CONSULTING SERVICES AT VACO AUDITING COMPANY LIMITED (luận văn tốt nghiệp tiếng anh)

2 competitors and attract more customers to use their services, businesses, including VACO Vietnam Auditing Co., Ltd, must make constant efforts to develop tax consulting services.. Le X

MINISTRY OF FINANCE ACADEMY OF FINANCE

PHAM ANH DUC CLASS: CQ56/02.01

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ACRONYMS iv

LIST OF TABLE v

LIST OF FIGURE vi

DECLARATION vii

GRATITUDE viii

INTRODUCTION 1

1 The necessity of the dissertation 1

2 Objectives of the dissertation 2

3 Scope of the dissertation 2

4 Research methods 3

5 Structure of the dissertation 3

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ON TAX CONSULTING SERVICE 4

1.1 An overview of tax consulting 4

1.1.1 Concepts, characteristics and objects of tax consulting service 4

1.1.2 The role of tax consultancies and assistance 10

1.1.3 Forms of tax consultancy and assistance 16

1.2 Tax consulting services 17

1.2.1 Formation and development of tax consulting services 17

1.2.2 Contents of tax consulting services 19

1.2.3 Criteria for assessing the quality of tax consultancy services are enterprises providing consulting services 20

1.2.4 The factors affecting tax consulting services 22

1.2.5 Potential development of tax consulting services 25

1.2.6 The basic process of professional tax advices 27

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CHAPTER 2: THE STATUS OF TAX CONSULTING SERVICES AT VACO

AUDITING CO., LTD 31

2.1 Overview of VACO Auditing Company Limited 31

2.1.1 Process of formation and development of VACO Auditing Company Limited 31

2.1.2 The organizational structure of the company 33

2.1.3 Services provided by VACO Auditing Company Limited 39

2.1.4 Overview of business operation of VACO Auditing Company Limited 41

2.2 Tax consulting services of VACO Auditing Company Limited 44

2.2.1 Form of tax consulting services provided by VACO Auditing Company Limited 474

2.2.2 Major customers of VACO 47

2.2.3 Tax consulting procedures 49

2.3 General assessment of Tax advisory services at VACO Auditing Company Limited 52

2.3.1 The achievements 52

2.3.2 The limitations 59

2.3.3 The reasons for drawbacks 61

CHAPTER 3: SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE TAX CONSULTING SERVICES AT VACO AUDITING COMPANY LIMITED 64

3.1 Goals and development orientations of the company 64

3.2 Some recommendations for improving tax consulting services at VACO… 65

3.2.1 Building customers development strategies 65

3.2.2 Deploying new consulting services 67

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3.2.3 Improving the quality of each specific part of the consulting process and working with customers 68 3.2.4 Developing human resource 68 3.2.5 Promoting marketing activities 70 3.2.6 Strengthening the coordination and support of the tax authorities in the process of providing tax advisory services to customers 72 3.2.7 Combining the development of tax consulting services with other consulting services 72 3.3 Some recommendations to promote tax consultation and support activities

of tax consulting companies 73 3.3.1 Proposing to functional agencies solutions to perfect tax law system

733.3.2 Proposing to the Vietnam Tax Consultants Association to facilitate the development of tax consultancy services in Vietnam 76 CONCLUSION 79 REFERENCES 81

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LIST OF ACRONYMS

Co., Ltd Limited Company

ISD International Service Department

TCS Tax Consulting Services

VTCA Vietnam Tax Consultants' Association

WTO World Trade Organization

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LIST OF TABLE

Table 2.1: Profit and loss statement by years 42

Table 2.2: Number of customers by the audience 48

Table 2.3: Revenue from tax advisory services in total revenue 53

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LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 2.1: Company structure 34

Figure 2.2: Structure of tax consulting department 37

Figure 2.3: Revenue from tax advisory service in total revenue 55

Figure 2.4: Revenue ratio of each tax consulting service in 2021 57

Figure 2.5: Revenue proportion of each tax consulting service in 2021 58

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is a report of my own research and all data, information was provided in this essay are true and based on reality Wherever contributions of others are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussions

Dissertation author Pham Anh Duc

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GRATITUDE

First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to

my supervisor, Associate Professor Dr Le Xuan Truong for everything that he made to contribute to the completion of my dissertation Without his profound academy knowledge, I could not receive from many constructive comments and valuable suggestions he has given me, which I found very helpful to not complete this dissertation but also to improve my research-related skills and cognition

Secondly, I want to thank all of my friends and all teachers at Academy

of Finance, especially teachers of Tax and Customs Faculty for giving me the best four years of my student life Without them, my graduation dissertation would not be finished

Thirdly, I want to express my tremendous appreciation to the Tax Service and Financial Consulting as well as the entire staff, VACO Auditing Vietnam Co.,Ltd for creating conditions for me to have the opportunity to practice and approach With documents and data that are extremely important

in my research It has truly been a wonderful time working with the team that has always facilitated me to finish this graduation dissertation successfully

Last but not least, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to extend

my heartfelt thanks to my entire family and friends They are always a great source of unceasing encouragement and support during my whole journey

While I tried my hardest during the writing process, due to my limited theoretical and research abilities, the dissertation will undoubtedly have several flaws, so I hope to receive sympathy as well as enthusiastic comments from the teachers to make this dissertation more complete

