form of publicization by posting up at the enterprise (the data basis for publicization is the quick reports of the enterprise to the related State management agencies).

- 15 days after the last day of each quarter and of the year for the form of information given at the conferences of the enterprise (the data basis for publicization is the quick reports of the enterprise).

IV. ANSWERING QUESTIONS

1. Organizations and individuals allowed to receive information on financial publicization as stipulated in this Circular have the right to put questions on the contents of the financial publicization.

2. The Managing Board and the director of the enterprise where the financial publicization is carried out must answer questions on the contents of the financial publicization.

3. The questions must be answered to the questioners five days at the latest after receiving the contents of the questions. In case the contents of the questions are complicated and need more time to prepare an appointment must be made with each questioner about his/her questions, but not later than 20 days after receiving the contents of the question.

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V. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing and replaces Section II on publicization of the annual financial reports of the State enterprises stipulated in Circular No. 73-TC/TCDN of November 12, 1996 guiding the making, publicization and inspection of the financial reports and accountancy inspection at the State enterprises and Point 3, Section IV on publicization of annual financial reports stipulated at Circular No. 06-TC/TCDN of February 24, 1997 guiding the regime of financial management at public-utility State enterprises of the Ministry of Finance.

2. If any question arises in the course of implemen-tation, the State enterprises should report in time to the Ministry of Finance for study, supplementation or amendment.

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE




Pham Van Trong

PUBLICIZATION OF A NUMBER OF FINANCIAL NORMS FOR THE PARTY AND MASS ORGANIZATIONS AND LABORERS WITHIN THE ENTERPRISES

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Previous year (quarter)

Reporting year (quarter)

1. Current assets.

- Monetary assets.

- Short-term financial investment.

- Debts to be recovered.

- Bad debts.

- Goods in stock.

- Other current assets.

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- Primary price of fixed assets.

- Accumulative depreciation value.

- Long-term financial investment.

- Expenditures on half-finished capital constructions.

- Long-term amortizations and collaterals

3. Due debts.

a/ Short-term debts.

- Including overdue ones.

b/ Long-term debts.

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4. Capital and fund sources.

- Business capital (capital of owner).

- Disparity in revaluation of properties.

- Disparity of exchange rates.

- Fund for business development.

- Reserve fund.

- Profits not yet distributed.

- Reward and welfare funds.

- Source of investment in capital construction.

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a/ Development investment fund.

+ Balance at the beginning of term.

+ Disbursement within term.

+ Expenditures within term.

Including expenditures on training and fostering courses to raise the laborers’ qualifications.

b/ Financial reserve fund.

+ Balance at the beginning of term.

+ Disbursement within term.

+ Expenditures within term.

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+ Balance at the beginning of term.

+ Disbursement within term.

+ Expenditures within term.

d/ Reward-welfare funds.

+ Balance at the beginning of term.

+ Disbursement within term.

+ Real expenditures within term.

Including: expenditures on humanitarian and social work.

6. Business results.

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- Total turnover.

Including: revenues from State allowances and price subsidies.

- Total expenditures.

Including:

+ Expenditures on management activities.

+ Expenditures on guests reception.

+ Expenditures on conferences and transactions.

+ Expenditures on commission and mediation.

+ Payment of fines for breaches of economic contracts.

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In which:

+ From business activities.

+ From sales and purchases of credit bills, government bonds and shares.

+ Hire and wholesale allocation of properties.

+ From assignment, sale and liquidation of properties.

+ Activities in joint ventures and link-up ventures.

+ Dividends, interests of deposits and loans.

- Total profit from after-tax income of the enterprise.

- Accumulative losses.

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- Payable taxes.

- Taxes already paid in the term.

8. Remittances of health and social insurances, trade union expenditures.

- Total amount to be paid.

- Amount already paid in the term.

9. Allocations from the State budget.

- Investments in capital construction.

- Current capital.

- Non-business expenditures.

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10. Labor.

- Average labor force in the term.

+ Short-term contracts.

+ Long-term contracts.

11. Income.

- Total wage fund.

- Other incomes.

+ Average wage.

+ Average income.

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Notes:

- For law-breaching enterprises this norm should be added: The fine for law breaching, which comes under the responsibility of the enterprise (it must not be accounted for in the expenditures on business activities or expenditures on other activities).

- For State enterprises operating in public-utility activities a number of the following norms should be added:

+ Turnover from public-utility activities.

+ Expenditures on public-utility activities.

+ Profits earned from public-utility activities.

+ State budget allowances for the reward and welfare funds.

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