[Accounting Society President Election] Chae I-bae "Will Prevent Regression of New External Audit Act... Completing Accounting Reform Is Inevitable"

Candidate No. 1 Chae I-bae, Former Member of Minsaeng Party

[Asia Economy Reporter Jihwan Park] "Due to the opposition from the business community feeling the burden of accounting audits, accounting reform efforts such as the new External Audit Act are facing signs of setbacks."

Chae I-bae, former member of the Minsaeng Party and a candidate in the upcoming Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA) presidential election on the 17th, stated in an interview with Asia Economy on the 3rd, "Close cooperation with the National Assembly and financial authorities is necessary to comply with the new External Audit Act," adding, "It is an urgent time for continuous reform efforts such as accounting reform for the proper functioning of the capital market."

Chae emphasized his determination to put an end to the accounting reform efforts through this KICPA presidential election. During the 20th National Assembly, he was the first to propose the 'Periodic Auditor Designation System (6+3),' which allows companies to autonomously appoint external auditors for six years, followed by three years of designated auditors.

He also expressed his intention to work on legal amendments to expand the market for small and medium accounting firms. He said, "To strengthen accounting transparency for public institutions and other non-profit organizations and to expand the small and medium market, I will expand the standard time system and the designation system." To this end, he plans to promote business agreements with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Gyeonggi Province to enhance accounting transparency for non-profit organizations, ensuring practical benefits for small and medium firms through consultations with the central government and local governments.

He also mentioned opening the path for audit teams to convert into accounting firms and lowering the requirements for establishing accounting firms within the scope that does not undermine accounting transparency. He emphasized, "By lowering the requirements for establishing accounting firms, I will ensure that accountants who could not form firms are not disadvantaged when competing with other licensed professionals such as tax accountants."

In addition, Chae proposed pledges including △reducing the number of CPA recruits △expanding participation of youth and women in all KICPA organizations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.