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INTRODUCTION

1 The necessity of the dissertation

After more than three decades of opening up for international integration, Vietnam has been attracting more and more attention from foreign investors, becoming an ideal investment destination in the Southeast Asia and Asia in general It is a country with a large, highly skilled workforce and diverse natural resources In addition, the enthusiastic support from the Government, always creating the best conditions for international businesses and corporations to invest in Vietnam, has helped Vietnam become one of the top choices when foreign investors invest in Vietnam Foreign enterprises want to enter the Asian market Moreover, the Vietnamese people and Government's quick, accurate and timely response to the COVID-19 pandemic has created great confidence among international investors

With those favorable conditions, the number of jobs created each year increases This has brought Vietnam into the top 10 countries with the lowest unemployment rate in the world (Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, 2021) With the remarkable economic growth in recent times, large enterprises and small businesses tend to seek financial solutions to support them in doing business in Vietnam In particular, issues related to legal regulations, in which tax issues are of primary concern to domestic and foreign enterprises However, the number of businesses with tax consulting services is not many, and their activities are pretty weak compared to accounting and auditing services If enterprises are knowledgeable and proficient in tax operations, they can save more tax costs and create competitive advantages in their business activities based on compliance with the provisions of the law

Besides, in recent years, tax consulting activities in Vietnam have had many opportunities to develop, especially with the participation of large enterprises such as KPMG, Deloitte, Ey, PwC, etc And fierce competition in the tax consulting services market is inevitable In order to stay ahead of

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competitors and attract more customers to use their services, businesses, including VACO Vietnam Auditing Co., Ltd, must make constant efforts to develop tax consulting services

Therefore, in increasingly exciting and competitive market conditions, VACO Vietnam Auditing Co., Ltd provides customers with the best consulting services, especially paying attention to the quality of tax consulting services for Business Therefore, through studying at the Academy of Finance and doing an internship at VACO with the guidance of Assoc Prof Ph.D Le Xuan Truong,

I decided to choose the topic: " Tax consulting services at VACO Auditing Company Limited ” to have a deeper understanding of the factors affecting tax consulting services, analyze and evaluate the current status of tax consulting services at VACO and then offer solutions to improve the tax consulting services improve the quality of tax consulting services for VACO in the future

2 Objectives of the dissertation

The study’s overall objective is to give an overview of the status of tax consulting services and propose solutions to improve this service

Specific purposes are:

- Generalizing theoretical issues on tax advisory services;

- Analyzing the status of tax consulting services at VACO Auditing Co., Ltd;

- Proposing solutions to improve tax consulting services at VACO Auditing Co., Ltd

3 Scope of the dissertation

- Scope of content: The research is based on the information published directly by VACO on social networks, because of the specific characteristic, the information should be secure so the data on the client and revenue of services are just numbers overview Therefore, research will mostly go on the basis of TCS and the introduction of a general way

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for TCS in VACO as well as information about customers, revenue, and

profits of the company

- Scope of time: The dissertation focuses on research TCS have been and are being provided by VACO Vietnam Auditing Co., Ltd in the period from 2018-2021 The recommendations for solutions are intended to apply to 2025

- Scope of space: Tax consulting services at VACO Auditing Co., Ltd

- Method of graphs and charts, collect to analyze data, compare and evaluate the performance;

- Method of statistics, interpretation, synthesis indicates context and objectives, the development direction, and measures to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of tax consulting services

5 Structure of the dissertation

The dissertation is structured into three main chapters:

- Chapter 1: Theoretical background on tax consulting service

- Chapter 2: The status of tax consulting services at VACO Auditing Co., Ltd

- Chapter 3: Some recommendations to improve tax consulting services

at VACO Auditing Co., Ltd

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CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ON TAX

CONSULTING SERVICE 1.1 An overview of tax consulting

1.1.1 Concepts, characteristics and objects of tax consulting service

a, Concept of tax consulting

According to the Vietnamese dictionary: "Consulting in the usual sense

is giving opinions on the issues asked, but not having the right to decide" [5]

According to Article 5.1, Decree 87/2002/ND-CP “Consultancy activities means activities of collecting and processing information, applying professional knowledge, identifying problems, proposing solutions and options, formulating projects, monitoring and evaluation, which are conducted independently and objectively by Vietnam’s specialized organizations or individuals at the requests of consultancy users” [7]

Consulting is a service industry that does not have a fixed definition at all The market for this service is also very flexible Along with the constant changes in acquisitions, mergers as well as business expansion, the demand for consulting services is as unpredictable The term "consulting" can have a lot of meanings, but the main idea is to give professional advice The consulting company will "advise" a business in the right way at an urgent time Seeing things through that prism sees the importance of consulting in business However, most people are very faintly aware of the work and the real responsibility of the so-called “counseling”

What is the law of consultation? Often people can understand this is a similar process consultant to help customers and partners understand the problems and difficulties problems when they encounter, give perspectives and opinions that help them have the right views more active in life At the same time give compelling reasons and apply the most effective measure They are

From the knowledge of consulting, we can know about it as follows:

- Tax consulting is actually "advice, suggestions" through applying economic thinking to solve business problems according to tax laws;

- Supporting taxpayers is the type of service provided with the purpose

of assisting taxpayers to fulfill their tax payment obligations, including legal interpretation services, advice and support for preparing declarations, calculating tax, and determining tax obligations

So, tax consultancy activities are activities to support taxpayers by providing consultancy services and answering problems for taxpayers so that they can properly understand the tax policy and law contents

