Hooking-Up: A Unique Feature of China Public Accounting Firms

e implementation of a market economy after 1979, the CPA profession in China was revived and the public accounting firm was reestablished as a newly created social organization. However, due to the socio-economic and political factors existing at that time, they could not be established as independent firms. These newly established firms were required to affiliate with existing government or educational institutions. This has given rise to the term “hooking-up,” which refers to the affiliated relationship between an auditing firm and its sponsoring organization. This paper examines the development of this phenomenon and the future outlook of the Chinese auditing profession. Given the complexity of this relationship, several accounting and social issues are examined. In addition, this paper also discusses the factors hindering the movement toward establishing independent accounting firms in China and the removal of the hooking-up relationship.