Bank inquiry letters are no longer a challenge. Contract Lock has launched a solution for digitizing bank inquiry functions, which enables online circulation, electronic signing, and automatic deposit of letters. The entire process is digitized, helping accounting firms and banks to efficiently, standardly, and securely carry out inquiry and response work. Recently, the Chinese Ministry of Finance, in conjunction with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, issued the "Finance and Accounting [2022] No. 39 Document", clarifying the need to accelerate the digitization of bank correspondence. Encourage qualified accounting firms and banks to carry out digital certification through bank certification platforms (including third-party certification platforms and self built certification platforms), effectively improving the efficiency and effectiveness of certification.
(screenshot from the official website of the Ministry of Finance) # What are bank confirmation letters and response letters # Bank confirmation letters and response letters are the process in which accounting firms, after obtaining authorization from the audited entity, directly send confirmation letters to banking and financial institutions.
Banking and financial institutions then query and verify relevant information and provide written responses to the confirmation letters received. (Bank inquiry letter and reply business process) Traditional paper correspondence must be drafted by an accounting firm, delivered offline to the audited enterprise for stamping and authorization, and then sent to the bank to verify the data and stamp the reply letter. · From sending and authorizing letters to receiving them, accounting firms, audited enterprises, and banks can only rely on offline express delivery for stamping. The turnover is slow, and the progress cannot be seen or urged. The timeliness of correspondence cannot be guaranteed. In addition, it is difficult to verify the authenticity of the content, seals, and third-party identities of paper letters, and the authenticity is questionable. The incidents of sending letters on behalf of others and forging bank replies often occur, which brings many risks to auditing. From 2020 to present, in order to promote the efficient and standardized development of bank inquiry and response letters, the Ministry of Finance and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission have issued multiple documents to promote the use of electronic signatures and electronic p style="Margi
n-left:0px; text-align:justify; Technologies such as seals, identity authentication, and blockchain data storage will accelerate the application of electronic letter of credit.
2020: Strengthen the management of seal for reply letters, clarify the seal for reply letters, and encourage the use of electronic seals with anti-counterfeiting functions.
-- "Notice on Further Standardizing Bank Letter of Credit and Reply Work"
· In 2022, electronic replies and paper replies have the same legal effect and evidential power. -- "Notice on Carrying out Pilot Work of Bank Correspondence"
From now on, electronic signatures for bank confirmation letters and reply letters have gradually shifted from "
encouraging the use of
" and " pilot applications " to "promoting popularization ". Contract Lock Electronic Confirmation Letter and Reply Solution Based on policy requirements, help ensure compliance with confirmation and reply letters - efficiently carry out
The contract lock product supports integration and docking with the bank's letter of credit system (including third-party letter of credit platforms and self built letter of credit platforms), providing "identity authentication, electronic signature, electronic seal, and multi-party data storage" services for bank inquiry and reply letters, realizing the full digitalization of online circulation, electronic signature, and automatic storage of letters of credit, and helping accounting firms and banks efficiently, standardly, and securely carry out inquiry and reply work.
(Online processing scenario for bank inquiry letter and reply letter)
The processing cycle from the audit unit initiating, the audited unit authorizing to the bank reply, which took 10-20 days in the past, can now be completed within 1 day at the fastest.
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(Electronic signature page for inquiry letter)
↓ 8 core competencies to meet policy and bank letter of credit requirements:
01 Unified electronic template for letter of credit, standardized reply format
Policy requirements
Accounting firms and banks should strictly comply with the requirements of the General Office of the Ministry of Finance; The General Office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has issued a notice on the issuance of the "Guidelines for the Operation of Bank Correspondence and Reply Work", which stipulates relevant requirements. The bank correspondence, reception, and processing work shall be carried out in accordance with the standardized letter format and procedures, and the bank's reply format shall be uniformly standardized.
Contract Lock Solution: The contract lock electronic signature platform supports the application of electronic template libraries, which can help accounting firms and banks establish standardized electronic letter templates according to the standard letter format specified in the "Bank Letter and Reply Work Operation Guidelines". One click application of these templates is required to create a unified letter format template, which can standardize the sending and receiving of letters. (Create electronic template library for letter confirmation) (One click search for use) Note : The standard letter confirmation format specified in the "Guidelines for Bank Letter Confirmation and Reply Work" has been fully entered into the contract lock platform. You can obtain and use it on the contract lock platform with the "extraction code" below.
• Template for Confirmation Letter 1:
(Template Extraction Code: ZWjhq)
• Confirmation Letter Template Style 2: figur
(Template extraction code: QDMJO )
• Template style for verification inquiry letter:
(Template extraction code: X2XiS )
02 Electronic seals can be verified for authenticity, specified, standardized for use, and anti-counterfeit.
Policy requirements:
Strengthen the management of seal usage for replies, Clearly define the seal usage for replies , and encourage the use of electronic seals with anti-counterfeit functions . According to the operating instructions, carefully verify the seal of the inquiry letter.
