Measures for the Administration of Audit on Directors and Senior Management Personnel of Insurance Companies

保险公司董事及高级管理人员审计管理办法

Chapter 1: General Provisions

第一章总则

Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant provisions for the purposes of strengthening the supervision and administration of directors and senior management personnel of insurance companies, encouraging insurance companies to establish and improve the risk prevention mechanism, and standardizing the audit-related work.

第一条为加强保险公司董事及高级管理人员的监督管理,促进保险公司建立健全风险防范机制,规范相关审计工作,根据《中华人民共和国保险法》和其他规定,制定本办法。

Article 2 For the purposes of these Measures, "audit on directors and senior management personnel" shall mean the audit on directors and senior management personnel of insurance companies for the purposes of examining their business management activities during their tenure and evaluating in an objective manner the liabilities they shall bear according to their functions and duties. The audit shall include in-office audits, departure audits, and special audits.

"In-office audits" shall refer to the periodic audits on current directors and senior management personnel performed at prescribed intervals.

"Departure audits" shall refer to the audits on the performance of directors or senior management personnel during their term of office while such directors or senior management personnel will leave office due to reasons such as expiry of term of office, transfer of position, resignation, removal from office, dismissal, or retirement.

"Special audits" shall mean the specific audits on any director or senior management personnel who are likely to be held accountable for the company's involvement in any major irregular act, abnormal financial standing or other irregularities.

第二条本办法所称董事及高级管理人员审计,是指对保险公司董事及高级管理人员在任职期间所进行的经营管理活动进行审计检查,客观评价其依据职责所应承担责任的审计活动。包括任中审计、离任审计和专项审计。

任中审计是指按照规定的间隔期限,对在任董事及高级管理人员进行的阶段性审计。

离任审计是指对因任期届满、工作调动、辞职、免职、撤职、退休等原因离开工作岗位的董事及高级管理人员,对其在本岗位任职期间的职务行为进行的评价性审计。

专项审计是指因公司出现重大违规、财务异常或舞弊等情形,对可能负有责任的董事及高级管理人员进行的特定审计。

Article 3 The audit on directors and senior management personnel of insurance companies shall apply to the following persons:

(1) Chairman of the board of directors and other managing directors;

(2) Members of the management of the headquarters of the company;

(3) General managers, deputy general managers, and assistants to general managers of provincial branches;

(4) General managers of branches or central sub-branches; and

(5) Other persons that hold equivalent positions to the aforesaid persons.

Insurance companies are encouraged to audit in accordance with provisions of these Measures, senior management personnel not covered in the above items or management personnel holding key posts.

第三条保险公司董事及高级管理人员审计对象包括下列人员:

(一)董事长及其他执行董事;

(二)总公司管理层成员;

(三)省级分公司总经理、副总经理、总经理助理;

(四)分公司或中心支公司总经理;

(五)具有与上述人员相同职权的其他人员。

鼓励保险公司按照本办法的规定,对其他高级管理人员或关键岗位管理人员进行审计。

Article 4 The audit on directors and senior management personnel of insurance companies shall mainly include the audit on the performance of the personnel involved on their responsibilities related to the following matters during a specific term and within their respective scope of powers and functions:

(1) Authenticity of the business operation achievements;

(2) Business operation activity compliance; and

(3) Effectiveness of internal control.

In addition to the abovementioned audit contents, insurance companies are encouraged to simultaneously evaluate the personnel involved from the aspects of scientific decision-making and business operation performance.

第四条保险公司董事及高级管理人员审计内容主要包括审计对象在特定期间及职权范围内对以下事项所承担的责任:

(一)经营成果真实性;

(二)经营行为合规性;

(三)内部控制有效性。

鼓励保险公司在完成以上审计内容的同时,对审计对象进行经营决策科学性和经营绩效评价。

Article 5 An insurance company shall, in accordance with the requirements of these Measures, formulate detailed implementing rules for the audit on its directors and senior management personnel, strengthen the planning for audit on directors and senior management personnel, allocate auditing resources in a reasonable manner, and avoid repetitive audits and omissions in audits. 

Insurance companies shall improve the authoritativeness of the audits by linking the auditing results to the performance review, appointment, reward and punishment of directors and senior management personnel.

第五条保险公司应当根据本办法要求，制定本公司董事及高级管理人员审计实施细则，加强董事及高级管理人员审计规划，合理配置审计资源，避免重复审计和审计遗漏。

保险公司应当将审计结果与董事及高级管理人员的考核、任用、奖惩挂钩，提高审计工作的权威性。

Chapter 2: Organization and Implementation of Audits

第二章审计的组织与实施

Article 6 To audit its chairman of the board of directors, general manager, and person in charge of audit, an insurance company shall engage an external audit agency to perform the audit. The audit department of an insurance group company may organize and conduct the audits on the chairman of the board of directors and general managers of its subsidiaries and insurance asset management companies subordinate thereto.

