Circular of the Ministry of Finance and the State Archives Administration on the Release of the Procedures for the Administration of Accounting Archives

Circular of the Ministry of Finance and the State Archives Administration on the Release of the Procedures for the Administration of Accounting Archives

Cai Kuai Zi [1998] No. 32

August 21, 1998

To the financial offices (bureaus) and archive bureaus of the various provinces, autonomous regions, cities directly under the central government, and cities specifically designated in the state plan as well as the Xinjiang Construction Corps, the various ministries and commissions of the State Council and their various attached agencies, the Government Offices Administration of the State Council, and the Government Offices Administration for Offices Directly under the CCCPC:

Since its implementation in 1984, the Procedures for the Administration of Accounting Archives, promulgated by the Ministry of Finance and the State Archives Administration, has had positive effects in various areas, including the strengthening of accounting archive administration in relevant work units and the promotion of accounting work which serves individual as well as national economic construction. As our socialist market economy develops, new situations and new challenges relevant to economic and accounting work continue to present themselves, and the original Procedures for the Administration of Accounting Archives already does not meet the needs of economic development and accounting reform. Therefore, after taking into account the implementation status of the original Procedures for the Administration of Accounting Archives as well as the results of significant investigative research, the Ministry of Finance and the State Archives Administration has, on the basis of the Accounting Law and the Archives Law, revised the Procedures for the Administration of Accounting Archives, which are hereby released. They shall go into effect as of January 1, 1999, and the Procedures for the Administration of Accounting Archives issued by the Ministry of Finance and the State Archives Administration on June 1, 1984 shall be repealed as of the same date. Please arrange for implementation by your subordinate agencies.

Appendix:
Procedures for the Administration of Accounting Archives

Article 1 With the goal of strengthening administration of accounting archives, unifying the different systems for accounting archive administration, and better serving the development of the socialist market economy, these Procedures are formulated on the basis of the provisions of the Accounting Law of the People's Republic of China and the Archival law of the People's Republic of China .

Article 2 State agencies, non-governmental organizations, enterprises, state institutions, privately-owned businesses that must establish accounts pursuant to regulations, and other organizations (hereinafter simply "entities") shall conduct administration of accounting archives according to these Procedures.

Article 3 The financial departments and archive administration departments of the various levels of people's government shall be jointly responsible for directing, supervising, and investigating the work relevant to accounting archives.

Article 4 The various entities shall strengthen their leadership with regards to accounting archives administration, establishing systems for setting up, adding to, storing, checking, and destroying relevant files, ensuring that accounting records are kept securely and in an organized fashion, that they are easily consulted when necessary, and that they are protected from damage, loss, and information leaks.

Article 5 Accounting records refer to materials for account calculation purposes, including accounting receipts, account books, and financial reports; they are the primary evidence that records and reflects the financial transactions of the entity.
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