An introduction to SNAI/AFDI
(Revised on September 22, 2025)
Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI) was officially established in September 2000 by the CPC Central Committee to meet the demand for capacity building of financial and economic talents amid the development of the socialist market economy in China. The Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Institute (AFDI) was created and founded by the Chinese government to promote regional capacity building. The two Institutes operate under the same management with dual identities. As a public institution directly under the Ministry of Finance, SNAI/AFDI implements the president responsibility system under the leadership of the Party Committee. Located near the Hongqiao Transportation Hub, the campus covers an area of 511 mu (approximately 34.07 hectares).
Under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Finance and the Shanghai Municipal Government, SNAI thoroughly implements the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, closely aligns with national strategic needs, fully adheres to the Party’s educational principles, and takes cultivating morality and nurturing talents as its fundamental mission. With “No Misrepresentations in Financial Statements” as its motto, over 25 years of development, SNAI has formed a business framework focusing on three key areas: high-end financial and accounting talent development, think tank construction, and international financial and economic exchanges, while serving both domestic needs and international community. It has gradually grown into a core base for national high-end financial and accounting talent development, a leading force in fiscal, tax, and accounting laws and regulations training, and a key channel for promoting accounting integrity education.
In high-end talent development, SNAI has developed a series of flagship talent development programs, including the National High-End Accounting Talents Training Program, the Chief Accountants Training Program for National Large and Medium-sized Enterprises and Public Institutions, and the International High-End Accounting Talents Training Program. It jointly launched China’s first Executive Master of Professional Accounting (EMPAcc) program for senior financial executives with The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and its Executive MBA program in collaboration with Arizona State University of the USA ranks among the top globally in the Financial Times EMBA rankings. SNAI’s full-time postgraduate programs cover four majors: Accounting, Auditing, Taxation, and Finance. It is one of the first institutions in China authorized to offer a professional doctoral degree program in auditing. It jointly cultivates doctoral students in accounting with Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE), and hosts a postdoctoral research station. On average, SNAI trains about 50,000 participants via its various face-to-face short-term training programs, enrolls 300 students for its degree programs, and delivers online training to 600,000 participants annually.
In think tank development, SNAI promotes the building of a collaborative development ecosystem integrating government, industry, academia, and research. It has five faculties of Accounting, Auditing, Finance, Business Management, and Applied Economics. Leveraging its advantages such as its location in the Yangtze River Delta, high-caliber participants, and extensive connections with local industries, SNAI has established several research centers focusing on Accounting, Fiscal, Tax Policies for Low-Carbon Development, Intelligent Finance, Auditing and Financial and Accounting Supervision, and Modern Industry Research. These research centers actively conduct applied research to support the core work of public finance, with many of their think tank reports adopted by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council.
In terms of international financial exchanges, AFDI, as an outcome of China’s hosting of the APEC meeting twice, has evolved through three stages (starting from a program to be upgraded into a center and finally to become an institute) and gradually become an important platform for international exchange in areas of finance and development. AFDI launched several flagship programs such as the “Asian Evaluation Week” by partnering with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), etc. With the qualification for conducting China Aid training programs authorized by the Ministry of Commerce of China, SNAI/AFDI trains over 1,000 international participants annually. It also offers a Master’s professional degree program in accounting for students from developing countries, primarily targeting young financial and economic officials from these countries, with a total of approximately 300 international students enrolled and educated so far.
SNAI strives to be the “spiritual home” for accounting professionals. It operates a website called China Accounting View, an online community for accounting practitioners, strengthens professional ethics education featuring integrity, and vigorously promotes advanced accounting culture. The SNAI Educational Development Foundation is committed to mobilizing social resources to support the Institute’s innovative development and promote lifelong learning among alumni.
Looking ahead, SNAI will thoroughly implement President Xi Jinping’s important instructions on promoting the high-quality development of National Accounting Institutes and the requirements of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Finance. Focusing on tasks such as serving the talent strategy in the new era, deepening the reform of the fiscal and tax system, establishing and improving the financial and accounting supervision system, and promoting the development of the accounting sector, SNAI is committed to building itself into a core hub for innovation integrating government, industry, academia, and research, a gathering place for national high-end financial and accounting talents, a thought leader for leading the financial and economic practices, and an international influential education and training center, and above all, striving to develop into a “world-class accounting institute with Chinese characteristics”.
School Motto: No Misrepresentations in Financial Statements
Vision: To become a world-class institute with Chinese characteristics
Positioning: High-end financial and accounting talents training, think tank development, international financial and economic exchanges and cooperation
Values: Seeking truth and being pragmatic, remaining true to the original aspiration, upholding integrity and being innovative, striving for excellence
