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At the time of a company's initial application for TPEx listing, case-handlers shall ascertain whether the company's financial reports for the preceding 2 years have been approved by the audit committee, approved by the board of directors, and audited and attested by a CPA, and, if the company does not have an audit committee, whether the financial reports have been recognized by the supervisors. In cases where the financial report approved by the shareholders meeting is inconsistent with the former report, the report approved by the shareholders meeting shall also be submitted, and when there are any irregularities in its individual accounting items, an analysis shall be performed of the reasons for the irregularities. In the case of an application for TPEx listing by a government-operated enterprise, the enterprise shall still submit, for the most recent fiscal year, the financial report approved by the audit committee, approved by the board of directors, audited and attested by a CPA, and, if the company does not have an audit committee, recognized by the supervisors, but for the previous year, it may alternatively submit an audit report from an auditing institution.
A company that is applying for TPEx listing shall submit the following CPA-audited and attested or CPA-reviewed financial reports:
- Parent company only and consolidated financial reports for the preceding 2 years.
- The financial reports of the most recent quarter, when the date of application is more than 45 days after the end of the quarter.
The applicant company shall continue to submit financial reports after the date of application for TPEx listing in accordance with Article 30 of the Taipei Exchange Rules Governing the Review of Emerging Stocks for Trading on the TPEx. When the applicant company submits an annual financial report for the year of application in accordance with the aforementioned rules, it may request the attesting CPA and the recommending securities firm to make a joint submission of the CPA's audit working papers and an updated assessment report from the recommending securities firm.
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Directions governing review:
The provisions of this paragraph apply without exception to all reviews of initial TPEx listing applications: After receiving an application for TPEx listing, case handlers shall review the application, its attachments, and the inspection results, conclusions, or opinions included in the working papers checklists, and all information provided by the applicant company and the recommending securities firm, CPAs, or attorneys, taking into consideration the matters below, and in addition shall carry out an especially rigorous audit in any case where, after an advisory contract has been entered into, an application for TPEx listing is promptly submitted without a reasonable period of time allowed for advice or assessment:
- Certified Public Accountant's Audit or Review Report:
Case handlers shall review the following information:
- If there has been a change in CPAs in the year of application or during the 2 fiscal years preceding the application date, the case handlers shall ascertain the facts and reasons underlying the change.
- For any CPA audit report issued with other than an unqualified opinion or review report issued with other than an unqualified conclusion, the reviewers shall ascertain the underlying facts and reasons and assess the extent to which they will affect the company's financial statements.
- The attesting CPA for the year of application and the most recent 2 years shall be a practicing CPA at a joint accounting firm approved by the competent authority.
- The audit report shall state that the report is prepared in accordance with the regulations issued by the competent authority to govern the preparation of financial reports for the relevant industry.
- When the applicant's financial reports for the most recent accounting year or the most recent period during the year of application reveal that it meets any of the standards with respect to a major subsidiary as set out in any subparagraph of Article 3, paragraph 2 of the Regulations Governing Financial Statement Audit and Attestation Engagements of Certified Public Accountants or Article 5 of the Directions for Auditing and Attestation of Financial Statements of Financial Institutions by Certified Public Accountants, its financial report must comply with applicable regulations.
In these Procedures, the above term "its financial report must comply with applicable regulations" shall mean that when the financial reports of the major subsidiary of the applicant company are audited or reviewed by other CPAs, the applicant company's CPA shall produce an audit report on the applicant company's financial statements with an unqualified opinion, or review report with an unqualified conclusion, and without reference to any other accountant's audit. Case handlers shall inspect the materials used by the applicant company's CPA for its assessment and verification of the overseas investee's CPA and audit report or review report, in order to determine whether the assessment and auditing procedures were comprehensive and in conformance with the relevant provisions of Taiwan's Auditing Standards Committee's Engagement Standards.
- When any of the following have been true of the applicant company's CPA, another CPA shall be engaged for auditing and attestation of the applicant company's financial reports for the preceding 2 years and the year of application for TPEx listing:
- The CPA has received a disciplinary action or disposition equal or greater in severity to a warning by the competent authority during the preceding 2 years or the year of application for TPEx listing, provided that this will not apply when the disciplinary action or disposition was a warning or a reprimand, and the cause of the warning or reprimand occurred over 5 years prior to the date of application for TPEx listing.
