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REGULATIONS FOR CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

Category  FINANCE Organ of Promulgation  The State Council Status of Effect  Invalidated
Date of Promulgation  1986-07-03 Effective Date  1986-10-01 Date of Invalidation  1994-01-01

Regulations of the People's Republic of China for Certified Public Accountants



Chapter I  General Provisions
Chapter II Examination and Registration
Chapter III  Scope of Services
Chapter IV  Rules for Practice
Chapter V  The Accounting Firm
Chapter VI  Supplementary Provisions

(Promulgated by the State Council on July 3, 1986) (Editor's Note: These

Regulations have been annulled by Law of the People's Republic of China for
Certified Public Accountants promulgated on October 31, 1993 and effective
as of January 1, 1994)
Chapter I  General Provisions

    Article 1  These Regulations are formulated, in accordance with the
provisions of Article 5 and Article 20 of the Accounting Law of the People's
Republic of China, in order to reinforce the regulation of certified public
accountants, and to bring into play the role of the certified public
accountants in social economic activities.

    Article 2  Public accountants are persons approved by the State to
practise certified accounting, auditing and consultancy.

    Certified public accountants shall conduct their practices independently
according to the law, and shall be protected by the law of the State.

    Article 3  The working unit of certified public accountants is the
accounting firm. A certified public accountant must be with a accounting firm
before accepting an engagement to render services as precribed by the law and
regulations for certified public accountants.

    Article 4  At the national level, the regulatory authority for certified
public accountants and accounting firms is the Ministry of Finance. At the
local level, the regulatory authority for certified public accountants and
accounting firms is the finance departments (bureaus) of provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

    Article 5  Certified public accountants may establish the association of
certified public accountants to protect their legitimate professional rights
and interests and to exchange working experience and enhance the association
between Chinese certified public accountants and their foreign counterparts.
Chapter II Examination and Registration

    Article 6  The candidate applying for the permission to take the
qualification examination for certified public accountants must be a Chinese
citizen who loves the People's Republic of China and supports the socialist
system. The candidate must be a college graduate or a person with an
equivalent academic education, and has working experience in the accounting or
auditing field for more than 3 years.

    The following applicants applying for registration as a certified public
accountant, if they are satisfied with the qualification evaluation, may be
waived from examination:

    (1) senior accountants; (2) accounting professors, associate professors,
research fellows, or associate research fellows who have practical accounting
experience; and (3) those with a college or equivalent education who have
worked in the financial or accounting field for more than 20 years and possess
professional accounting expertise.

    Article 7  The qualification evaluation and examination of certified
public accountants shall be directed, organized and supervised on a uniform
basis by a national examination committee approved by the Ministry of Finance.
And the concrete work of such qualification evaluation and examination shall
be conducted by the examination committees which are formed with the approval
of the finance departments (bureaus) at provincial level.

    The specific procedures for qualification evaluation and examination
shall be formulated by the Ministry of Finance.

    Article 8  With respect to those candidates who have been satisfied with
the qualification evaluation or who have passed the examination, the
accounting firm that the aforesaid candidates intend to join shall submit the
registration application to the Ministry of Finance or to the finance
departments (bureaus) at the provincial level for approval. Certified public
accountants approved by the finance departments (bureaus) at the provincial
level shall be reported to the Ministry of Finance for the record; in the
event that the Ministry of Finance has discovered that the approval is not
proper, it shall notify the finance departments (bureaus) which have made
the approval for reexamination.

    The Ministry of Finance shall uniformly make and issue the certificates
for those certified public accountants who have obtained approval for
registration.

    Article 9  Where a certified public accountant leaves the accounting firm
he worked with, the accounting firm shall submit the case to the competent
finance department for approval and return his certified public accountant
certificate for cancellation; if the said accountant requests to resume his
duties as certified public accountant, he should renew his application for the
registration in accordance with the regulations.

    Article 10  No staff currently working in government agencies may be
registered to practise as a certified public accountant.
Chapter III  Scope of Services

    Article 11  Certified public accountants shall render the following
accounting and auditing services:

    (1) auditing accounting records, accounting statements and other financial
data, and issuing auditing reports;

    (2) verifying the paid-in capital of enterprises, and issuing capital
verification reports;

    (3) participating in the handling of liquidation affairs related to the
dissolution or bankruptcy of enterprises;

    (4) participating in the conciliation of economic disputes, and assisting
in verifying evidences in economic cases; and

    (5) other matters related to accounting and auditing.

    Article 12  Certified public accountants shall render the following
accounting consultancy services:

    (1) designing financial and accounting systems, servicing as accounting
consultants, and providing consultancy services in accounting, finance, tax,
and economic management;

    (2) acting as agent for preparing and filing tax returns;

    (3) acting as agent for applying for registration, and assisting in
drafting contracts, articles of association and other commercial documents;

    (4) training financial and accounting personnel; and

    (5) other accounting consultancy services.

