Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Finance and the General Office of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission on Soliciting Public Opinions for the "Interim Measures on Professional Liability Insurance for Accounting Firms (Draft for Comments)"

财政部办公厅、中国保险监督管理委员会办公厅关于就《会计师事务所职业责任保险暂行办法（征求意见稿）》公开征求意见的通知

Promulgating Institution: General Office of the Ministry of Finance; General Office of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission

Document Number: Cai Ban Hui [2014] NO. 36

Promulgating Date: 11/17/2014

颁布机关: 财政部办公厅; 中国保险监督管理委员会办公厅

文   号: 财办会[2014]36号

颁布时间: 11/17/2014

To the finance departments (bureaus) of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Finance Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, and all bureaus of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission,

  各省、自治区、直辖市财政厅（局），深圳市财政委员会，各保监局:

With a view to enhancing the professional liability risk awareness of accounting firms, standardizing the purchase of professional liability insurance by accounting firms, improving the ability of accounting firms to indemnify professional liability, and promoting the sustainable development of accounting firms, the Department of Accounting of the Ministry of Finance ("MOF") has, in conjunction with the Property Insurance Regulatory Department of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission ("CIRC"), drafted the Interim Measures on Professional Liability Insurance for Accounting Firms (Draft for Comments) (see Appendix). Please solicit opinions from relevant entities, and provide the Department of Accounting of the MOF with feedback by December 20, 2014.

  为增强会计师事务所职业责任风险意识，规范会计师事务所投保职业责任保险行为，提高会计师事务所职业责任赔偿能力，促进会计师事务所可持续发展，财政部会计司会同保监会财产保险监管部起草了《会计师事务所职业责任保险暂行办法（征求意见稿）》（见附件）。请组织征求相关单位意见，并于2014年12月20日之前将意见反馈至财政部会计司。

The full text of the Draft for Comments can be downloaded from MOF's website at http://kjs.mof.gov.cn/.

  征求意见稿全文可在财政部网站下载。财政部的下载地址为http://kjs.mof.gov.cn/。

Contact persons from the Department of Accounting of the MOF: Qiu Ying Han Bing

  财政部会计司联系人：邱颖韩冰

Tel: 010-68552535, 68553012 (fax)

  联系电话：010-68552535 68553012（传真）

Correspondence address: Division of Certified Public Accountants of the Department of Accounting of the MOF, at No. 3 Nansanxiang, Sanlihe, Xicheng District, Beijing

  通信地址：北京市西城区三里河南三巷3号财政部会计司注册会计师处

E-mail address: qiuying@mof.gov.cn

  电子邮箱：qiuying@mof.gov.cn

Contact persons from the Property Insurance Regulatory Department of the CIRC: Jiang Bo Cao Haijing

  保监会财产保险监管部联系人：蒋波 曹海菁

Tel: 010-66288039

  联系电话：010-66288039

Correspondence address: No. 15 Financial Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

  通信地址：北京市西城区金融大街15号

E-mail address: bo_jiang_03@circ.gov.cn.

  电子邮箱：bo_jiang_03@circ.gov.cn

General Office of the Ministry of Finance

  财政部办公厅

General Office of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission

  保监会办公厅

November 17, 2014

  2014年11月17日

Interim Measures on Professional Liability Insurance for Accounting Firms (Draft for Comments)

  会计师事务所职业责任保险暂行办法（征求意见稿）

 Article 1   [Legislative intent and bases] With a view to standardizing the purchase of professional liability insurance by accounting firms, improving the ability of accounting firms to indemnify professional liability, and promoting the sustainable development of accounting firms, these Measures are formulated pursuant to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Certified Public Accountants, the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations.

    第一条 【宗旨和依据】为了规范会计师事务所投保职业责任保险行为，提高会计师事务所职业责任赔偿能力，促进会计师事务所可持续发展，根据《中华人民共和国注册会计师法》、《中华人民共和国保险法》和其他有关法律法规，制定本办法。

 Article 2   [Definition] For the purpose of these Measures, professional liability insurance for accounting firms (hereinafter referred to as the "Professional Liability Insurance") shall refer to the insurance where the subject matters insured are the indemnity liabilities that shall be borne by accounting firms towards stakeholders pursuant to the law as a result of their professional services.

    第二条 【定义】本办法所称会计师事务所职业责任保险（以下简称职业责任保险），是指以会计师事务所因其专业服务对利益相关方依法应当承担的赔偿责任为保险标的的保险。

 Article 3   [Parties governed by these Measures] Accounting firms purchasing Professional Liability Insurance and insurance institutions underwriting Professional Liability Insurance (hereinafter referred to as the "Insurance Institution") shall comply with these Measures.