- A cumulative two times or more during the year prior to the application for TPEx listing, there has been a public announcement by the TPEx or the TWSE, in accordance with their respective Regulations for Handling Deficiencies in Certified Public Accountants' Reviews of TPEx Stock Listing Applications and Regulations Governing the Handling of Errors by Certified Public Accountants in Auditing of Initial Applications for Market Listing, that for a period of time they were refusing to accept, in connection with companies applying for TPEx or TWSE listing, financial reports audited and attested or reviewed by the CPA.
- Content of Financial Reports:
Case handlers shall review the following information:
- Whether the type, format, and content of financial reports (including financial statements, notes, itemized statements of individual accounting items, and other disclosures and explanations relevant to informed judgment) comply with the regulations issued by the competent authority to govern the preparation of financial reports for the relevant industry.
- Case handlers shall perform an overall analysis of the report both on its own and in comparison with those from other companies in the same industry, to ascertain emerging trends and possible irregularities in the applicant company's financial condition and profitability.
- If unusual accounting items are found in the financial report and a large sum of money is involved, the item in question shall be audited to ascertain its composition and categorization.
- Case handlers shall determine the status of adjustments or improvements required in the financial reports as instructed in writing by the competent authority.
- In any of the following special or irregular circumstances with respect to parent company only and consolidated financial reports, case handlers shall gain a thorough understanding of the audit content of the certified public accountant (CPA)'s working papers:
- Transactions between major affiliated persons: any large transactions between affiliated persons indicating arrangements contrary to normal operating practice or illicit exchanges of profits or benefits.
- Excessive fluctuations in the applicant company's receivables turnover rate or a variance compared to the trend for other enterprises in the industry.
- Irregularities in the applicant company's allocation of loss allowances for receivables.
- A counterparty for a sale by an applicant company that is different from the party paying off the receivables.
- Excessive fluctuations in the applicant company's inventory turnover rates or variance compared to the trend for other enterprises in the industry.
- Irregularities in the applicant company's inventory valuation allowances and allocation of reserves for losses on obsolete and slow-moving inventory.
- Large gains or losses on the applicant company's physical inventory.
- The accounting treatment of capitalization of interest.
- Case handlers shall gain a thorough understanding of the content of impairment of assets and the method of their evaluation.
- Case handlers shall gain a thorough understanding of the content of intangible assets and the method of recognition and measurement.
- The rate of interest and status of interest payments on large transfers of funds between related parties, or shareholders.
- Any irregularities in the loaning of funds to another party or the provision of an endorsement or guarantee for another party.
- The content of contingent liabilities.
- The amount of any lines of credit obtained jointly from banks by the applicant company and its related parties.
- Excessive fluctuations in the applicant company's gross profit margins on sales of goods or a variance compared to the trend for other enterprises in the industry.
- The content of any large non-operating income or expenditures.
- Any new customer acquired within the past 2 years that is a related party or among the applicant company's ten largest customers shall be included in the audit sample when the audit is carried out. It shall be further ascertained whether the customer is a related party, and how the terms of the transaction agreement with the new customer differ from those of a contract with an ordinary customer, in order to confirm whether the figures for sales revenue have been recorded in a manner consistent with the principle of realized revenue.
- Financial forecast information
Case handlers shall acquire a general understanding of the recent operations of the applicant company and the financial forecast information that the applicant company provides, which shall only be used in connection with the review of the application at issue and may not be made known or disclosed to outside parties.
- The internal control system, statements of internal control, and the CPA internal control system engagement report:
Case handlers shall inspect the following items:
- Whether the applicant company has performed a self-inspection of the effectiveness of the design and implementation of its internal control system and produced a statement of internal control in compliance with the Regulations for the Establishment of Internal Control Systems by Public Companies, and obtained a CPA reasonable assurance report with an unqualified conclusion on the internal control system engagement.
- Inspect the working papers of the CPA's internal control system engagement report in relation to the purchases/payments cycle and the sales/receipts cycle to gain an understanding of the adoption and implementation of the internal control system by the applicant company and of whether the CPA used appropriate procedures sufficient to support the conclusions of the CPA's internal control system engagement report.
- The applicant company's self-inspection of internal control systems and performance of internal control system engagements by CPAs shall cover the following periods: For applications submitted from February through April, the period covered shall be 1 January through 31 December of the previous year; for applications submitted from May through July, the period covered for shall be from 1 April of the previous year until 31 March of the year of application; for applications submitted from August through October, the period covered shall be from 1 July of the previous year until 30 June of the year of application; for applications submitted from November through January of the following year, the period covered shall be from 1 October of the previous year until 30 September of the year of application. The CPA performing the engagement on the applicant company's internal control system shall conform with the requirements of Article 27 of the Regulations Governing Establishment of Internal Control Systems by Public Companies.
