70-year-old accountant signs nearly a hundred audit reports in a year, multiple local accounting associations report industry conditions, highlighting prominent "double exceedance" issues

China Securities Journal, February 14 (Reporter Zhao Xinrui) — Multiple local CPA associations have successively released the “2025 Practice Quality Inspection Reports,” highlighting common and typical issues in the auditing industry, such as “copy-paste” auditing, disconnection between制度 enforcement and actual operations, the “two skins” phenomenon, and the aging of firms.

From the inspection details disclosed across regions, the severity and scope of disciplinary measures are both increasing:

On February 12, the Hebei CPA Association announced that 14 accounting firms and 13 CPAs received industry self-regulation sanctions; the Provincial Department of Finance’s Supervision and Evaluation Office imposed administrative penalties on two firms. Additionally, Hebei CPA Association held a two-day interview and集中培训 for 33 firms in December 2025.

On February 9, the Beijing CPA Association disclosed that 100 firms underwent practice quality inspections, with 13 firms and 45 CPAs subject to industry self-discipline sanctions.

On January 13, the Shanxi CPA Association announced that, together with the Provincial Department of Finance, they imposed administrative penalties or industry sanctions on 14 firms and 29 CPAs, accounting for 20% of the inspected firms. The association issued public criticisms to four firms and admonitions to another four; 7 CPAs received public criticism, and 9 CPAs received admonitions. The Provincial Department of Finance issued regulatory notices to 13 firms, while the Shanxi CPA Association issued警示函 to 14 firms.

Under stricter regulatory discipline, the流动趋势 of industry personnel has further intensified. Since 2026, local CPA associations have deregistered 420 CPAs and新增1068 CPAs, with a net industry inflow of 648, mainly driven by new registrations.

Meanwhile, the phenomenon of practitioners transferring between firms remains prominent. As of now, 681 CPAs have transferred firms in 2026, including some跨省 transfers, reflecting accelerated optimization of industry talent allocation.

It is noteworthy that many regional reports indirectly highlight the aging issue within firms, with some regions showing a high proportion of CPAs over 70 among inspected firms.

CPAs over 70 produce hundreds of reports; aging firms are a prominent concern

Based on the inspection reports from three CPA associations in 2025, aging within firms has become a prominent industry issue. This, combined with “double超” practice,违规收费, and low-price competition, has directly lowered overall audit quality, and violators have faced regulatory sanctions.

In Hebei, among 87 inspected firms, 87 CPAs aged 70 or above, accounting for 16.23% of the 536 CPAs inspected. Among the firms’ shareholders or partners, 50 were over 70, representing 22% of 227 inspected.

The Beijing CPA Association directly pointed out the impact of the “double超” phenomenon on audit quality. For example, Firm A had two CPAs exceeding their能力 limits to perform audits. In 2025, they signed 646 annual audit reports; one signer was 71 years old, relying on assistants to gather basic documents like reconciliation statements and contracts, or generating formal底稿 via tools. Due to assistants’ lack of necessary professional judgment and risk sensitivity, the resulting audit底稿 had serious quality issues.

The Shanxi CPA Association listed ten典型案例, including that in 2024, CPA Huang, aged 70, issued 152 of the 182 audit reports for Firm D, engaging in activities that did not match their规模,执业能力, or risk承受能力. The Provincial Department of Finance issued a警告行政处罚 to the firm.

Additionally, two other典型违规情形 in Shanxi are highlighted:

One involves or有收费 and violations of independence. For example, F CPA firm’s engagement letter states: “After issuing the electronic audit report, Party B will receive 30% of the fee (60,000 yuan). When Party A receives project subsidies, it will pay the remaining 140,000 yuan.” This indicates or有收费.

The other involves unfair low-price competition. G CPA firm issued an audit report for a company with a fee of only 4,000 yuan, with inadequate audit procedures and insufficient evidence collection, reflecting unfair低价竞争.

Net inflow of 648 CPAs in 2026: what are the underlying industry “issues”?

Based on data from 32 CPA associations, as of 2026, 42 CPAs have deregistered, 1,068 new CPAs registered, and 681 transferred firms, resulting in a net inflow of 648.

Regional differences are evident:

Beijing CPA Association deregistered 36 CPAs and added 151.

Tianjin deregistered 26, added 29.

Shanxi deregistered 6, added 194.

Inner Mongolia deregistered 19, added 22.

Liaoning deregistered 48, added 75.

Jilin deregistered 2.

Shanghai deregistered 57, added 40, with 195 transferring firms.

Jiangsu deregistered 20, added 80, with 163 transferring.

Zhejiang deregistered 21, added 136, with 76 transferring.

Anhui deregistered 37, added 50.

Fujian added 26.

Hubei deregistered 11, added 30.

Guangdong added 95.

Shenzhen deregistered 116, added 102, with 221 transferring.

Guangxi deregistered 4, added 13.

Sichuan deregistered 11, added 65.

Guizhou transferred 26.

Yunnan deregistered 6, added 30.

Ningxia added 12.

Xinjiang added 13.

Overall, Shanxi has become a major source of new CPAs; Shenzhen has the highest deregistration numbers and also the most transfers (221), indicating active personnel流动. Shanghai and Jiangsu also show high transfer activity.

Despite the appearance of a mainly新增 and流动活跃的行业态势, underlying issues include a serious development瓶颈: from港股审计师短缺引发的服务能力不足，到内地审计程序执行缺位、事务所老龄化等问题，行业矛盾集中显现。

Multiple地区的执业质量检查已明确指出，事务所老龄化严重，部分地区70岁以上注册会计师比例偏高。根据财政部《注册会计师注册办法》，年龄超过70岁者不得注册，部分高龄从业者自然退出，加上频繁的转所现象，使得事务所难以建立稳定的质量控制体系，行业人才梯队断层隐忧凸显。

行业资源配置失衡与人员能力短板，进一步影响执业质量。一方面，港股市场审计资源集中于大型项目，内地也存在类似倾斜，易导致流程简化、标准降低；另一方面，行业人才梯队失衡，部分事务所甚至出现“一人多责”，专业能力与工作需求不匹配，导致审计判断失误和程序偏差。

监管层正持续加强整治。截至目前，40天内已有22家事务所被点名，多家头部所遭行政处罚，香港监管也加强对审计质量的监控。可见，落实审计责任、提升执业质量已成为行业发展的必然趋势。