Tax consulting activities are part of many types of professional financial consulting services currently blooming in the market As a profession that requires tax knowledge, a tax consultant does not definitely have to be a person with expertise in the tax industry The tax consultant can be a legal expert or an experienced financial professional who understands other socio-economic issues This requires a broad understanding of many aspects of the consultant, can be considered quite difficult, requires a large amount of accumulated experience That's why professional tax consultants will give in-depth advice

on different tax areas, which helps them gain more focused expertise on issues related to their fields advise In developed countries, professional consulting is

a profession that requires certification and is strictly regulated by law on practice conditions, working principles as well as responsibilities to clients

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This will also be the trend that tax consulting services in Vietnam will develop

in the future that tax consulting service providers must keep up with

In recent years, thanks to investment from foreign institutions and their demand for tax services has increased, tax services providers and tax agents have also increased significanlty in both quantity of services It can be said that the market of tax advisory services in Vietnam is on the rise in the preiod of openness and international economic integration

b, Characteristics of tax consulting service

Just like the audit profession has many different lines of services, the tax services also have many service lines for many different needs of businesses, which can basically be divided into the following groups:

- Tax compliance consulting service tea;

- Accounting Service Team;

- Group of payroll and tax calculation services;

- License service group

With each service group mentioned above, there are many different service lines with many various operations depending on customer requirements, which can include the following basic operations:

- Prepare monthly VAT declaration and annual tax finalization;

- Declare, make accounting and pay personal income tax for taxpayers;

- Tax planning;

- Advice on tax refund and tax regulations;

- Consulting to determine and register loss transfer;

- Consulting and helping businesses when having problems with renting;

- Review compliance with applicable tax policies

Firstly, good communication skills in all areas, calmly negotiating in

certain situations

Secondly, respect customers, trustworthiness and culture

Thirdly, the ability to solve diverse and complex problems

Fourthly, the ability to analyze and synthesize data and written

information so that customers can clearly understand: Tax regulations are numerous and constantly changing, tax consultants need to update constantly The text lays out accurate advice for customers

Fifthly, research skills and logical reasoning: In order to be able to give

persuasive and valuable opinions to clients, consultants need to have a deep understanding of the problem to be solved as well as the ability to logical reasoning to chain problems to come up with solutions

Sixthly, flexibility in necessary changes or adaptability to changing

requirements

Seventhly, the ability to work to strict deadlines

Eighthly, regularly update knowledge in a number of fields (accounting,

finance, economics, tax law, business and investment and so on ) observe

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business performance, gain a broad understanding of the customer's industry, international practices

Ninthly, presentation skills: Due to the nature of the job: consulting,

presenting the problem to understand, obviously, is extremely important

Tenthly, creative spirit Unlike audited work, which is a long-standing

job and needs to have adhered to a strict system of principles, standards, audit programs, etc Tax consulting work, although expensive, tax laws have a very different approach to each job Therefore, the job of tax consulting is to save a huge creative space for the performer

In addition to mastering the above skills, the tax consulting profession also brings many benefits Each profession brings certain benefits to society in general as well as to individuals in particular There are three main entities benefiting from the birth and development of the tax consulting profession, namely: tax consultants, taxpayers and the State

For tax consultants, it is a professional working style, effective solving ability, knowledge and practical experience in business, communication skills, etc In addition, when working as an employee Tax consulting - a field related to economy and society, tax consultants have the opportunity and motivation to gather diverse and rich knowledge and experience in many different fields Besides, working with businesses operating in different various gives those who do this job always have the opportunity to improve their knowledge, skills, and work style

problem-For businesses, tax consultants are the bridge between businesses and the State Their job is to create conditions for taxpayers to fulfill their obligations

to the state, to help the state quickly collect correct and sufficient taxes Thus,

if the enterprise is consulted in advance, the tax is checked, the business will receive a lot of benefits, which is the guarantee of legality If the tax authority

c, Objects of tax consulting service

The subjects of tax advice are taxpayers who can be an individual or an organization having difficulties or problems and needing advice on a certain area related to tax law Tax consulting activities without in-depth knowledge and understanding of tax law will provide the most professional advice and solutions to clients' tax problems In addition, providing the correct orientation and explanation of tax law for the most effective use by taxpayers, minimizing the amount of tax payable while still ensuring compliance with the law Experts will consider all aspects of tax to ensure that we provide the best tax strategy for our client’s future financial activities and fulfill their tax obligations on behalf of the clients’ country As a profession that requires specialized knowledge of tax, but a tax consultant does not have to be an official working

in the tax industry The person who works as a tax consultant can be a legal expert or an experienced financial professional who understands tax and other socio-economic issues Tax issues of clients are often not only related to tax

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law but also related to many other laws such as corporate law, commercial law, economic contract ordinance, even civil law, criminal law are the contents that are not under the responsibility of tax advice This requires a broad understanding of many aspects of the consultant, which can be considered quite difficult That is why professional tax consultants will advise on different tax areas, which helps them to gain more focused expertise on tax-related issues that they are interested in advise In developed countries, professional tax consulting is a profession that requires certification and is strictly regulated by the law on practice conditions, working principles as well as responsibilities to clients That is the model Vietnam looks forward to in the future