- During the inspection process, the case handlers shall note whether the CPA has complied with the Auditing Standards Committee's Engagement Standards, the Regulations Governing Financial Statement Audit and Attestation Engagements of Certified Public Accountants, the Regulations for the Establishment of Internal Control Systems by Public Companies, and all other applicable laws and regulations, and shall gain an understanding, through scrutiny of the CPA's working papers, of the tests applied at the time of the audit and their scope, time frame, and characteristics, and whether there has been full factual disclosure, as well as whether the accountant omitted any procedural requirements (e.g. monitoring of remaining inventory, certification and reconciliation of bank account balances) while failing to adopt other substitute procedures. If it is determined that the auditing procedures executed by the CPA were insufficient to reach the necessary conclusions, the case handlers shall request that the accountant provide supplementary explanations.
- The recommending securities firm's assessment report:
Case handlers shall inspect the format and content of the underwriter's assessment report to determine:
- Whether the report has been compiled in accordance with the requirements of the Directions Governing the Particulars to be Recorded in Underwriter Assessment Reports for Applications for TPEx Trading of Securities and signed by the lead underwriter and sponsoring underwriter. The Directions Governing the Particulars to be Recorded in Underwriter Assessment Reports for Applications for TPEx Listing of Securities shall be separately promulgated by the TPEx.
- Whether a careful assessment has been carried out in accordance with the Taipei Exchange Procedures Governing Assessment and Auditing Procedures for Recommending Securities Firms Handling Applications for Listing of Stock on the TPEx sufficient to support the conclusions of the assessment report. The Taipei Exchange Rules Governing Assessment and Auditing Procedures for Recommending Securities Firms Handling Applications for Listing of Stock on the TPEx will be separately adopted by the TPEx.
- Whether the working papers have been properly prepared.
- Whether a Declaration has been produced testifying that the assessment report is free of any misrepresentations or nondisclosures.
- The public prospectus:
The case handlers shall examine the format and content of the prospectus to ascertain whether it has been compiled in accordance with the Directions for the Particulars to be Recorded in Prospectuses for Initial TPEx Listing of Securities and other relevant laws and regulations.
- Qualification for TPEx listing applications, negative listing criteria, and TPEx listing supplementary provisions:
Case handlers shall inspect the following items:
- Whether the applicant company meets the criteria for TPEx listing under Article 3 of the TPEx Securities Review Rules.
- Whether it is the case that none of the specific determining criteria under any subparagraph of Article 10, paragraph 1 of the Securities Review Rules are applicable to the applicant company, and that the applicant company meets all the requirements under the supplementary provisions of the Securities Review Rules. For any instance of non-conformance with regulations, case handlers shall make a note of their opinions and submit the application for higher-level review, and provide a detailed explanation within the review report and the working papers for the review.
- An official letter of notification from the competent authority with instruction on points requiring special attention:
Case handlers shall ascertain whether or not there is a letter of instruction from the competent authority providing points requiring special attention with respect to the applicant company. If an instance of failure to comply with provisions is found, the case handlers shall note their opinions and submit them for higher-level review.
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Review procedures:
- Case handlers reviewing a TPEx listing case shall carry out the review in accordance with the following inspection procedures:
- Application Documents:
Case handlers shall check all application documents received and complete an "Application Document Receipt Record for TPEx Trading of Securities." (Attachment 1).
- Preliminary prospectus:
Case handlers shall check each item of the content of the preliminary prospectus against the Directions for the Particulars to be Recorded in Prospectuses for TPEx Trading of Securities and other relevant regulations, and re-examine the Checklist of Legal Issues to be Examined upon Application by Issuers for TPEx Listing of Stock (Attachment 2) completed by the securities underwriter.
- The recommending securities firm's assessment report:
Case handlers shall review the underwriter's assessment report and check whether each item was assessed in accordance with the rules and regulations of the TPEx and whether it draws clear and definitive conclusions, and enter an opinion in the "remarks" column for the TPEx in the "Abstract of the Underwriter's Assessment Report" (Attachment 3). When any of the matters set forth in the TPEx's Regulations for Handling Deficiencies in an Assessment Report, Concluding Opinion, or Related Information Submitted by a Securities Firm are found to exist, the matter shall be referred to a meeting of the Administration Department Review Committee for Compliance, convened by the president of the TPEx and attended by TPEx-related personnel ("Administration Department Review Committee"), for passage of a resolution which shall serve as the basis for subsequent implementation. The Regulations for Handling Deficiencies in an Assessment Report, Concluding Opinion, or Related Information Submitted by a Securities Firm shall be separately promulgated by the TPEx.