    Article 13  Government agencies, enterprises, institutions, and
individuals may entrust certified public accountants to conduct the services
listed in Article 11 and Article 12 of these Regulations.

    When entrusting certified public accountants to provide services, the
clients shall pay fees accordingly.

    Article 14  When accepting an entrustment from government agencies, the
certified public accountants entrusted shall, in light of the circumstances
of service, have the right to consult relevant financial and accounting data
and documents, inspect the sites and facilities of the business, and make
investigations and verifications by inquiring related units and individuals.

     Where other clients entrust a certified public accountant to provide
services, and there is a need to consult the relevant data and documents and
carry out investigations, the matter shall be handled according to the
agreement contained in the letter of attorney executed in accordance with
the law.
Chapter IV  Rules for Practice

    Article 15  In performing professional work, certified public accountants
shall abide by the laws and administrative regulations of the State, and
practise according to the relevant agreements, contracts, and articles of
association.

    Article 16  Certified public accountants shall scrupulously observe the
principles of fairness, objectivity, and seeking truth from facts, and be
responsible for the correctness and the legality of the contents in the
reports they issued.

    Article 17  Where a certified public accountant has interested connections
with a client or with other parties concerned, he shall declare the situation
to the accounting firm and evade the case. A client or other parties concerned
shall have the right to ask for such evasion.

    Article 18  A certified public accountant shall strictly keep the
confidentiality of all data and information obtained or known in the course
of practice.

    Article 19  A certified public accountant shall indicate the case in the
report issued when he finds, in the course of practice, fabrication of
information, fraud for personal gain, or other violation of the laws and
administrative regulations of the State; the certified public accountant
shall reject any motion of his client to give false or improper testimony.

    Article 20  In case that a certified public accountant violates the rules
for practice and gives rise to harmful results, the accounting firm shall
faithfully report the case to the competent finance department, which shall
impose one of the following penalties in the light of the seriousness of
the case:

    (1) warning;

    (2) imposing a fine;

    (3) ceasing practice temporarily;

    (4) revoking the certified public accountant certificate.

    In case that a certified public accountant has violated the Criminal Law
and has constituted a crime, the violator shall be penalized by the judicial
organs according to the law.

    Article 21  In case that a certified public accountant has been found
unqualified for the office, the finance department that originally approved
the registration shall cancel the registration, revoke the certified public
accountant certificate, and report the case to the Ministry of Finance for the
record.
Chapter V  The Accounting Firm

    Article 22  The accounting firm is an institution, established with the
approval given by the State, to engage in independently the services of the
certified public accountants in accordance with the law. The accounting firm
shall be responsible for its own income and expenditure, make an independent
accounting and pay taxes according to the law.

    Article 23  The establishment of an accounting firm shall, in accordance
with the relevant provisions, be submitted to the Ministry of Finance, or to
the finance departments (bureaus) at the provincial level, for examination
and approval. The finance departments (bureaus) at the provincial level that
give approval to the establishment of a accounting firm shall report the
firm's name, the articles of association of the firm, and the name of the
person in charge of the firm to the Ministry of Finance for the record.

    The accounting firm, which has been established with approval, shall, in
accordance with the relevant provisions, go through the registration
procedures with the local administrative department for industry and
commerce, and commence its business operations only after obtaining the
business licence.

    Article 24  Entrustments for providing services by certified public
accountants shall be accepted by the accounting firm on a uniform basis.
The reports issued by a certified public accountant shall be signed by the
accountant and be affixed with the official seal of the accounting firm.

    The accounting firm may accept trans-regional entrustments for providing
services.

    Article 25  The service charges for services rendered by certified public
accountants shall be collected by the accounting firm on a uniform basis.
The standards for the service charges shall be set jointly by the finance
departments (bureaus) at the provincial level in conjunction with other
relevant departments at the same level, and shall be submitted to the Ministry
of Finance for the record.

    Article 26  The Ministry of Finance and the finance departments
(bureaus) at the provincial level shall be responsible for supervising the
business operations of the accounting firms. The accounting firm shall report
periodically to the competent finance department on matters such as its
business developments, income and expenditure, and personnel changes.

    Article 27  In cases that a accounting firm has violated the provisions
of these Regulations, the competent finance department may, in the light
of the seriousness of the case, impose penalties ranging from a warning, a
fine, cease of practice for rectification, to an order to disband the said
accounting firm.

    Article 28  In the course of auditing accounts, with respect to the
client's financial receipts and payments incurred abroad, the accounting firm
may reentrust the case with a foreign accounting firm which has established a
resident representative office in China to conduct auditing on the spot and to
present a relevant testimony.
Chapter VI  Supplementary Provisions

    Article 29  The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for the
interpretation of these Regulations; the measures for the implementation shall
be formulated by the Ministry of Finance.

    Article 30  These Regulations shall become effective as of October 1, 1986.



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