Contract Lock Solution:
The electronic signature of the contract lock is supported by digital certificates provided by authoritative CA institutions, which bind the seal with the organization's real identity, ensuring that the signature of the electronic letter can be verified online and effectively anti-counterfeiting. At the same time, it supports specifying the electronic seal used for reply letters in the signing process, unifying the use of seals, preventing unauthorized seals, and helping banks standardize reply letters.
03 supports reminder, mobile signature, and expiration reminder to ensure the timeliness of correspondence.
Policy requirements
• If the bank replies in a digital manner, it should complete the reply within
10 working days from the date of receiving the inquiry letter that meets the regulations. The listed company shall promptly (generally within 3 working days of receiving the request) authorize and confirm the electronic confirmation request issued by the accounting firm. Contract lock solution:
Contract lock electronic signatures not only support mobile signing, but also provide functions such as " reminder before expiration" and "signature reminder" around the agreed time of the letter, ensuring signing efficiency and preventing trouble caused by overdue letters. After the accounting firm sends the letter online, the audit leader and the audited unit can directly sign it through a signing SMS, which takes at least two minutes. Banks and audited units can remind and urge the signing at any time if they have not been processed for a long time, ensuring the progress of the letter work within the effective time. img src=" https://dl.qiyuesuo.com/image/49f94b5bcb544066b11f5f0b4c70585c.
(Set file termination date, automatic reminder before expiration)
04 Multi party data storage support, preservation letter processing evidence chain
Policy requirements
• Establish a complete record of reply operations; Further supervise and hold accountable the response work through internal audits, internal control evaluations, and other means. Utilize modern information technologies such as blockchain to promote the digital transformation of correspondence. Contract lock solution: The contract lock platform can provide full link data storage services for letter work based on its own platform, recording detailed data such as letter files, behaviors, and personnel identities; Simultaneously supporting notary offices and blockchain certification, ensuring traceability of the letter of credit business process and trustworthiness of the entire data chain.
05 "Cross stitch seal" covers the entire text with one click, efficient bank response letter
Management requirements
If there is a requirement for cross stitch seal signing in bank response letters, manual stamping is often required page by page, which not only requires a large amount of work, but also has situations such as missing pages and seals.
Contract lock solution:
The contract lock electronic signature platform supports one click addition of stitch seals, allowing banks to accurately cover the entire document without manually flipping pages during the reply process, improving the efficiency of staff stamping.
(One click addition of saddle stitch seal throughout the text)
06 Strict permission settings to ensure data security
Policy requirements
Bank letter of credit platforms should be responsible for the security, integrity, and accuracy of letter of credit data during transmission, storage, and other processes on the platform.
Contract lock solution: The contract lock platform implements three separate permission settings for personnel, ensuring the separation of operation, management, and audit permissions, preventing backend operations from viewing user business data, and ensuring the security of the entire letter data. At the same time, the platform integrates hash algorithms and has data tamper proof capabilities, ensuring that accounting firms and bank confirmation work data are not leaked, tamper proof, and securely transmitted and stored.
07 supports the designation of the sender to achieve centralized processing of bank letters. Policy requirement: Starting from January 1, 2023, accounting firms engaged in securities business shall achieve centralized processing of bank letters for listed companies when conducting annual report audits. That is to say, the internal specialized organization (or position) designated by the accounting firm to handle correspondence shall handle correspondence business uniformly and centrally, and project teams or individual registered accountants shall not send or receive correspondence on their own.
Contract Lock Solution:
In order to prevent behaviors such as sending letters on behalf of others or sending letters on your own, the Contract Lock Electronic Signature System can help you designate the "Letter Process Initiator" as a dedicated letter processing center in advance in the letter signing process configuration to ensure compliance with the law firm's letter sending process. (Specify the initiator of the sending process)
08 Authoritative identity authentication support ensures the trustworthiness of third-party identities Policy requirements The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants provides
identity authentication
for accounting firms that access the bank letter verification platform.
Contract Lock Solution:
Ensuring the authenticity of the identities of accounting firms, audited entities, and banks is essential to prevent risks such as sending letters on behalf of others, forging replies, and data leaks. The Contract Lock Electronic Signature System, in collaboration with authoritative CA institutions across the country, provides identity authentication and verification services for bank letter verification work, ensuring that the individual and their unit sign the letter, and ensuring the authenticity, trustworthiness, and compliance of the letter sending, reply, and authorization processes. Summary: The contract lock electronic signature product is developed and designed strictly in accordance with relevant national laws and regulations, and has numerous authoritative qualification certificates such as CMMI3, information system security level protection level three filing certificate, and commercial password product certification certificate. It can provide legal, effective, and secure electronic signatures, identity authentication, and data storage support for the digital construction of accounting firms and banking organizations. Ensure that the electronic signing of bank confirmation letters and replies is carried out in compliance and efficiently.
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