China will strengthen financial and accounting oversight, improve accounting standards and advance digital and intelligent transformation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30) to improve accounting and auditing quality and better support high-quality economic development, Ministry of Finance officials said on Wednesday.
The ministry has released its plan for accounting reform and development, outlining seven systems, including those covering the legal framework, accounting talent and professional services, Lin Qiyun, head of the accounting regulatory department of the Ministry of Finance, said.
The plan follows revisions to the accounting law in 2024 and the law on certified public accountants in June 2026.
The ministry will revise supporting regulations, strengthen measures against financial statement fraud and improve coordination between administrative enforcement, criminal punishment, civil compensation and disciplinary supervision, Lin said.
Sun Feng, deputy director-general of the ministry's bureau of supervision and evaluation, said a three-year initiative from 2026 to 2028 will intensify inspections and tackle major financial fraud cases. It will target fabricated transactions, inflated profits and falsified audit evidence, while strengthening interdepartmental cooperation.
On accounting standards, Lin said the ministry will revise standards in line with major reforms and strengthen implementation guidance. A new financial statement presentation standard will take effect in phases from 2027 to 2030, with companies listed both domestically and overseas among those covered from 2027.
China will also participate in international accounting standard-setting and prudently advance the equivalence and mutual recognition of accounting and auditing standards, Lin said.
Since 2006, China's accounting standards for business enterprises have maintained alignment with international standards, with equivalence and mutual recognition of accounting standards achieved with countries and regions like the European Union, Russia, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
On sustainability disclosure, Lin said the ministry will develop standards covering environmental, social and governance issues, including biodiversity, as well as standards for small and medium-sized enterprises.
China aims to establish a unified national sustainability disclosure standards system by 2030, with implementation gradually expanding from listed to unlisted companies and from voluntary to mandatory disclosure, Lin added.
"The digital and intelligent transformation of accounting is not an option but a necessity for high-quality economic development," Lin said.
The ministry will improve accounting and auditing data standards, coordinate them with standards in the fiscal, financial and taxation sectors, and advance paperless and automated processing of electronic vouchers and expand the use of electronic bank confirmations while strengthening data security, Lin said.
Jiang Yong, secretary-general of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, said the association will support accounting firms in expanding into emerging services such as sustainability information assurance and data resource auditing, and extending their international service networks to enhance their cross-border service capabilities.
