Brief introduction of Research Institute for Fiscal Science,

                      Ministry of Finance

  In June 1956, as per the instruction of Chairman Mao Zedong that the Ministry of Finance (MOF, hereinafter) needed to reinforce research work on fiscal and economic issues, the Research Institute of Fiscal Science (RIFS, hereafter) was officially founded. Now RIFS is a public service institution directly subordinate to MOF, whose primary duties are to undertake fiscal theoretical study and policy development, fiscal policy feasibility study, as well as the training of advanced accountants. Mr. Chen Rulong, the former vice minister of MOF, was the first president of RIFS. He was succeeded by Mr. Zhu Chuxin. Four famous economists, Mr. Xu Yi, Fang Xiaoqiu, Ning Xueping, and He Shengming presided RIFS in the following years. The current president is Professor Jia Kang, who concurrently supervises Ph. D candidates at the Graduate School of RIFS. The other members of RIFS's top management are: Vice President Cong Anni (Professor, Supervisor of MA), Vice President Su Ming (Professor, Supervisor of Ph. D candidates), Vice President Wang Chaocai (Professor, Supervisor of Ph.D candidates), Dean of the Graduate school of RIFS, Mr. Luo Wengang (Associate Professor), Vice President Liu Shangxi (Professor, Supervisor of Ph. D candidates), and Vice President Bai Jingming (Professor, Supervisor of Ph. D candidates). After graduate education system was reestablished in China in1978, the Graduate School of RIFS now has been annually accepting graduate students for master and PH.D degrees. Post-doctoral stations for public finance specialty have also been established in RIFS since March 2001. Two academic journals, Public Finance Research and Information on Public Finance Research (currently named as Information on China's Finance and Economics ), were also created in 1980.

The mission of RIFS is to conduct financial and economic theories and the development of public policies on the basis of the realities at different economic stages and reform in China so as to provide policy consultancy for fiscal policy-making and the improvement of fiscal work management. RIFS focuses on:

•  macroeconomic theory and policy,

•  fundamentals of fiscal theory;

•  income distribution, fiscal system,

•  government budget,

•  national tax,

•  the cooperation of fiscal and monetary policy,

•  capital market,

•  state-owned assets management,

•  accounting theory and practice,

•  government accounting,

•  accounting computerization,

•  corporate finance,

•  auditing theory and practice, investment,

•  fiscal risk,

•  social security,

•  national debt,

•  treasury management,

•  rural public finance,

•  urban public finance,

•  local public finance,

•  regional public finance,

•  foreign public finance,

•  fiscal history and etc..

RIFS is celebrated in all these fields in and outside China.

So far, RIFS has 72 researchers with the titles of professors and associate professors and 68 assistant professors.

The internal organizational setup of RIFS is as such: 12 Divisions respectively engaged in Comprehensive Public Finance research, Accounting research, Fundamental Theory research, Regional Public Finance research, Fiscal History, Foreign Public Finance research, Tax Policy research, State-owned Assets research, Finance research, and general research organization, and accounting computerization center. Another two professional divisions are journal editing board and the institute's library. Service and administrative units of RIFS include General Affairs Office, Personnel Office, and Accountant Office. The Secretary of China Public Finance Association and the Secretary of China Abacus Association are also currently affiliated to RIFS.

RIFS has prestigious reputation of cultivating advanced professionals in such fields as public finance, accounting, national economy management, and corporate management. It was also among the first group of institutions entitled to graduate education by Ministry of Education and Diploma Committee of the State Council. RIFS is the first institution starting PH.D education in the field of accounting computerization in China. The Graduate School of RIFS specializes in graduate education and has a strong faculty consisting of 37 Ph.D candidates' supervisors and 53 master candidates supervisors. From 1978 till now, it has recruited master candidates for 28 years and PH.D candidates for 24 years during the period. In recent years RIFS have trained and supplied many outstanding graduates for governmental agencies, public service units and enterprises, and research and education institutions, which earned RIFS the title of “West Point School” in the field of public finance. In 2004, RIFS started the education of MPAcc (Master of Public Accounting) as one of the first group of pilot institutions.

The Editing Board of RIFS edits and publishes two journals, Public Finance Research and Information on China's Finance and Economics . Public Finance Research is the journal of China Public Finance Association (monthly journal) while Information on China's Finance and Economics, created in 1999 and originally called Information on Public Finance Research , is the journal of RIFS. These two journals covers most updated financial and economic developments, reform measures and analysis, as well as theoretical research on finance and economics in China. Both journals are among the national core periodicals.

Besides, RIFS staff also edits such internal journals as Research Report , Briefs on Public Finance , Information on the News of Finance and Economics , Internal Research Report , and News on Finance and Economic, which are sent to the top leaders at the State Council, Ministry of Finance, and other related ministries as policy recommendation materials.

The Secretary of China Public Finance Association is the administrative body of the association, mainly in charge of organizing academic activities of the association and dealing with other regular affairs of the association.

Similarly, the Secretary of China Abacus Association is the administrative body of the association organizing academic activities, arranging matches on abacus and heart calculating, and dealing with other regular affairs of the association. It also acts as the Secretary of the World Abacus Calculating and Heart Calculating United Association.

Since 1998 RIFS began accepting post-doctoral researchers (at that time no stations were set up and only returned overseas Ph.Ds were accepted). The post-doctoral mobile stations in the field of public finance (the first level of discipline is applied economics) were formally established in March of 2001. In the field of accounting, RIFS can grant Ph.D degrees to qualified candidates, but so far no post-doctoral stations were set up. Anyway, it can accept Ph. Ds specialized in accounting to do post-doctoral research.

Thanks to the reform and the opening-door policies, RIFS is having broader and broader external communications and cooperation with international counterparts. The researchers of RIFS has been to USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Israel, South Africa, Egypt, India, Thailand, Singapore for the purposes of study, conference, and cooperative research. Many young researchers have been sent to foreign countries for training and the study on the foreign public theories and practices. In the meantime, RIFS also invited and hosted many international experts and scholars from all over the world for teaching and academic exchanges.