The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) plans to select five qualified accounting firms to provide services such as annual auditing, auditing of special programs and off-office auditing, according to a notice the RCSC published on March 13.

The RCSC will receive bids from across the country for 20 days following the publication of the notice, and the selection process will comply with national regulations regarding government procurement, it says.

The RCSC will publicly announce the five bid winners, which are required to be among the top 100 accounting firms included in the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants. It will sign a three-year service protocol with the five firms and assign auditing tasks according to their offer, professional strengths and service level.

This is the first time the charity has publicly called tenders for its auditing services.