Editor's Note
The Official Newspaper of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), CPPCC Daily, published a special column, “One Year of Service” on Page 5 of the December 30, 2025 issue, featuring special reports on the performance of duties and experiences of Members of the National Committee of the CPPCC in 2025. Shi Wenxian, Member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, Supervisor of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA), President of the Hubei New Social Stratum Association, and Chief Partner of Zhongshen Zhonghuan Certified Public Accountants LLP, was featured for his exemplary performance in fulfilling his duties. Upholding a strong sense of responsibility as a CPPCC member, guided by impartiality and diligence, and committed to promoting the development of the public accounting profession, Shi put forward substantive and constructive proposals to advance the profession. Other CPPCC members featured alongside Shi Wenxian included Zhang Zhentao, Research Fellow at the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (TIPC-CAS), Ma Yuexiang, Vice-Chairperson of the National Committee of the CPPCC of Qinghai Province, and Kingsley Wong Kwok, Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions. The following is the full text of the report on Shi Wenxian.

Shi Wenxian (third from right) during a research visit on the development of the public accounting profession

2024 was an extraordinary year in the development history of the public accounting profession. As the country’s strict regulatory oversight of the profession continued to tighten, corporate financial fraud cases were increasingly uncovered. While regulators imposed heavier financial penalties on involved accounting firms and practitioners, they also repeatedly took punitive measures such as suspending practice certificates, demonstrating firm determination to rectify industry misconduct and address professional negligence. Amid deliberate sensationalism by certain unscrupulous self-media outlets, the profession was once branded as a “high-risk industry.” Questions such as “What does the future hold for the profession?” and “Is there really no future for the profession?” became widespread and pressing concerns among practitioners across the profession.

As a Member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and a senior certified public accountant with over 30 years of professional experience, I am acutely aware of the profession’s irreplaceable value. I firmly believe that the so-called “demise of the profession” in public discourse is by no means a true reflection of the profession; rather, it is, instead, the product of intentional misinformation by certain self-media outlets and irresponsible emotional comments from some uninformed people. At this darkest moment, when confidence in the profession’s development had nearly plummeted to its lowest point, I deeply felt the responsibility that comes with being a representative of the profession. I therefore resolved to conduct in-depth research and reflection on ways to boost confidence in the profession’s development, drive its transformation and restructuring, and enable it to better serve China’s high-quality economic development, and to submit relevant proposals during the 2025 National Two Sessions.

Through extensive consultations with regulatory authorities and in-depth interviews with practitioners at all levels, I ultimately reached the following conclusions: the profession is playing an increasingly important role in national economic and social development; stringent regulation is designed to foster the sustainable and healthy development of the profession; and the problems and irregularities exposed deserve serious attention, but they must also be viewed objectively and rationally. On this basis, I identified strengthening positive publicity for the profession and effectively spreading positive energy as the key breakthrough and driving force for restoring confidence, reshaping professional values and enhancing the profession’s public image, and subsequently formulated the Proposal on Strengthening Positive Publicity of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Profession.

In the proposal, I outlined the key issues affecting the profession’s image and public perception. First, there are widespread misconceptions about the profession’s value and the public’s understanding of CPAs’ responsibilities and social value remains inadequate. Second, publicity efforts lack diversity in both content and form, making it difficult for positive publicity to reach key target audiences. Third, the profession’s image has become too rigidly stereotyped, making it difficult for younger professionals to develop a sense of value identification. Fourth, positive publicity resources are fragmented and coordination mechanisms are insufficient, with insufficient joint planning and collaboration between professional associations and accounting firms, leading to limited communication effectiveness.

In response, I put forward recommendations in 5 key areas: strengthening positive public opinion guidance and stepping up efforts to curb self-media outlets that deliberately seek attention and traffic; optimizing the channels for releasing regulatory information to prevent unscrupulous self-media outlets from deliberately manipulating public opinion, distorting facts, or exaggerating regulatory penalty cases; establishing a well-structured and targeted positive publicity system to facilitate coordinated efforts between the media and accounting associations and firms; enhancing high-quality publicity by showcasing vivid and positive industry cases; and expanding cross-sector communication through films, TV dramas and other cultural channels to convey the profession’s core values.

The proposal garnered attention from the National Committee of the CPPCC, and the Ministry of Finance designated CICPA as the entity responsible for its implementation. The proposal also struck a chord within the profession, with media outlets including China Accounting News and Finance & Accounting running special reports. In December 2025, at the Third Plenary of the Seventh Council of CICPA, participating council members put forward suggestions on strengthening positive publicity for the profession. My perspectives, based on the proposal, were unanimously endorsed and highly commended by CICPA leadership and attending council members. The relevant recommendations from the proposal are currently being steadily promoted and implemented by CICPA.

Fulfilling the duties of a CPPCC member calls for impartiality, diligence and patience. As a Member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, I will remain firmly committed to the Party and the country, dedicate myself wholeheartedly to the cause of the CPPCC, and maintain a thorough understanding of the issues in the proposals. I will continue to put forward constructive and substantive proposals, contributing my efforts to building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization.