The Ministry of Finance ("MOF") and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security ("MOHRSS") have recently issued the Provisions on Continuing Education of Accounting Professionals (the "Provisions"), with effect from July 1, 2018.
The Provisions, made up of 27 articles in seven chapters, provide for the administrative regime, contents and forms, management of credits, administration of agencies offering accounting-related continuing education, assessment and evaluation, etc. According to the Provisions, individuals who have acquired the professional accounting qualifications shall participate in continuing education from the year next to the year when they acquired such qualifications. For individuals without any professional accounting qualification but engaged in accounting work, they are required to receive continuing education from the year next to the year when they started undertaking accounting work. In addition, the Provisions stipulate that each employer shall have in place its own incentive mechanism to link the continuing education for accounting professionals to the employee utilization and promotion and take the continuing education situation as an important criterion for the assessment, evaluation and employment of accounting professionals. And continuing education received by accounting professionals shall play as a critical condition for accounting professionals to take professional accounting posts or apply for the professional qualification of a higher level.