Audits on other senior management personnel shall be organized and performed by the internal audit department of the insurance company or an external audit agency.

An insurance company that has not implemented the system of centralized audit shall determine the specific audit agency and the relevant personnel according to the principle that "persons are to be audited by the department at the next higher level".

第六条对保险公司董事长、总经理和审计责任人进行审计,应当聘请外部审计机构实施。其中,对保险集团公司下属保险子公司和保险资产管理公司董事长和总经理进行审计的,可以由其集团公司审计部门组织实施。

对其他高级管理人员进行审计,由保险公司内部审计部门或外部审计机构组织实施。

未实行审计集中制的保险公司,应当按照下审一级的原则确定具体审计机构和人员。

Article 7 An external audit agency to perform the audit on directors and senior management personnel of an insurance company shall be selected and engaged by the board of directors of the insurance company. The audit committee of the board of directors shall issue written opinions regarding the independence of the external audit agency.

第七条实施保险公司董事及高级管理人员审计的外部审计机构应当由保险公司董事会负责选聘。董事会审计委员会应当对外部审计机构的独立性出具书面意见。

Article 8 An external agency to perform the audit on directors and senior management personnel of an insurance company shall satisfy the following conditions:

(1) Having an adequate number of professionals who have expertise in the insurance business, are familiar with insurance regulatory provisions, and are competent in regarding the auditing;

(2) Having no interest relationship with the personnel subject to the audit;

(3) Having a good reputation and no record of receiving penalties for its business practice during the preceding three years; and

(4) Other conditions prescribed by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

第八条受聘进行保险公司董事及高级管理人员审计的外部审计机构应当具备以下条件:

（一）具备足够数量熟悉保险业务和保险监管规定、胜任该项审计工作的专业人员;

（二）与审计对象没有利害关系;

（三）有良好的职业声誉，最近3年未因执业行为受到处罚;

（四）中国保监会规定的其他条件。

Article 9 An insurance company shall formulate an annual plan for the audit on its directors and senior management personnel during their term of office. Such audit shall be conducted at least once every three years with regard to senior management personnel during their term of office.

A departure audit shall be conducted according to the actual situation and, in principle, the audit shall be conducted before the person leaves office. If there are justifiable reasons for not performing the departure audit before the person concerned leaves office, the audit shall be completed within three months after the departure of the personnel concerned and the auditor's report shall be simultaneously issued. If the departure audit is to be performed by an external audit agency engaged by the insurance company, the aforesaid time limit may be extended to an appropriate extent, not to exceed six months. 

With regard to a special audit, the company may determine the time of audit and time limit according to the actual situations.

第九条保险公司应当制定董事及高级管理人员任中审计年度计划。对高管人员实施任中审计的间隔时间不得超过三年。

离任审计应当根据人员变动情况及时进行，原则上实行先审计后离任的原则。确有理由不能事先审计的，应当在审计对象离任3个月内完成审计并出具审计报告。聘用外部审计机构进行审计的，可适当延长审计时间，但最长不得超过6个月。

专项审计由公司根据实际情况确定审计时间和时限。

Article 10 In the event that a director or senior management personnel of an insurance company involves circumstances where a departure audit is deemed necessary while it is within three months upon the completion of the on-site examination part of the in-office audit, it no longer requires a separate departure audit.

During an audit on a director or senior management personnel of an insurance company, where certain items have already been audited in other audits, the auditing conclusions thereof may in principle be used as a reference. Such items do not need to be audited again, unless there are clues showing that the said other audits might be erroneous.

第十条保险公司董事及高级管理人员在任中审计现场部分结束后3个月内出现需要进行离任审计情形的，可以不再单独组织实施离任审计。

对保险公司董事及高级管理人员进行审计时，其他审计项目已经审计过的内容，原则上可以借鉴其审计结论，不再重复审计，但有线索表明原有审计工作可能存在瑕疵的除外。

Chapter 3: Auditor's Reports

第三章审计报告

Article 11 Upon completion of an audit, the audit agency shall issue an auditor's report on the concerned director or senior management personnel. The auditor's report shall include the following:

(1) Audit basis, personnel subject to the audit and the scope of their duties and responsibilities, and the auditors;

(2) Scope, content, and method of the audit; and

(3) Auditing result, which mainly refers to the problems identified during the audit and the determination of liabilities. 

Before an audit agency issues an auditor's report, it shall seek opinions from the personnel subject to the audit. The feedback opinions of the said personnel shall constitute the attachment to the auditor's report.

The audit agency shall be responsible for the authenticity, lawfulness, and objectivity of the auditor's report.