1.1.2 The role of tax consultancies and assistance

The introduction of tax consultancy activities is associated with the development of tax laws of countries around the world Nowadays in advanced countries, tax advisory services or tax consultants are popular concepts and that

is one of the very developed and high-paying jobs in society

In Vietnam, the application of the self-declaration and self-payment mechanism for taxpayers has made tax advisory service play an extremely important role in organizing tax collection and payment These roles can be mentioned as follows:

a, For the market economy

Tax consulting is a service born with the development of the tax systems

of countries worldwide In developed countries, tax consulting services are a popular concept and are among the highly developed professions that bring high income to society Building a management apparatus effective tax collection and separation in the activities of tax collection management by tax authorities for the self-declaration and payment of taxpayers' taxes have created favorable conditions for the birth and development of tax consulting services

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More and more tax legislations are issued, along with the increase in the number and complexity of provisions in the tax law, making it difficult to understand thoroughly and declare tax correctly and fully taxpayers Meanwhile, tax authorities do not have the capacity and resources to explain each tax law to a multitude of different audiences Tax consulting service was born to link tax collection agencies and taxpayers, helping tax collection be carried out quickly, completely and accurately

With the rapid development of the market economy, spending too much time, effort and money for taxpayers to fully and accurately comply with laws and regulations will indirectly reduce the value of taxpayers of tax amounts paid into the State Budget and at the same time lose the motivation of taxpayers

to voluntarily fulfill their tax obligations Tax consulting services are the simplest and most accurate way to make tax compliance simpler and easier for organizations, businesses, and individuals, and make them feel the value of tax advice tax dollars that they contribute to the State Budget

b, For tax administration

In recent years, in addition to the task of collecting State budget, the tax sector has promoted reform and modernization of tax administration in the direction of simplicity, clarity and transparency in order to create favorable conditions for taxpayers These reforms of the tax sector are highly appreciated

by the business community, people and society When it comes to the achievements of the tax industry, it is impossible not to mention the contributions of tax consulting service companies

In terms of tax administration reform, encouraging taxpayers to apply the self-assessment system, tax advice and support play a vital role not only for taxpayers but also for tax authorities That role is reflected in the following aspects:

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Firstly, a tax consulting company is a channel to provide information to

tax authorities about tax problems arising in the production and business process of enterprises In financial and tax consulting for businesses with expertise and fields in this field, the tax consulting company will discover inadequacies in tax policy during the implementation process In addition to the consulting function, explain for

When businesses understand tax policies well, tax consulting companies also play the role of synthesizing and analyzing tax policy inadequacies during the implementation process The problems and tax recommendations of enterprises provided by consulting firms are often synthesized from many enterprises, analyzed, evaluated and have a basis, so they are highly persuasive This has helped the State agencies better understand the actual business situation of enterprises, and the inadequacies of the current tax policy From there, they can make amendments and supplements to improve the tax policy

Secondly, the tax consulting company represents businesses to propose

tax policies to be applied to the economic development situation of Vietnam in each period and by international practices Although Vietnam's policy mechanism in recent years has changed positively, the current tax policy still has many shortcomings in reform, transformation, and gradual improvement to suit the economic development situation of Vietnam and the process of international economic integration Therefore, problems and inconsistencies in the implementation process cannot be avoided To overcome and minimize these problems, the Ministry of Finance and tax authorities have conducted seminars and dialogues with businesses to discuss and solve tax problems However, as tax consultants, consulting firms, especially multinational tax consulting companies, have played a consulting role, providing information, international practices and sharing experiences with the central planning

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agency tax policy when this agency promulgates a new tax policy or amends or supplements the tax policy Therefore, the tax consulting company also contributes to helping the tax policy-making agency create an increasingly transparent, clear and unified tax legal framework, etc

Thirdly, the tax consulting company has helped taxpayers increase their

understanding and compliance with tax laws through tax advice for businesses Through periodic seminars with customers, the release of specialized monthly newsletters, or using the website as well as through direct audit, financial and tax advice for businesses, the tax consulting company has regularly helped businesses update information related to the tax field, the change of legal documents so that businesses can timely capture data as well as timely orient their business strategy The staff of a tax consulting company is professionals with specialized training, extensive knowledge of economics, finance, accounting, auditing, good at tax professional, with a lot of practical experience, so the effects of the propaganda and explanation are considerable and businesses are easier to absorb and grasp than the presentation of the tax authorities Therefore, tax consulting companies have helped taxpayers increase their understanding and compliance with tax laws and act as a bridge between tax authorities and businesses in implementing tax policies and laws

In particular, implementing administrative tax reform in the form of declaration, self-calculation and self-payment by enterprises; tax authorities only focus on doing well the service of supporting taxpayers and tax inspection and examination

self-Fourthly, the tax consulting company has contributed to preventing

fraud, tax evasion and tax arrears Tax consulting firms are often very responsible for the tax consulting services they provide to their clients Therefore, the company is always proactive and accountable for guiding

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taxpayers to comply with current tax laws With the transformation of the tax payment mechanism from the method by which the tax authorities determine tax obligations to the technique of self-declaration and self-payment, the role

of tax consulting services is further confirmed because the self-calculation and self-declaration require accuracy and completeness, suffer major consequences from misrepresentation, whether intentional or due to a lack of understanding

of tax policy On the other hand, in terms of legality and business reputation, a tax consulting company will have to bear many risks if it advises its clients that they do not comply with the tax law Therefore, the activities of the tax consulting company have contributed to reducing tax evasion, tax fraud and tax arrears

