The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA) recently formulated and issued Guidance for Merger Procedures of Accounting Firms (the guidance), which comprises of three parts: the compliance basis and principles, the procedures for the negotiation of mergers, and procedures for changes of merger. The guidance aims to prompt the accounting firms to pay attention to the implementation of legal procedures during the merger process, to avoid the detours and conflicts caused by unclarified or inadequate legal procedures, so as to reduce risks and costs for mergers of accounting firms. By implementing the guidance, CICPA hopes to promote the accounting firms to achieve substantial integration in the mergers as soon as possible, and accomplish stronger and more competitive accounting firms.