Goto Main Content
:::

Chapter Law Content

Title: Certified Public Accountant Act CH
Category: Financial Supervisory Commission(金融監督管理委員會)
Chapter 4 Professional Services and Liabilities
Article 39
(Scope of Professional Services of CPAs)
A CPA may perform the following types of professional services:
1. Attestation of financial reports or other financial information.
2. Services related to accounting system design, management or tax consultancy, auditing, verification, arrangement, liquidation, appraisal, financial analysis, asset valuation, or property trust.
3. To serve as an inspector, liquidator, bankruptcy administrator, arbitrator, will executor, reorganization manager, reorganization supervisor, or as another type of trustee.
4. To serve as an agent in cases involving taxation, or to perform attestation of income tax returns filed by profit-seeking enterprises.
5. To serve as an agent in cases involving industrial and commercial registration or trademark registration and in cases relevant to such registrations.
6. To serve as an agent for administrative appeal cases involving any of the professional services under the preceding five subparagraphs, or to serve as an agent for tax-related administrative litigation under the Code of Administrative Procedure.
7. To perform various assurance services, including ongoing auditing, assurance on system reliability, and assurance on investment performance.
8. To perform services otherwise related to accounting, auditing, and taxation matters.
Article 40
(Legal Liability for Acts in Performance of Professional Services)
A CPA shall be legally liable for any act he or she takes in the performance of professional services.
A CPA who is helped in the performance of attestation work by an assistant shall faithfully fulfill the duty to manage and oversee the assistant's work.
Article 41
(Duty of Loyalty in Professional Services)
A CPA may not commit any misconduct, or violate or neglect any required professional duties, in the course of his or her practice.
Article 42
(Damages for Breach of Duty of Loyalty)
A CPA shall be liable to compensate any appointing party, client, audited entity, or interested party for any damage incurred as a result of any of the circumstances contemplated in the preceding article.
Except if providing attestation services to a public company, the CPA's liability for damages under the preceding paragraph, if incurred as a result of negligence, shall be no more than ten times the total amount of the professional fees received for that year from the appointing party, client, or audited entity.
If a circumstance under paragraph 1 applies to a shareholder of an incorporated CPA firm, the shareholder shall be liable jointly and severally with the incorporated CPA firm for the damages.
If the incorporated CPA firm does not carry professional liability insurance as required by the competent authority, all the shareholders shall be jointly and severally liable for damages with the incorporated CPA firm for that portion of damages corresponding to the insurance coverage shortfall.
An incorporated CPA firm that pays damages under paragraph 3 is entitled to claim recovery from the shareholder.
Article 43
(Competent Authority May Make Inquiries about Attestations Made in Professional Services)
If the competent authority with the relevant jurisdiction has any doubt regarding the attestation made by a CPA in the performance of professional practice, it may inquire of the CPA concerned or request to review any attestation-related documents and audit working papers, and the CPA may not refuse or avoid cooperation with the inquiry or request.
If the attestation-related documents and audit working papers of the preceding paragraph are possessed by a CPA firm pursuant to a contract or to its articles of incorporation, the CPA firm shall furnish the same to the CPA to make them available for the inquiry or review by the competent authority with the relevant jurisdiction.
Before taking over an audit from another CPA, the successor CPA shall solicit the views of the former CPA, who shall provide a true and factual response in keeping with his or her professional position. The successor CPA may request working papers from the former CPA to review them for the audit that he or she has taken over.
Article 44
(Restrictions on Service as Civil Servant or as Responsible Person of Government-Owned Business Entity)
No CPA may serve as a civil servant, or as a director, supervisor, or managerial officer of a government-owned business entity, unless the CPA's practice registration has been canceled upon application. However, the CPA may reapply for practice registration once the cause for cancellation ceases to exist.
Article 45
(Restrictions on Departing Civil Servant Serving as CPA)
For two years after separation from a civil service position in which the work involved any of the matters set out in subparagraph 1, 4, or 5 of Article 39 during the two years prior to separation from service, a civil servant may not provide services relating to any such matter when practicing as a CPA in the district where he or she served as a civil servant.
Article 46
(Conduct Prohibited by CPAs)
A CPA may not engage in any of the following conduct:
1. Permit others to practice under his or her name.
2. Practice under the name of another CPA.
3. Accept employment from a non-CPA to perform CPA services.
4. Take advantage of one's position as a CPA to engage in improper industrial or commercial competition.
5. Perform practice related to matters in connection with which one is an interested party.
6. Use the title of CPA to act as a guarantor in matters beyond the scope of CPA services.
7. Purchase real or personal property under his or her management as a CPA.
8. Solicit, agree to accept, or accept unlawful benefit or compensation.
9. Solicit business by improper means.
10. Advertise for promotional purposes not related to commencement of business, office relocation, merger, accepting client engagements, or introduction of the CPA firm.