Finally, tax consulting services have indirectly reduced disputes between

enterprises and tax authorities As analyzed above, through the provision of tax consulting services, the tax consulting company has significantly contributed

to helping taxpayers increase their understanding and compliance with tax laws

to prevent fraud, tax evasion, and tax debt These things have indirectly reduced tax lawsuits and disputes between businesses and tax authorities

c, For taxpayers

Firstly, the tax advisory has helped taxpayers enhance their

understanding and compliance with tax laws through tax consultancy for businesses Through regular seminars with customers, monthly professional newsletters, or website use as well as through direct auditing, financial advice and taxation for businesses and consulting companies tax regularly helps businesses update information related to the tax filed, changes of legal documents, so that businesses can catch information promptly and timely directing the business strategy of the business Therefore, the tax advisory has helped taxpayers enhance their understanding and compliance with tax laws

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and act as a bridge between tax authorities and enterprises in implementing policies and laws about tax

Secondly, according to the General Department of Taxation, if

enterprises are knowledgeable and proficient in tax operations, they can save more taxes and create competitive advantages in business The ability to reduce taxes to a minimum of a corporation depends on planning a proactive tax-saving strategy based on compliance with the provisions of the law Tax consulting services can help businesses determine the correct taxes and payable tax amounts for the State to proactively declare and pay taxes correctly, can know and complete necessary procedures related to tax declaration, tax exemption, timely tax finalization Besides, businesses can control and detect mistakes; estimate the amount of tax payable for basic operations based on which decisions are appropriate for future projects

Thirdly, the Personal Income Tax law stipulates that all people have

taxable income must file a personal income tax return However, the determination of taxable income, deductions and calculation of tax for each of these items according to the partially progressive tax formula is quite complicated and not easy for individuals who do not have professional knowledge in the field of tax so they need the support of a tax service organization to declare, calculate and pay their personal income tax Taxpayers will receive advice before receiving any income to see if it is taxable Similarly, when paying a certain cost, see if it can be deducted From there, taxpayers will

be advised on their own spending plan and income to save taxes, as well as fully declare the related revenues and expenditures

Today, with the development of a market economy, more and more Vietnamese companies ( big corporations and joint stock companies) use tax consulting services instead of just businesses foreign investment as before In

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addition on large corporations, joint stock enterprises are increasingly developing, exploding the birth of private enterprises, business owners This enterprise desperately needs assistance, proccedures for tax registration produres for bussiness declaration and settlement for them due to cost reasons not arranged employees check and monitor accounting books, accounting documents, tax reports, internal reports as well as timely capture changes in tax policies, procedures and legal documents system; or if so, those employees are inexperienced, do not know much about tax, books, accounting documents… Causing difficulties for the accounting work in the enterprise The emergence

of tax consulting services will help taxpayers save resources by hiring services from professional organizations instead of doing it themselves

1.1.3 Forms of tax consultancy and assistance

There are many different forms of tax advice to assist taxpayers to answer their questions, guide taxpayers in filing and complying with tax obligations with state agencies:

- The Ministry of Finance has set up a department to propagate and support taxpayers at tax agencies at all levels, in order to propaganda and guide tax policies and procedures;

- Regularly update tax newsletters or publish tax books so that businesses

or individual taxpayers can understand the changes in tax administration policies;

- Using media forms such as publishing sub-chapters in newspapers, setting up advertising boards, coordinating with television stations to produce television programs;

- Answering directly to taxpayers via telephone or email This is a method commonly used by tax officers to answer questions, and situations about tax administration for businesses and individuals Usually in a tax

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department in a certain area, there will be a one-stop department - tax officers willing to receive information and answer questions of businesses;

- Providing information to taxpayers through tax seminars for small business households This is the easiest and most effective way for the non-state sector to participate in the content of tax administration However, for developing countries with limited resources, the provision

of these services seems sector to engage in these activities and raising fund through voluntary counselling are considered a means to provide adequate services with the best quality for taxpayers

1.2 Tax consulting services

1.2.1 Formation and development of tax consulting services

Tax services are professional activities with professional qualifications provided by an organization or individual to other organizations and individuals

on tax procedures (tax registration, tax declaration, tax calculation, tax payment, tax refund, exemption, reduction, tax extension and so on) and related services to assist taxpayers in fulfilling State Budget obligations (supporting declaration and declaration), paying taxes; advising or making business plans

in accordance with tax law, consulting on resolving tax disputes and so forth

There are different types of tax services, depending on the criteria for determining, and categorizing but the majority of tax services are classified into two forms: public tax services and private tax translation Public tax services are services provided by tax authorities Private tax services are services provided by organizations and individuals operating in the field of tax procedure services

Nowadays, in Vietnam along with the development of the economy, the number of enterprises is increasing, which entails a growing demand for tax

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procedures However, tax service providers are limited in quantity Before

2007, the provision of tax services was carried out by a number of units among auditing firms, financial advisory firms, accountants and law firms, in which the main contents of tax services provided were tax advice, tax reporting, etc Revenue from the provision of tax services accounts for only a very small proportion of the total revenue of these enterprises, and customers using tax services also account for a significant proportion of the total number of customers of these companies

