Bhutanese Auditing Standards launched

Apr 6, 2012

To improve the accounting and auditing processes comparable to the international best practices, Bhutanese Accounting Standards was launched today. The need was felt with the growing number of companies and opening of Bhutanese economy to the outside world for trade and investment.

Since Bhutan does not have its own standards, business entities including corporations have been preparing their financial statements on the basis of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.  The launch of Bhutanese accounting standards is expected to facilitate high quality accounting through a transparent manner.

It was launched by the Finance Minister, Wangdi Norbu.

Addressing the gathering, the chairperson of the Accounting and Auditing Standards Board of Bhutan, the Auditor General Dasho Ugen Chewang, said it was a timely and prudent initiative made by the finance ministry.

“It is timely because the government is in the process of accelerating socio-economic development and it is prudent because one of the avenues for attainting socio-economic development targets could be foreign direct investment and therefore such process should be complemented by high quality accounting standards.”

The finance ministry will start implementing the Accounting Standard by next year. Meanwhile, Bhutanese accounting standards for small and medium enterprises was also launched. It will be implemented by 2014.

Currently, there are over 180 registered companies under the Companies Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan 2000.