11. Disclose confidential information obtained in the performance of professional services without the permission of the appointing agency, client, or audited entity.
12. Engage in other conduct that could tarnish the reputation of CPAs, as specified by the competent authority.
Rules governing the content and scope of advertising related to the accepting of client engagements or introduction of the CPA firm, as referred to in subparagraph 10 of the preceding paragraph, shall be drafted by the NFCPAA and filed with the competent authority for review and approval.
The provisions of subparagraphs 7 through 12 of paragraph 1 apply mutatis mutandis in the case of an incorporated CPA firm.
Article 47
(Circumstances Under Which CPA May Not Perform Attestation of Financial Reports)
A CPA to whom any of the following circumstances applies may not accept an engagement to perform attestation of financial reports:
1. The CPA is currently employed by the client or audited entity to perform routine work for which he or she receives a fixed salary, or currently serves as a director or supervisor thereof.
2. The CPA has previously served for the client or audited entity as a director, supervisor, managerial officer, or an employee with material influence over attestation, and has been separated from the position for less than two years.
3. The CPA is a spouse, lineal relative, direct relative by marriage, or a collateral relative within the second degree of kinship of any responsible person or managerial officer of the client or audited entity.
4. The CPA, or the spouse or a minor child thereof, has a relationship of investment or sharing of financial interest with the client or audited entity.
5. The CPA, or the spouse or a minor child thereof, has lent or borrowed funds to or from the client or audited entity. However, this does not apply if the client is a financial institution and the borrowing or lending is part of a normal business relationship.
6. The CPA provides management consulting or other non-attestation services that affect his or her independence.
7. The CPA fails to comply with regulations, as prescribed by the competent authority with relevant jurisdiction, governing CPA rotation, handling accounting matters on behalf of clients, or other matters that affect his or her independence.
If any of subparagraphs 1, 2, 4, or 5 under paragraph 1 applies to a practicing CPA at a CPA firm, its other practicing CPAs also may not accept an engagement to perform attestation of the financial reports.
If any of subparagraphs 4 through 6 under paragraph 1 applies to the relationship between an incorporated CPA firm and a client or an audited entity, its shareholders may not accept an engagement perform attestation of the financial reports.
Article 48
(Circumstances Prohibited in the Performance of Attestation of Financial Reports or Other Financial Information)
None of the following circumstances may apply to a CPA who accepts an engagement to perform attestation of financial reports or other financial information.
1. Knowing that an audited entity's financial report or other financial information is directly prejudicial to the interests of an interested party, and concealing such circumstance or issuing a false or improper attestation report.
2. The CPA, because of failure to exercise due professional care, fails to point out that a financial report or other financial information provided by a client or audited entity has not been prepared in accordance with laws and regulations or generally accepted accounting principles or practices.
3. The CPA fails to abide by applicable laws and regulations or generally accepted auditing standards, thereby issuing a false or improper attestation report on a financial report or other financial information that contains material falsehoods or errors.
4. In issuing an attestation report, the CPA fails to abide by laws and regulations or generally accepted auditing principles and to prepare working papers.
5. The CPA fails to issue an attestation report with an appropriate opinion reached in accordance with laws and regulations or generally accepted auditing principles.
6. Because of improper intent or negligence in duty by the CPA, the financial report or other financial information attested by the CPA is prejudicial to the interests of a client, audited entity, or interested party.
Article 49
(Circumstances in Which CPA Shall Refuse to Attest)
A CPA who accepts an engagement to perform attestation of a financial report shall refuse to attest under any of the following circumstances:
1. The client or audited entity intends to have the CPA provide false or improper attestation.
2. The audited entity intentionally fails to provide necessary data.
3. It is otherwise impossible to provide fair and thorough attestation due to concealment or fraud by the audited entity.
When a CPA performing attestation service with respect to the financial report of a public company refuses to attest pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the CPA shall promptly provide written notice to the client's directors and supervisors or supervisory unit with functions equivalent to those of supervisors, and shall also provide a copy of the notice to the competent authority with the relevant jurisdiction. The supervisors or the supervisory unit with functions equivalent to those of supervisors shall, by the day next following receipt of such notice, provide written notice to the competent authority with the relevant jurisdiction.
A CPA who refuses to attest pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1 may still demand the remuneration originally agreed upon.