Member of top political advisory body says institutes should be set up to pool information and serve companies expanding offshore
Centres could help firms reduce the risk of investing overseas, proponent says
A member of China’s top political advisory body has called on Beijing to set up institutes in the Greater Bay Area for international accounting and to help Chinese companies expanding abroad.
Gong Yongde, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said the Greater Bay Area, a vast economic zone encompassing Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province, should set up the institutes to pool information.
“If most mainland enterprises choose to set up ‘going global’ headquarters in the Greater Bay Area, a large amount of overseas information and practical experience will be gathered in the area,” the state-run National Business Daily quoted Gong as saying on Friday.
“The interconnection of information and experience will help the enterprises avoid detours and reduce the risks in overseas investment.”
Gong, who is also the former vice-president of KPMG China, said many companies that failed to expand and invest overseas did so because they did not have enough research-based information.
Gong suggested China strengthen professional training of high-end accounting personnel and set up an international accounting institute in the Greater Bay Area for Chinese businesses expanding offshore.
Gong’s advice came on the eve of the annual CPPCC session.
It also comes as China has reportedly asked state-owned enterprises to stop using the world’s four biggest accounting firms – Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young and KPMG – as part of its effort to counter the influence of Western auditors amid heightened tensions with the United States and national security concerns.
The Big Four accounting firms earned 20.6 billion yuan (US$2.99 billion) in revenue from Chinese clients in 2021, Bloomberg reported, citing data from China’s Ministry of Finance.
China has three national accounting institutes – one each in Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen in Fujian province.
The institutes, administered by the Ministry of Finance, were established over the past two decades to provide professional, standardised and modern education on accounting, auditing and finance.
Gong said that once established, a Greater Bay Area international accounting institute could fill the gap in local training for high-end accounting and accelerate the development of professionals needed for overseas expansion.
According to a national plan released by the State Council in December 2021, the Greater Bay Area has been selected as a proposed site for such a training centre.
The report noted that as of 2020 China had nearly 400,000 certified public accountants as well as millions of other professionals with varying levels of accounting qualifications.
“The institute could use the latest information obtained from the ‘going global’ headquarters, as well as their success and failure experience, to expand students’ international knowledge and risk management and control capabilities, and serve enterprises,” Gong said.
