The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Professional Ethical Code of Chinese Certified Public Accountants Guiding Opinion

Issued: June 25 2002
Effective: July 1 2002

Main contents: The main parts of the Opinion include requirements concerning independence, professional competence, confidentiality obligations, fees and commissions, works inconsistent with attest engagements, taking over the audit engagement of a predecessor certified public accountant, advertising, soliciting and promotion. In the Opinion, circumstances that may impair independence and measures that may be adopted to maintain independence are listed (Articles 9 to 14). A certified public accountant's confidentiality obligation to a client survives the termination of his/her engagement with the client (Article 22). Unless permitted by law, an accounting firm shall not charge contingent fees for attestation services (Article 31). An accounting firm shall not provide compilation services and audit services to the same listed company at the same time (Article 36). Senior officers of an accounting firm shall not serve concurrently on the board of or hold a crucial managerial position in an attest client (Article 37). Where a certified public accountant takes over the audit work of a predecessor accountant, the successor accountant shall request the client to authorize the predecessor accountant to give full response to the inquiries of the successor accountant. If the client refuses such authorization or restricts the scope of the responses of the predecessor accountant, the engagement should be reconsidered (Article 40). Acts that certified public accountants and accounting firms shall not do in advertising, soliciting and promoting business are listed (Articles 46 to 48).
Related legislation: PRC, Registered Accountant Law, Oct 31 1993, CLP 1993 No.10 p4 and PRC, Professional Ethics of Registered Accountants Basic Standards