第十一条审计结束后，审计机构应当出具董事及高级管理人员审计报告。审计报告包括以下内容:

（一）审计依据、审计对象及其职责范围、审计人员;

（二）审计的范围、内容、方法;

（三）审计结果，主要指审计发现的问题及责任界定。

审计机构出具审计报告之前，应当征求审计对象的意见。审计对象的反馈意见作为审计报告的附件。

审计机构应当对审计报告的真实性、合法性和客观性负责。

Article 12 The auditor's report on the directors and senior management personnel of an insurance company shall distinguish between direct liabilities and leadership liabilities of the persons subject to the audit.

Direct liabilities shall refer to the liabilities that shall be borne by a person subject to the audit for any of the following acts occurring within his scope of powers:

(1) Directly committing any act violating the laws, regulations, or regulatory provisions of the State, or the internal management rules of the insurance company;

(2) Forcing, instructing, inciting, or indulging his subordinates to commit the aforesaid acts or covering up such acts for them;

(3) Neglecting his duties; and

(4) Other direct illegal or irregular acts.

Leadership liabilities shall refer to the management liabilities other than direct liabilities to be borne by the person subject to the audit within his scope of powers.

第十二条保险公司董事及高级管理人员审计报告应当区分审计对象的直接责任和领导责任。

直接责任是指审计对象对其职权范围内发生下列行为时应承担的责任:

（一）直接实施违反国家法律法规、监管规定及保险公司内部管理规定行为的;

（二）强令、指使、授意、纵容、包庇下属人员实施上述行为的;

（三）失职、渎职的;

（四）其他直接违法违规行为。

领导责任是指审计对象在其任期内对其职权范围内负有直接责任以外的管理责任。

Article 13The auditor's report on the chairman of the board of directors or a member of the management of the headquarters of a company shall be submitted to the board of directors according to the prescribed procedures and time limit, and meanwhile, to the board of supervisors. An auditor's report shall be reported to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission within 20 days after being deliberated by the board of directors.

The auditor's report on other senior management personnel shall be reported to the local insurance regulatory bureau according to the procedures and time limit prescribed in the Notice of China Insurance Regulatory Commission on the Issues Concerning Submission of Internal Audit Reports of Insurance Companies' Branches to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission's Dispatched Offices (Bao Jian Fa [2008] No. 56).

第十三条对总公司董事长和管理层成员的审计报告，应当按照规定程序和时限提交公司董事会，并同时提交监事会。审计报告经董事会审议后，在20个工作日内报中国保监会。

其他高级管理人员审计报告应当按照《关于向保监会派出机构报送保险公司分支机构内部审计报告有关事项的通知》（保监发〔2008〕56号）规定的程序和时限报所在地保监局。

Article 14 An insurance company shall include the auditor's reports in the personnel records of the directors and management personnel subject to the audit, and such auditor's reports shall serve as an important basis for the performance review, appointment, reward and punishment.

With regard to the problems identified during the audit, the insurance company concerned shall subject the relevant responsible persons to liabilities pursuant to the specified procedures, and organize rectifications in a timely manner.

第十四条保险公司应当将董事及高级管理人员审计报告列入审计对象的人事信息管理，作为对其考核、任用、奖惩的重要依据。

对审计发现的问题，保险公司应当按规定程序追究相关责任人的责任，及时组织整改。

Article 15 The China Insurance Regulatory Commission and its local offices shall archive the auditor's reports on the directors and senior management personnel of insurance companies into the senior management personnel information system. 

In the process of the examination of the eligibility of a director or senior management personnel of an insurance company, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission or any of its local offices may require the insurance company with which the person concerned previously worked, to submit the last departure report on him, and may also take reference to the audit conclusions in the auditor's reports during his previous terms of office.

第十五条中国保监会及其派出机构应当将保险公司董事及高级管理人员审计报告纳入高级管理人员信息系统进行归档管理。

中国保监会及其派出机构在董事及高级管理人员任职资格审查时，可以要求其原任职保险公司提交最近任职岗位的离任报告，也可以参考其过往任职期间审计报告的审计结论。

Chapter 4: Legal Liabilities

第四章 法律责任

Article 16 An insurance company, an external audit agency, or the relevant personnel shall not commit any of the following acts during the audit on any director or senior management personnel:

(1) The insurance company fails to audit its directors or senior management personnel or fails to submit the auditor's report to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission or the relevant local office in accordance with the scope, time limit, and requirements specified in these Measures;

(2) The auditor's report and relevant materials submitted by the insurance companies to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission or its local offices contain false statements, or intentionally omit or conceal the problems that have been identified in the audit;

(3) When the China Insurance Regulatory Commission or its local office examines the eligibility of a senior executive and requires the insurance company with which he previously worked to submit the departure auditor's report on him, while the said insurance company fails to do so within the specified time limit or has submitted a false report;

(4) During the audit, the auditors' intentional or material negligence results in the failure to identify the major liabilities of the personnel subject to the audit, or the auditors intentionally conceal the problems they have discovered; or

(5) The personnel subject to the audit or the insurance institution with which the concerned personnel works rejects or interferes with the audit, or transfers, conceals, forges, or destroys materials or certification materials required for the audit, or retaliates or takes revenge against the auditors, informants, witnesses, or the material providers.

