Accounting and Finance in China. A Review of Current Practice, 4th ed.

Citation

Vinten, G. (2002), "Accounting and Finance in China. A Review of Current Practice, 4th ed.", Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 17 No. 5, pp. 290-290. https://doi.org/10.1108/maj.2002.17.5.290.2

Since this was first published in 1992, this has become the definitive source for information on this topic of global significance, reinforced with China’s accession in late 2001 to the World Trade Organisation. China has experienced dramatic economic development, and the extent to which accounting and finance have been able to support this, as well as control and provide feedback as to what is viable and what should be curtailed, is a matter of prime significance. The background is set with Deng Xiaoping’s theory of the socialist market economy, and the pivotal need to reform the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

The central core of the text is on accounting and auditing, and how these emerged from the doldrums of the centralised economy, with its unsophisticated demands on them, to all the exigencies of a transitional economy with all to play for. This enthralling story is well told, and the sometimes neglected topics of management and budget accounting are dealt in. Equally compelling are the accounts of the development of an accounting profession, state audit, standards, the role of foreign firms and professional organisations, and of accounting education. Although the iron curtain has long since gone, the developments outlined have been impenetrable more through language barriers and the effort of marshalling all the facts and figures from so many diverse sources.

The final section treats finance and taxation in China. Explanation of the banking system and its reform, financial reporting, and the share capital system, and the regulatory and accounting requirements, together with the increasing role of the taxation system, all shed valuable light on matters on which clarity is not always present. The authors continue to render a valuable service to the world community in producing and updating this authoritative text.