    第三条 【规范对象】投保职业责任保险的会计师事务所和承保职业责任保险的保险机构（以下简称保险机构），应当遵守本办法。

 Article 4   [Insurance purchasers] Accounting firms duly established within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall purchase Professional Liability Insurance in accordance with these Measures, unless otherwise prescribed by laws and administrative regulations.

    第四条 【投保主体】在中华人民共和国境内依法设立的会计师事务所应当按照本办法的规定，投保职业责任保险。法律、行政法规另有规定的除外。

As regards the Professional Liability Insurance for the branches of an accounting firm, the head office of the accounting firm shall formulate unified insurance policies and handle insurance business in a uniform manner.

  会计师事务所分所的职业责任保险，由会计师事务所总所统一制定保险政策，统一办理保险业务。

 Article 5   [Minimum amount insured] The minimum cumulative insured amount of an accounting firm shall be the higher amount calculated according to the following two methods:

    第五条 【最低保险金额】会计师事务所的最低累计保险金额按以下两种方式计算得出的最高额为准：

(1) 10% of the audit business income of the accounting firm in the past year; or

  （1）会计师事务所最近一个年度审计业务收入的10%；

(2) The product of RMB 500,000 and the number of partners (shareholders) of the accounting firm (counted as at the time of insurance purchase). If the accounting firm engages in the audit of listed companies, financial enterprises or key large and medium-sized State-owned enterprises and other high-risk audit business, the product of RMB one million and the number of its partners (shareholders) shall apply.

  （2）50万元人民币与合伙人（股东）人数的乘积（以投保时的人数计算）。从事上市公司、金融企业、国有重点大中型企业审计业务和其他高风险审计业务的会计师事务所，按100万元人民币与合伙人（股东）人数的乘积计算。

 Article 6   [Insurance contract] A contract on Professional Liability Insurance shall cover the following items, in addition to being in compliance with the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China:

    第六条 【保险合同】职业责任保险合同内容除应当符合《中华人民共和国保险法》的规定外，还应当包含下列各事项：

(1) That insurance coverage shall include the losses caused by the unintentional acts and gross negligence of the policyholder, the insured or the certified public accountants ("CPA") thereof during practicing activities;

  （一）保险责任包含投保人、被保险人或其注册会计师执业活动中因非故意行为及重大过失造成的损失；

(2) That insurance coverage shall include litigation costs, lawyers' fees and other legal costs;

  （二）保险责任包含诉讼费、律师费等法律费用；

(3) That the period of insurance shall not be less than one year;

  （三）保险期间不得少于一年；

(4) That there shall be a retroactive period of at least ten years for the purpose of indemnifying claims that may arise due to practicing activities conducted prior to the purchase of Professional Liability Insurance; and

  （四）不少于十年的追溯期，用以支付投保职业责任保险之前的执业行为可能发生的索赔；

(5) That there shall be a post-insurance period of at least ten years for the purpose of indemnifying claims that may arise after the accounting firm is terminated or cancelled, or has its practicing qualifications withdrawn.

  （五）不少于十年的期后保险期间，用以支付会计师事务所终止或被撤销、撤回执业资格之后可能发生的索赔。

 Article 7   [Change of an insurance contract after division or merger] Changes in the insurance contract held by an accounting firm that arise due to merger or division shall be determined by the accounting firm and the relevant Insurance Institution upon consultation pursuant to the law.

    第七条 【分立、合并后保险合同的变更】会计师事务所合并、分立而发生的保险合同变更，由会计师事务所和保险机构依法协商确定。

 Article 8   [Relevant obligations of contractual parties] When applying for insurance, an accounting firm shall provide necessary information and materials for the Insurance Institution concerned, and truthfully inform the latter of its operations and risk profile.

    第八条 【合同方相关义务】会计师事务所在投保时应当向保险机构提供必要的信息资料，如实告知经营情况和风险情况。

The Insurance Institution shall establish a floating premium rate mechanism to adjust the floating premiums payable by the accounting firm based on its risk profile and indemnity history, so as to promote the accounting firm to strengthen risk management. The Insurance Institution shall fulfill obligations under the insurance contract strictly as required, and shall not commit acts detrimental to the legitimate rights and interests of the other party to the contract, such as malicious delay in payment of indemnity, unwillingness of claims settlement, refusal to pay indemnity without justification, etc.