- Internal Control Systems:
- Case handlers shall examine the internal audit report for the self-inspection period given in the statement on the internal control system and gain an understanding of internal control deficiencies and the status of corrective measures.
- Case handlers shall gain an understanding of comprehensive opinions expressed in the CPA's recommendations for improvement of the internal control system for the preceding 3 years and the attached internal control system data in Item 2 of the Questionnaire for TPEx Listing of Stock (Attachment 4).
- Case handlers shall carry out the review in accordance with the Procedures for Review of Internal Control System Engagement Reports Issued by CPAs. The Procedures for Review of Internal Control System Engagement Reports Issued by CPAs will be separately adopted by the TPEx.
- Case handlers shall fill out the "Document Review Record and CPA Review Report Inspection Form" (Attachment 5).
- Comprehensive Analysis of Financial Information:
Case handlers shall review the Questionnaire for TPEx Listing of Stocks and the annexed survey report for related industries, explanations of major changes in accounting items published in the prospectus, financial analytical data from the CPA's permanent records, and the recommending securities firm's assessment report to ascertain and assess the financial condition and trends of the applicant company and excerpt any important items or irregularities to compile the "Comprehensive Analysis of Financial Data" (Attachment 6).
- Certified public accountant auditing procedures and financial report:
Case handlers shall re-examine the "Certified Public Accountant Audit and Attestation Procedure Checklist" (Attachment 7) and ascertain that the CPA's audit report was prepared in accordance with the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and the Regulations Governing Financial Statement Audit and Attestation Engagements of Certified Public Accountants, and that the content of the applicant company's financial reports is in compliance with the Regulations Governing the Preparation of Financial Reports by Securities Issuers or the Regulations Governing the Preparation of Financial Reports by Securities Firms, the Auditing Standards Committee's Engagement Standards, and all other applicable regulations. Case handlers shall then note their opinion in the opinion column of the Certified Public Accountant Auditing Procedure Checklist. If the case handlers find any circumstances in violation of the Regulations for Handling Deficiencies in Certified Public Accountants' Reviews of TPEx Stock Listing Applications, the case handlers shall refer the matter to the Review Committee and execute the resolution passed by the committee. The above-mentioned Regulations for Handling Deficiencies in Certified Public Accountants' Reviews of TPEx Stock Listing Applications shall be separately promulgated by the TPEx.
- Equity distribution and custodial undertaking:
Case handlers shall examine the following items and complete an "Equity Distribution and Custodial Undertaking Chart" (Attachment 8):
- Whether, at the time of underwriting, the ratio of shares is in compliance with TPEx regulations.
- Whether equity distribution is in compliance, after the underwriting is finished, with the provisions of the TPEx Securities Review Rules.
- Whether the ratio of shares held by directors is in compliance with the regulations of the competent authority.
- Whether the percentage of shares being placed in centralized custody by persons required to place shares in centralized custody, and their related undertakings, are in accordance with TPEx regulations.
- Case handlers shall examine the following:
- Whether the applicant company is in compliance with the requirements for TPEx listing under Article 3 of the TPEx Securities Review Rules, and whether the TPEx opinion has been noted in the applicable column in the Questionnaire for TPEx Listing of Stocks.
- Whether the applicant company is in compliance with each of the subparagraphs of Article 10, paragraph 1 of the TPEx Securities Review Rules, and complete the "Checklist for Matters Set Forth under Article 10, Paragraph 1, of the Rules for the Review of Securities for TPEx Listing" (Attachment 9).
- Whether the applicant company is in conformance with all of the supplementary provisions of the TPEx Securities Review Rules and has filled out the "Checklist for Compliance with Supplementary Provisions to the TPEx Securities Review Rules" (Attachment 9).
- During review, case handlers shall consolidate all the above review data and relevant documentation (Attachments 1 through 10) into a binder.
- To ascertain the actual status of the financial, case handlers shall conduct on-site audits and carry out the following audit procedures:
- Ascertaining the following matters and obtaining related information:
- Major products, raw materials and their main sources, and the differences in their main product's applications, product segmentation, and competitiveness in comparison with products of other enterprises in the industry.
- Management approach and performance.
- Members of the board of directors and supervisors and changes in their shareholdings over the preceding 2 years.
- Market overview and company positioning (including response strategies for peer competition, product substitutability, and business cycles).
- Operational risk for the industry and the company.
