Under normal circumstances, a person who has passed the general examination for certified public accountants can become a certified public accountant and sign after working in the firm for about two years with the approval of the AICPA. Those who have no practice experience in the firm are regarded as non-practicing members and cannot sign.
The audit report needs to be signed and sealed by two certified public accountants and sealed by the accounting firm. Theoretically, all certified public accountants have the right to sign the report, but the report is issued by the firm, so the firm will decide who can sign the report. This decision-making process is generally determined by the CPA exams with different signature levels, or it may be determined by the experience of different CPAs. The signing fee is also charged according to a certain proportion of the amount charged, so the signing fee is also considerable.
The signature right of certified public accountants is very important, because the signature represents the corresponding responsibilities and risks. The high signing fee income of the signing right also represents the risk. Once it is found out, it will face very serious punishment, so it is also a sign of trust for the firm to give the signing right. Generally, the person who has the right to sign in the project is often the partner of the firm and the general person in charge of the project. At the same time, the CSRC and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants will also conduct spot checks on audit reports. So even some high-risk reports, the person in charge at the scene will refuse to sign.