China's finance ministry imposes first-ever restrictions on overseas accounting firm

BEIJING -- The Ministry of Finance on Friday announced its decision to impose penalties on one accountant and an overseas accounting firm over business violations.

The ministry will levy an administrative penalty of 30,000 yuan (about $4,203) on Zhang Yunhe, a mainland-registered accountant, who was found to be engaging in cross-border auditing services without the necessary authorization.

The ministry also found that Elite Partners CPA Limited, a Hong Kong-registered accounting firm, had violated regulations by undertaking 2021 financial statement audits for five mainland companies listed in Hong Kong without reporting to relevant provincial-level financial authorities as required.

The accounting firm will be prohibited from providing overseas auditing services to mainland enterprises for a period of five years, starting from the date of the announcement, according to the ministry.

This is the first time the ministry has imposed regulatory measures on an overseas accounting firm over violations.

The ministry has pledged greater efforts to strengthen supervision over cross-border auditing services and enhance global cooperation to improve the quality of audits.