Currently, in Vietnam, tax services are provided mainly by the following groups: (i) Auditing firms; (ii) Accounting service enterprises; (iii) Tax service enterprises Enterprises doing business in the service of carrying out tax procedures as above, doing business in the field of conditional business, are under the management of the General Department of Taxation (referred to as tax agents) Enterprises that provide tax consulting services but do not carry out tax procedures are not tax agents Thus, it can be seen that tax services in Vietnam are currently provided by two groups of subjects: (1) Tax agents - providing tax procedures and tax consulting services and accounting services for micro enterprises; (2) Other enterprises that have business in tax consulting services, are not bound by the conditions of business of tax procedure services (the subject of this service can be audit firms, law firms, financial consulting firms) As for the development of tax agents, who mainly provide tax services, since their appearance in 2008, the number of tax agents has increased slowly

On average, there are about 50 new tax agents each year According to the General Department of Taxation, the number of tax agents as of January 2022

is 817 Compared with the annual number of newly registered enterprises (about 30,000 - 40,000 newly registered enterprises annually), the agency growth rate tax is very low In particular, in relation to the demand for tax

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services in particular and tax services in general of enterprises in the economy, the number of tax agents is still very small Currently, the whole country has about 700,000 enterprises in operation, with 98% being micro, small and medium enterprises (of which, about 90% are small and micro enterprises) Small and micro enterprises are businesses that need to use tax service For tax consulting services provided by auditing firms, law firms, and financial consulting firms, they are often associated with audit or legal consulting service contracts, so no statistics are available specific about the number of enterprises providing and the size of these transactions However, in terms of market demand and operating practices of enterprises, it can be seen that this service has been provided quite widely in recent years Tax agents in particular and tax service businesses in general have met the tax service needs of businesses in the economy, created added value for society, and created jobs for the economy and promote taxpayer compliance [6]

1.2.2 Contents of tax consulting services

The services of tax consultants can be divided into two main categories: tax compliance and tax consulting

Compliance is the job that experts assisting customers in declaring their tax liability to the tax authorities of the state It relates to the calculation of tax liability statements of transactions, past activities performed by customers Such as registration, declaration, payment, refund, making tax records, tax accounting,etc

Consulting: is a job related to offering solutions, advice, tax explanation for future transactions of customers, helping customers get the most tax-saving activity plan Tax planning, effective business structure for tax purposes, tax complaints can be classified into this category

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The distinction between compliance and consulting services is only relative because of the fact that service is provided, these are the two areas that often come together and cannot be separated In the process of providing compliance services to customers, tax consultants will also do consulting services at the same time For example, in terms of tax return preparation, they would process returns for all jurisdictions, and deliver soft copy documents and instructions for return filing and tax payments on a monthly basis This can be understood as in the process of reviewing tax liability periodically, experts will identify problems, problems and conduct consulting, offer solutions to solve that problem On the contrary, when working as an adviser, experts also have

to carry out compliance checking to grasp the details of the tax liability situation

of customers, and then can make a comment which is the most effective question

Specific works of the tax consulting service as updating tax policies, supporting taxpayers to fulfill tax procedures, helping taxpayers to meet their compliance obligations, helping businesses prevent, manage and resolve their tax controversy issues

1.2.3 Criteria for assessing the quality of tax consultancy services are enterprises providing consulting services

Quality of service is measured by many factors and the precise identification of these factors depends on the nature of the service and the research environment From the perspective of evaluating service quality, the criteria for assessing the quality of tax consultancy activities at enterprises providing consultancy services are also standardized on the basis of basic components of the SERVQUAL model, in accordance with the specific characteristics of this service, including:

- Satisfaction level: expressed through the willingness, dedication to serve customer requirements including establishing and introducing to customers the products and services in a timely and appropriate manner;

- Credibility: demonstrated by the ability to create a trust for customers, making customers trust in service providers This ability represents the name and reputation of the service provider, the personality of service personnel communicating directly with customers;

- Understanding, sharing: expressed through the ability to understand customers' needs through understanding the demands of customers, caring about them personally and identifying regular customers;

- Safety and security: shown by the ability to ensure safety for customers, expressed through the physical and financial safety, as well as information security For customers who use tax consulting services, it is imperative that the availability of shared information, so the confidentiality of customer information is extremely important and crucial When evaluating the professional level of the service provider organization;

- Means of services: shown by appearance, the attire of service staff and equipment for service Method of managing/censoring output: expressed through internal quality control process to give the most optimal advice For tax consulting services, there are almost no quantitative criteria to control the

is called the exchange price to get the desired value from products or services

If the customer feels that the quality of service is more than the cost, the price

is competitive and the customer will be satisfied Conversely, customers will

be dissatisfied because they feel they have to pay more than what is received and the price in this case will negatively impact customer satisfaction

1.2.4 The factors affecting tax consulting services

From previous studies, we can synthesize the factors that affect the

quality of tax consulting services provided by enterprises

a, Subjective factors

Service capacity is one of the leading criteria affecting the quality of tax consulting services According to Dao Nguyen Huong (2016) "The service capacity is the factor that has the strongest influence on the service quality of the propaganda to support taxpayers managed by the District 10 Tax Department" [3] The same is true of tax consulting services, the capacity of the consultants is demonstrated in detail by the fact that the staff can advise and satisfactorily solve the customer's questions Tax consulting service is a conditional business, which requires expertise in tax as well as an understanding of related socio-economic policies The requirements and expectations of customers for the quality of tax consulting services are increasing day by day Moreover, the perception of the quality of each customer has different points Often, consumers who have just heard of service are less critical than customers who have used the service many times Tax consulting

