On 17 May 2017, a delegation from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University visited our Beijing Office. The group, which was headed by Prof. Gwendolyn McFadden-Wade and Prof. Brandis Phillips was on a 2-week trip to China, which included several company visits, including PwC, Schneider Electrics, and ECOVIS Beijing.
The delegation was received by our Business Development Associate Torsten Weller. The group then listened to a presentation which covered ECOVIS Beijing’s history, the consulting industry in China, and the main compliance issues facing foreign businesses in China. The presentation focused on the main reasons why foreign companies choose an international tax and accounting firms instead of domestic ones.
Besides cultural reasons and language barriers, trust is one of the core arguments. Like Chinese companies, foreign companies in China value partners who share a similar outlook towards business practices, and know the compliance culture of their home countries. Only international legal and accounting firms, such as ECOVIS Beijing, can provide this background and know-how.
Regarding tax and legal compliance in China, the main topics were the importance of fapiaos and chops. In China, normal receipts cannot be used for tax deductions or as proof for expenditures. Therefore, to justify costs and expenditures before the tax bureau, companies should make sure that for each expenditure and income statement, there is a corresponding fapiao.
The second particularity is that in China, a signature has less legal value than a stamp, or so-called chops, the ancient bureaucratic practice of using official seals in legal and administrative communication that continues to this day. Since chops are mobile objects, which can be used by whoever has a hold of it, a sound responsibility system is crucial, to avoid abuse or even theft.
The delegation got a first impression of the main challenges foreign businesses are facing in China and how consulting firms can help overcome these obstacles to set up successful operations. ECOVIS Beijing hopes that the students gained some valuable insights which will help them in their future careers.
ECOVIS Beijing is a tax & legal consulting firm and part of ECOVIS International a worldwide network of internationally active consulting firms, specialized on accounting, audit, tax and legal advisory for SME, with more than 6,000 people in over 60 countries. If you have further questions please don’t hesitate to contact us: com
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Richard Hoffmann Richard Hoffmann is a partner at ECOVIS Beijing China. Richard obtained an honors degree in law and worked in Germany, the United States, and China for various prestigious law firms prior to joining ECOVIS. In addition to being a member of the board of ECOVIS International, he is Supervisor for the China business of a respected German company and shares his extensive knowledge to students by teaching commercial law in China at SRH Hochschule Heidelberg. He has published more than fifty articles in international magazines, frequently speaks at high profile events in China and abroad and is often invited as a legal expert by international TV stations. Contact:
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| Ecovis Beijing is the trusted tax and legal advisor to several embassies and official institutions in China. It specializes in mid-sized international companies and is focused on tax & legal advisory, accounting and auditing. If you’re interested in finding out more about tax and legal, don’t hesitate to sign up for our Newsletter, give us a call +86 (10) 6561 6609 or contact us directly via | ||
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