Research On Accountant’s Securities False Statement On The Third Party’s Civil Liability

Currently in the field of securities false statement disputes in China,it has become the mainstream view of academia and practice that if an accountant issues an untrue audit report due to negligence and causes losses to third parties,the accounting firm should bear tort liability to the third party,while there is still controversy over whether the accountant individually bears tort liability to the third party.There are also differences in the three aspects of the responsible party,responsible mode,and responsible scope in many similar cases,which has aroused high attention from academia and practice.However,academia and practice mostly focus on the responsible mode,and there are relatively few and insufficiently comprehensive and in-depth studies on the responsible party and the responsible scope.Based on examining typical domestic judicial cases and referring to advanced foreign practices,the article explores the responsible party,responsible mode,and responsible scope of the accountant’s civil liability to third parties in securities false statements,and proposes feasible views and suggestions.The article is divided into four parts:The first part is a review of the issue of accountants’ civil liability to third parties for securities false statements.Through three typical judicial cases,several questions are raised: 1)Regarding the responsible party,should the accountant bear individual practice responsibility,and what is the legality of bearing individual practice responsibility? 2)Regarding the responsible mode,what is the legal basis for applying joint and several liability when the current legal regulations in China do not expressly stipulate that accounting firms should bear joint and several liability to third parties in securities false statement disputes? 3)Regarding the responsible scope,how to determine the proportion of liability corresponding to fault and reasonableness,and whether it is necessary to set a limit on the compensation amount to be borne by accountants?The second part is about analysing the responsible party for accountants’ civil liability to third parties for securities false statements.According to existing legal regulations,the responsible party is the accounting firm,not including the accountant,while in the United States,Chinese Hong Kong,and Chinese Taiwan,the responsible party includes both the accounting firm and the accountant.It is generally believed that accountants belong to the expert category and should have the duty of expert care,which generates corresponding individual responsibility.Additionally,considering the professional characteristics of accountants,the doctrine of duty absorption does not apply to accountants,and therefore,accountants should be included in the responsible party.The third part is an analysis on the responsible mode for accountants’ civil liability to third parties for securities false statements.China’s laws have not yet stipulated joint and several liability,but judicial practice has already issued effective judgments on joint and several liability.However,most judicial practices in China still use joint liability without distinguishing the form of fault,which undoubtedly contradicts the principle of "the punishment fits the crime." By examining the practice in the United States and exploring the legal basis of joint and several liability,it should adopt joint and several liability based on the principle of "the punishment fits the crime" and the adaptation of fault.The fourth part is a discussion of the compensation scope that accountants should bear for securities false statements to third parties.China’s relevant laws mainly adopt the principle of filling the loss of the actor,but lack consideration of the degree of the actor’s fault,and strict liability is unfair.European and American countries determine the scope of risk liability by determining the final responsibility or adopting a proportionate liability system.Therefore,it is suggested that China should adopt the proportionate liability system based on the principle of "the punishment fits the crime" and the adaptation of fault.