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services are the result of human interaction Therefore, people are an important factor in creating services Service quality is the quality of people, so the professional level and communication level of the counsellors are reflected in the following factors: consulting qualifications, qualifications, communication, voice, ability to accurately capture the questioner's ideas, and the ability to reason and apply the policy in practice and so on

Reliability is an important criterion to evaluate service quality According to the research results of the authors Sang-Hyup Park, Huyeok-Je Gwon, Yen-Yoo You (2016) [17], reliability is the most important factor and

is tied to customer satisfaction Reliability can be demonstrated through the consultant's implementation of exactly what was introduced, committed, good confidentiality of transaction and client information, fully understanding the needs of the client and getting the service right the first time

With the rapid development of businesses, the need for assistance in tax declaration, payment and refund has also increased dramatically, along with the ability to meet customer needs also partly determines the quality of services Responsiveness is a factor related to better handling of customer requests, questions and complaints, staff are always ready to help and advice when customers have requested The more consultants demonstrate a desire and willingness to help clients and respond to services quickly, the greater the likelihood of taxpayer satisfaction The study "The Effect of Service Quality Dimension of Taxpayers' Satisfaction (Study at Howard Tax Consultant)" [15] also said that responsiveness is the most important variable affecting customer satisfaction using consulting services tax

The company's fee for tax consulting services is also a factor that affects the quality of tax consulting services In 2000, Bahia & Nantel [14] researched and developed a scale to assess customers' perceptions of service quality in

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retail banking and concluded that price is a factor that affects service quality in the banking sector Bank starting from the same type of paid private service, tax consulting services are similarly affected The impact of service charges is reflected in whether the service price is consistent with the customer's ability

to respond and whether the price is worthy of the services that the business receives

Tangible means: physical and technical facilities affect the quality of tax consulting services, the image of tax consultants The analysis results of the author Dam Thi Huong (2014) [2] show that, among the factors affecting the satisfaction of taxpayers, the factor "Facilities" has meaning is very important after the factor “Reliability” Customers will more easily access and use services when the company's website is designed with a clear layout and rich content to meet customers' information needs Besides, the dress and image of polite and professional consultants also have an impact on the customer's perception during the consultation process

b, Objective factors

Tax laws have a direct impact on the rights and responsibilities of taxpayers The clearer and more specific the tax law is, the easier and more convenient the tax advisor's support will be Currently, there are many documents amending, supplementing, guiding and removing obstacles from the Ministry of Finance or tax departments, making it difficult for taxpayers to update these documents, even the parties themselves Consultants also cannot remember all these documents if they do not gather and system them regularly

Tax knowledge and taxpayer motivation also have a positive and significant influence on taxpayers' interest in using tax advice (Rina Hartanti and Muhammad Nuryatno, 2019) [16]

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Taxpayers need to have a certain level of accounting and tax to be able

to understand the provisions of tax legal documents as well as receive information and guidance from the tax consulting company In addition, the knowledge of taxpayers also helps them to more accurately communicate the needs and problems of their unit to the consultant and is willing to share all necessary information with the consultant

With the development of science growing stronger, it will create a push

to help businesses have experience in improving and improving the quality of their products, goods and services It is the creation of new products, new substitute materials that reduce the cost of products or the creation of new products with better product features, more attractive, more convenient, more cost-effective

Regional factors and characteristics, cultural level, consumer habits: Each tax consulting service in one place is considered to be of high quality, but

in other places, it is low due to its own unique characteristics, social culture, other infrastructure conditions Different cultural backgrounds will require different quality of tax services Habits, regional characteristics of consumers also affect the quality of tax consulting service

1.2.5 Potential development of tax consulting services

Tax consulting is a service born with the development of the tax system

of countries around the world In today's advanced countries, tax services or tax consultants are a popular concept and one of the most developed professions that bring high incomes to society

The development of an effective tax collection management apparatus and the separation in the operation of tax collection management of tax authorities with the self-declaration and payment of taxpayers have facilitated the introduction and development of tax consultancy services Tax law

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documents are increasingly enacted, along with an increase in quantity is the complexity of the provisions in tax law, making it not easy for taxpayers to understand and declare correctly and sufficiently tax Meanwhile, the tax authorities cannot afford to explain in detail each tax law to a multitude of different subjects Tax consulting services were born as a bridge between the government's tax collection agency and taxpayers, helping the tax collection to

be carried out quickly, fully and accurately

Today, with the development of a market economy, more and more Vietnamese companies (big corporations and joint-stock companies) use tax consulting services instead of just business foreign investment as before In addition to large corporations, joint-stock enterprises are increasingly developing, exploding the birth of private enterprises and business owners This enterprise desperately needs assistance, guidance from registration procedures for business establishment, procedures for tax registration, invoice purchase, tax declaration and settlement for them due to cost reasons not arranged Employees check and monitor accounting books, accounting documents, tax reports, internal reports as well as timely capture changes in tax policies, procedures and legal documents systems; if so, those employees are inexperienced, do not know much about tax, books, accounting documents causing difficulties for the accounting work in the enterprise The emergence

of tax consulting services will help taxpayers save resources by hiring services from professional organizations instead of doing it themselves

From this above analysis, there are positive results in the development

of tax consulting services such as according to data from the department of Statistics up to 2020 there are currently 567 licensed tax agents operating in 42 provinces and cities, and many consulting companies established These are