Where an insurance company or the relevant person has committed any of the aforesaid acts, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission or its local offices shall impose penalties in accordance with Articles 171 and 173 of the Insurance Law and other regulatory provisions.

Where an external audit agency falls under the circumstance prescribed in Item (4) of the preceding paragraph, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and its local office may notify the competent department of such external audit agency of its illegal or irregular acts, announce the name of the audit agency within the industry, forbid insurance companies to engage the said audit agency to do any audit-related work.

第十六条保险公司、外部审计机构及相关人员在进行董事及高级管理人员审计过程中，不得有下列行为:

（一）保险公司未按照本办法规定的范围、时限和要求，对保险公司董事及高级管理人员进行审计，并向中国保监会或其派出机构提交审计报告;

（二）保险公司向中国保监会或其派出机构报送的审计报告及相关材料存在虚假陈述，或者故意隐瞒或遗漏审计发现问题;

（三）中国保监会或其派出机构在任职资格审查时，要求被审查高管人员的原任职保险公司提交离任审计报告，原任职保险公司未按期提交或提交虚假报告;

（四）审计人员在审计过程中，因故意或重大过失，导致审计对象的重大责任未被发现，或者故意隐瞒审计发现的问题;

（五）审计对象及其所在保险机构拒绝、阻碍审计，或者转移、隐匿、伪造、毁弃审计所需的资料或者证明材料，或者打击报复审计工作人员、检举人、证明人或者资料提供人。

保险公司及相关人员发生上述行为之一的，由中国保监会或其派出机构依照《保险法》第一百七十一条、第一百七十三条及其它监管规定予以处罚。

外部审计机构发生前款第（四）项所列情形的，中国保监会或其派出机构可以向其主管部门予以通报，并在行业内公布该审计机构名称，其他保险公司不得委托该审计机构实施审计。

Article 17 With regard to any problem revealed in the auditor's report, or where it is believed that an auditor's report submitted by an insurance company fails to truthfully reflect the problems of the personnel subject to the audit, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission or its local office may look into the relevant problems in the following ways:

(1) Requiring the audit agency to make explanations;

(2) Hearing the statements from the personnel subject to the audit;

(3) Entrusting a verification audit to an external audit agency with the audit-related expenses borne by the insurance company concerned; and

(4) Initiating a case for investigation.

第十七条对于审计报告揭示的违反监管规定的问题，或者认为保险公司提交的审计报告未真实反映被审计对象问题的，中国保监会或其派出机构可以采取以下方式予以查明:

（一）要求审计机构进行说明;

（二）听取审计对象的陈述;

（三）委托外部审计机构进行复核审计，审计费用由保险公司承担;

（四）立案调查。

Article 18 With regard to violations of regulatory provisions revealed in the auditor's report, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and its local offices may, after investigation and evidence collection, adopt the following ways in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law on Administrative Penalty:

(1) Where the irregular act is minor, which has not resulted in any damage, no penalty shall be imposed;

(2) Where the insurance company has made rectifications in a timely manner and has properly handled the case, takes the initiative to eliminate or mitigate the damaging consequences of the irregular acts, a lighter or mitigated penalty may be imposed;

(3) If the party has performed meritorious deeds when working in coordination with the regulatory authority to investigate the irregular acts, a lighter or mitigated penalty may be imposed; and

(4) Where the party fails to pursue the liabilities or fails to diligently organize rectifications with regard to any issue discovered during the audit, a heavier penalty may be imposed in accordance with the law.

第十八条对于审计报告揭示的违反监管规定的问题，中国保监会及其派出机构可以在调查取证后，依照《行政处罚法》的相关规定，采取以下方式处理:

（一）违规行为较轻，没有造成危害的，免于处罚;

（二）保险公司整改及时，处理到位，主动消除或者减轻违规行为危害后果的，可酌情减轻或免于处罚;

（三）配合监管机构查处违规行为有立功表现的，从轻或者减轻处罚;

（四）对审计发现问题不追究责任或不认真组织整改的，依法从重处罚。

Chapter 5: Supplementary Provisions

第五章附则

Article 19 These Measures shall apply to insurance group companies and insurance asset management companies.

These Measures shall also apply to branches of foreign insurance companies, except for the provisions regarding the board of directors or the chairman of the board of directors.

第十九条保险集团公司和保险资产管理公司适用本办法。

外国保险公司分公司适用本办法，但涉及董事会或董事长的有关规定除外。

Article 20 These Measures shall become effective from January 1, 2011.

第二十条本办法自2011年1月1日起施行。