Accounting
WTO commitments or existing regulations on examination and approval	According to the Provisional Regulations on Management of Sino-foreign Cooperative Certified Public Accountants: 1. The establishment of cooperative certified public accountants is allowed; 2. The cooperative foreign party shall have advanced expertise and good reputation and its annual income shall be no less than US$ 20 million. The number of its audit professionals shall be no less than 200; 3. The cooperative Chinese party shall have high-specialized level and service reputation in domestic audit field and the qualification for being engaged in securities business. Its annual income shall be no less than RMB 10 million and the number of its audit professionals shall be no less than 100.
Commitments under CEPA	1. Hong Kong accountants who have already qualified as Chinese Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and practiced in Mainland (including partnership) are treated on par with Chinese CPAs in respect of the requirement for annual residency in the Mainland. 2. The validity period of the “Temporary Auditing Business Permit” applied by Hong Kong accounting firms to conduct temporary auditing services in the Mainland is extended from the original 6 months to 1 year.
Examination and Approval procedure	1. The Chinese party files an application to provincial financial department. The provincial financial department forwards the application to Chinese C.P.A. Association. After the preliminary examination by Chinese C.P.A. Association, the application is submitted to Ministry of Finance for examination and approval; 2. After the approval by Ministry of Finance, Chinese party applies to Ministry of Commerce for the examination and approval of the contract and articles of association through provincial foreign trade and economic cooperation department and applies for approval certificate.
Special Materials to be Submitted for Examination and Approval	None, except necessary documents and materials.

Editor: Catherine