1.2.6 The basic process of professional tax advices

Consulting can be understood as providing individuals and businesses with objective advice and consistent support regarding the strategy, structure, management and operations of an organization in pursuit of its goals long-term spending This is an interactive process between a consultant and a partner to point out the difficulties and problems faced by the client, thereby pointing out more accurate and correct solutions and persuading the client to apply use the measures deemed most effective The professional consultation process includes steps:

a) Provide information

The most common reason that customers seek assistance is to get more information related to the issue they are interested in Such communications may involve attitude surveys, cost studies, feasibility studies, market surveys

or competitive analysis in a particular sector The client wants the expertise of the consultant or more accurate, up-to-date information that the client cannot devote the time and resources to developing the data internally The consultant

is responsible for exploiting not only the basic needs but also the potential needs

of the customer and providing information to help them answer the requirements of the client

b) Solve the problem

Before going into solving the problem, the consultant has a professional responsibility to review whether the problem posed is the problem that needs

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to be solved the most Sometimes, customers need help in identifying their real problems Thus, the consultant's first job is to understand the context of the problem, skillfully responding to the potential needs of the client before immediately studying the problem presented by the client, which is sometimes the problem That's not really the point to come up with a solution

c) Effective prediction

The greatest value that a consultant brings lies in their expertise with predictions and conclusions that are highly accurate and probable in practice However, the process of drawing these conclusions sometimes puts a strain on the relationship between the consultant and the client because business managers are often afraid of uncovering outstanding problems in the business they are interested in may be held responsible Although independent forecasting is the reason for clients to use external consulting services, it is extremely necessary and important to have customer support in the process d) Proposed action

Usually, the contract ends when the consultant gives a final written report and proposes some solutions to the client Reports will need to show initial information, analysis and recommendations related to the issues identified The consultant proposes a solution and the customer decides whether to do it or not and how to do it

e) Make changes

The role of the consultant in implementing the proposed solutions is a matter of much debate in the professional world It has been suggested that the consultant helping to make the recommendations to be implemented could take

on the supervisory role of management but this would go beyond that of the consultant In addition, there are also comments that point out that if the consultant considers the implementation the responsibility of the client, it

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shows an unprofessional attitude, because the recommendations are not implemented (or are not well implemented) a waste of money and time Therefore, promoting the effectiveness of solutions requires a level of trust and cooperation that is gradually developed during the participation of both parties f) Build consensus and commitment

The effectiveness of any contract for organizations depends on the extent

to which the parties involved are consistent with the nature of the problems as well as the appropriate client actions In order to make sound and convincing recommendations, the consultant must have the ability to reason as well as accumulated analytical skills But more important is the ability to design and implement a process to build an agreement on the steps needed and build the momentum to take these steps

g) Enabling customers to improve in the long run

The consultant enables the client-side to continue to solve similar problems by bringing members of the business into the business process When a problem is raised that requires a method that is outside of the consultant's area of expertise, they may recommend other counsellors or educational programs to the client With the customer involved in the entire process, there are many opportunities to help the customer identify a need that needs to be addressed In successful partnerships, each party needs to explore the other's experience for themselves in order to learn more from it

h) Efficiency of the enterprise

Sometimes, the successful implementation of the solutions offered by the consultant requires not only skills but also a progressive attitude regarding the functions and tasks of the management or even changing the way a business purpose is defined and implemented Enterprise efficiency is used to refer to the ability to adapt strategies and future behaviors to environmental changes

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and optimize the contribution of the organization's human resources when applying solutions, opinion from the consultant

Driving summative efficiency is the result of small steps While listening

to the client's relationship on a problem, the consultant needs to contact similar problems occurring elsewhere While dealing with current issues, they should also think about needs that may arise in the future A professional consultant's responsibility is to see if the client's immediate concerns align with the big picture of both the present and the future

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CHAPTER 2: THE STATUS OF TAX CONSULTING SERVICES AT VACO AUDITING CO., LTD

2.1 Overview of VACO Auditing Company Limited

2.1.1 Process of formation and development of VACO Auditing Company Limited

The decision to establish the first two firms working in the sector of auditing and accounting services in Vietnam, namely Vietnam Auditing Company (VACO) and Accounting Service Company, was signed by Minister

of Finance Ho Te on May 13, 1991 (ASC for short) The Vietnam Auditing Company (VACO) was founded in 1991 by Minister of Finance Decision No 165TC/QD/ TCCB dated May 13, 1991, and was later converted to one-member limited liability company by Minister of Finance Decision No 1927 / QD-BTC dated June 30, 2003 The Department of Planning and Investment of Hanoi City issued a business registration certificate for One Member Limited Company No 0104000112 on January 19, 2004 The establishment of VACO marks the beginning of Vietnam's independent auditing industry In the early years of the opening and growth of a market economy, VACO and Vietnam's audit business thrived VACO is Vietnam's first and largest auditing firm, providing specialized services to a wide range of large customers across all economic sectors, including joint ventures, firms with 100 percent foreign-invested capital, state-owned enterprises, and international projects

VACO began its cooperation with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in 1992 and in April 1994 the VACO joint venture was officially established The event marking the outstanding development of the independent audit industry in Vietnam is that: on October 1, 1997, VACO, with the representative of the International Service Department (ISD), was officially accredited VACO -