  保险机构应当建立费率浮动机制，根据会计师事务所风险情况及历史赔付记录进行保费浮动调整，促进事务所加强风险管理。保险机构应当严格履行保险合同义务，不得出现恶意拖赔、惜赔、无理拒赔等损害相对人合法权益的行为。

 Article 9   [Dispute resolution] Disputes, if any, between an accounting firm and an Insurance Institution over the relevant contract on Professional Liability Insurance shall be handled according to the dispute resolution methods prescribed by the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations.

    第九条 【争议处理】会计师事务所和保险机构就职业责任保险合同发生争议的，按照《中华人民共和国合同法》等有关法律法规规定的争议解决方式处理。

Provincial finance departments and CPA institutes may, in conjunction with provincial insurance regulatory authorities and insurance industry associations, organize and set up expert appraisal committees for Professional Liability Insurance to provide expert appraisal opinions on the disputes that may arise from the performance of insurance contracts. Such opinions may serve as reference to judicial organs or the parties concerned.

  省级财政部门、注册会计师协会可以会同省级保险监督管理部门、保险行业协会组织成立职业责任保险专家鉴定委员会，对履行保险合同可能产生的争议提供专家鉴定意见，供司法机关或有关方面参考。

 Article 10   [Record-filing of insurance policies] An accounting firm shall, by May 31 of each year, submit the photocopies of its Professional Liability Insurance policy to the provincial finance department and the provincial CPA institute to which it belongs for record-filing.

    第十条 【保单报备】会计师事务所应当在每年5月31日之前将职业责任保险保单复印件报所属省级财政部门和省级注册会计师协会备案。

 Article 11   [Regulatory departments] Finance departments and insurance regulatory authorities at and above the provincial level shall, respectively, supervise and inspect the handling of Professional Liability Insurance by accounting firms and Insurance Institutions.

    第十一条 【监管部门】省级以上财政部门和保险监督管理部门分别对会计师事务所和保险机构办理职业责任保险的情况进行监督检查。

 Article 12   [Penalty provisions] An accounting firm in violation of these Measures shall be ordered by the relevant finance department at or above the provincial level to make correction within the prescribed time period. If the accounting firm fails to correct by the prescribed deadline, the said finance department shall list the accounting firm as a key regulatory target, make an announcement thereon, and request the clients of its audit business, other stakeholders and the general public to pay attention to the ability of the accounting firm to indemnify its professional liability.

    第十二条 【罚则】会计师事务所违反本办法规定的，由省级以上财政部门责令限期改正，逾期未改正的，列为重点监管对象并予以公告，提请审计业务委托方、其他利益相关方和社会公众关注该会计师事务所的职业责任赔偿能力。

An Insurance Institution in violation of these Measures shall be ordered by the relevant insurance regulatory authority at or above the provincial level to make correction within the prescribed time period. If the Insurance Institution fails to correct by the prescribed deadline, the said insurance regulatory authority shall make an announcement thereon, and shall take appropriate handling or punishment measures pursuant to the law if the circumstances are grave.

  保险机构违反本办法规定的，由省级以上保险监督管理部门责令限期改正，逾期未改正的，予以公告；情节严重的，依法作出相应处理处罚。

 Article 13   [Effective date] These Measures shall come into effect on MM DD, YY.

    第十三条 【施行日期】本办法自  年 月 日起施行。

 Article 14   [Deduction methods during the transition period] An accounting firm is encouraged to complete the transition from the accrual of professional risk funds to the purchase of Professional Liability Insurance as soon as possible with effect from the implementation hereof. During the transition period, the premiums paid by the accounting firm for Professional Liability Insurance may be use to offset the professional risk funds it shall accrue in the given year pursuant to relevant provisions. If the deductible amount is larger than or equals to the amount of professional risk funds that shall be accrued in the given year, the accounting firm is not required to accrue professional risk funds in the very year. If the deductible amount is less than the amount of professional risk funds that shall be accrued in the given year, the accounting firm shall accrue professional risk funds in the very year according to the balance. The amount of professional risk funds already accrued shall be handled pursuant to relevant laws and regulations, as well as the partnership agreement or articles of association of the accounting firm.

    第十四条 【过渡期内的抵扣方法】鼓励会计师事务所自本办法施行之日起尽快完成由提取职业风险基金向投保职业责任保险的过渡。在过渡期内，会计师事务所投保职业责任保险的保险费，可以按规定抵扣其当年应当提取的职业风险基金。可抵扣金额大于或者等于当年度应提职业风险基金金额的，当年度可以不提取职业风险基金。可抵扣金额小于当年度应提职业风险基金金额的，应当按其差额提取职业风险基金。已提取的职业风险基金的处理，按照有关法律法规的规定和会计师事务所合伙协议、公司章程的约定办理。

Drafting Notes (omitted)

  起草说明