China’s “15th Five-Year Plan” for Accounting Reform and Development is released

China News Service, Beijing, November 11 (Reporter Zhao Jianhua) China's Ministry of Finance announced the "15th Five-Year Plan for Accounting Reform and Development" on the 11th, proposing tasks such as accounting rule of law, accounting talents, and accounting services.

The main goals set forth in the above plan include: During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the foundation of the accounting rule of law will continue to be consolidated; accounting talent support will be more powerful; the accounting service industry will develop with high quality and efficiency, forming a group of accounting firms with international influence; the role of accounting supervision will be better exerted; the level of accounting intelligence will continue to improve; the contribution of accounting to international governance will be significantly improved; and innovative results will be achieved in the construction of accounting theory.

At a press conference held in Beijing on the 11th, Lin Qiyun, director of the Accounting Department of the Ministry of Finance, introduced that as of the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, there were more than 10,000 accounting firms (including branches) nationwide, and more than 100,000 practicing certified public accountants, providing professional services to 4.2 million enterprises and institutions every year; the number of accounting agencies nationwide exceeded 160,000, with more than 580,000 full-time employees, serving more than 16 million small, medium and micro enterprises. More than 30 Chinese representatives have been successfully elected or re-elected as representatives of more than 20 important international mechanisms in the accounting field, participating in the formulation of relevant international standards in an all-round and multi-level manner.

China's accounting standards for enterprises have continued to maintain international convergence since 2006, and have successively achieved equivalence and mutual recognition of accounting standards with Hong Kong, the European Union, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. They have successfully eliminated the "double audit" of H shares, providing convenience for domestic enterprises to carry out cross-border trade and investment and financing, and overseas institutions to issue bonds in China, and strongly supporting the interconnection of domestic and overseas capital markets such as the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shanghai-London Stock Connect.

International leadership is the direction pursued by China’s accounting industry. Lin Qiyun said that to reach the international leading level, at least the following goals must be achieved: the construction of accounting standards will move from following and running to leading, leading the formulation of international accounting standards in some key areas, and significantly increasing the voice and influence in international accounting governance; from "a country with accounting talents" to "a country with strong accounting talents" The accounting service industry has effectively expanded from the domestic market to the international market; accounting work has moved from informatization and digitization to digital intelligence, and the digital foundations such as electronic vouchers, electronic accounting files, and digital confirmations have become more solid. The application of modern information technologies such as artificial intelligence in accounting work is at the forefront of the world.