- Financial interactions with related parties and the group enterprise.
- An analysis of financial ratios in comparison with companies of the same type that are already TPEx listed or TWSE listed and that are not TPEx or TWSE listed.
- Research and development results and future research and development plans (including analysis of staff quality in the research and development department, direction of R&D, R&D capabilities of same-sector enterprises, the outlook for future mass production and market competitiveness, and the marketability of future products).
- Plans for future development, factors advantageous and disadvantageous to the company's future development, and response strategies.
- Staff turnover rates for the preceding 2 years and the year of application, reasons for employee separation, and concrete measures for retention of staff.
- Other.
- Inspection of factories, with particular attention to the operational status of machinery and inventory checks.
- Findings of on-site audits shall be recorded in detail in the "On-Site Audit Record" (Attachment 11).
If the applicant company is a financial holding company or an investment holding company, all above procedures shall be conducted for the subsidiaries of the financial holding company or for subsidiaries of the investment holding company in which more than 80 percent of outstanding voting shares are held. However, where such a subsidiary of a financial holding company or an investment holding company is located offshore, only a formal review need be undertaken. The term "subsidiary" shall be construed in accordance with the meaning given in Article 4, subparagraph 4 of the Financial Holding Company Act.
- Compilation of Working Papers: Case handlers shall consolidate and record in detail all audited items and findings of the audit, together with all relevant information, and number them in order for cross-referencing. Upon completion of the audit, case handlers shall compile all review information (Attachments 1 through 11) and supporting documentation in a binder as their working papers, and retain them on file for a minimum of 5 years for future reference and case management.
- After completion of the working papers, case handlers shall compile the key audit findings, the opinions of relevant experts, and other relevant information into a "Review Report" (Attachment 12) for reference during the review and deliberation of the case.
- Review Period: Applications for initial TPEx stock listing shall be submitted for deliberation by the Committee for Review of TPEx Securities Listings (hereinafter, the "Review Committee") within 6 weeks from the week after the documents are received, provided that the TPEx may, based upon review requirements, extend the deadline after having submitted a report to and obtained approval from the president of the TPEx.
- Effect of the TPEx Listing Review: The findings of the audit of an application for TPEx listing reflect the financial and business condition of the applicant company during only during a specific period, and should not be taken as a reflection of the overall or future performance of the applicant company. The results also depend largely on whether the applicant company has made full disclosure of information relating to its financial and business condition. The review results do not provide a guarantee of the quality of the applicant company and shall not be taken as a substitute for the functions and status of [reports of] securities underwriters, attesting CPAs, or attorneys. Therefore, in reviewing initial applications for TPEx listing:
- Case handlers shall carry out the review work with a positive service attitude and rely fully on all information and opinions provided by the applicant company, the recommending securities firm, the attesting CPA, and attorneys, except where any nondisclosure, fraud, falsehood, or error is discovered.
- Where information or statements of opinion provided by the applicant company, recommending securities firm, attesting CPA, and attorneys are found to contain any nondisclosure, fraud, error, falsehood, or otherwise seriously violate related laws or TPEx rules and regulations, those responsible shall be held fully liable under the law, and the matter shall be duly reported to the competent authority after handling by the TPEx pursuant to relevant regulations or shall be directly reported to the competent authority. The TPEx undertakes only the review and deliberation of applications. Responsible personnel shall, at the time of processing applications, act in accordance with the provisions of the TPEx's Disciplinary Standards for TPEx Listing Review Personnel or the TPEx's Directions Concerning Matters for Collective Compliance by TPEx Listing Review Committee Members, and remain detached, impartial, and objective to ensure compliance with all the procedural requirements of these Procedures and other applicable regulations. In the event of any violation or negligence, where verified by investigation, personnel shall be responsible for matters that fall within the scope of their duties.
- Where any concerns arise during the review period, the case handlers shall contact the applicant company, the recommending securities firm, attesting CPA, and attorneys, and request that they take the initiative to collect relevant information in a timely fashion and provide explanations.
- Prior to submission for review by the Review Committee, an application for TPEx listing shall first be checked by a TPEx Internal Review Meeting. If the Internal Review Meeting resolves not to approve the TPEx listing, it may reject the application after submitting a written request for approval to the TPEx president, and inform the applicant company by letter.
- When the Internal Review Meeting under the preceding paragraph is held, the relevant review personnel of the case-handling departments shall be present at the meeting, and provide reports on the important items to be reviewed and proposal information in the Review Report. In addition, the applicant company and recommending securities firm may be invited to give explanations when necessary.
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