China United Insurance Service, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2019 September (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2019

OR

For the transition period from __________ to __________

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER: 000-54884

CHINA UNITED INSURANCE SERVICE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

7F, No. 311 Section 3

Nan-King East Road

Taipei City, Taiwan

(Address of principal executive offices)

+8862-87126958

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes x  No ¨ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). 

Yes x  No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Yes ¨  No  x

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

As of November 18, 2019, there are 29,421,736 shares of common stock issued and outstanding, and 1,000,000 preferred shares issued and outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This report contains forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors described under Part 1 Item 2 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”  In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this report. You should read this report and the documents that we reference in this report, or that we filed as exhibits to this report completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION

References in this quarterly report to “we,” “us,” “our” and the “Company” and words of like import refer to China United Insurance Service, Inc., its subsidiaries and variable interest entities.

References to China or the PRC refer to the People’s Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). References to Taiwan refer to Republic of China.

Unless context indicates otherwise, reference to the “Company” in this quarterly report refers to China United Insurance Service, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Reference to “AHFL” refers to the combined operations of Action Holdings Financial Limited and its Taiwan Subsidiaries (as defined below). Reference to “Anhou” refers to the combined operations of Law Anhou Insurance Agency Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries.

Our business is conducted in Taiwan and China using New Taiwanese Dollars (“NT$” or “NTD”), the currency of Taiwan, Hong Kong Dollars (“HK$” or “HKD”), the currency of Hong Kong, and RMB, the currency of China, respectively, and our financial statements are presented in United States dollars (“USD”, “US$” or “$”). In this quarterly report, we refer to assets, obligations, commitments and liabilities in our financial statements in USD. These dollar references are based on the exchange rate of NT$, HK$ and RMB to USD, determined as of a specific date. Changes in the exchange rate will affect the amount of our obligations and the value of our assets in terms of USD which may result in an increase or decrease in the amount of our obligations (expressed in USD) and the value of our assets, including accounts receivable (expressed in USD).

PART I.  FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)

CHINA UNITED INSURANCE SERVICE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

CHINA UNITED INSURANCE SERVICE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME / (LOSS)

(UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

CHINA UNITED INSURANCE SERVICE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

(UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

CHINA UNITED INSURANCE SERVICE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS 

(UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

NOTE 1 – ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES

China United Insurance Service, Inc. (“China United”, “CUIS”, or the “Company”) is a Delaware corporation, organized on June 4, 2010 by Yi-Hsiao Mao, a Taiwan citizen, as a listing vehicle for both ZLI Holdings Limited (“CU Hong Kong”) and Action Holdings Financial Limited (“AHFL,” a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands). The Company’s common stock currently trades over the counter under the ticker symbol “CUII” on the OTC Pink market. 

In May 2019, AHFL entered into an agreement to make capital contributions of $485,909 (NTD15,000,000) to Ilife International Investment Co., Limited (“Ilife”). After the transaction, the Company owned 93.75% of Ilife. In July 2019, AHFL acquired the remaining 6.25% shares of Ilife, which became the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary. The business objective of Ilife is to obtain a non-exclusive license covering certain information technology systems from Law Broker and generate revenues from marketing and making the technologies available to insurance intermediary companies.

On June 4, 2019, Ilife entered into an acquisition agreement with the selling shareholder of Uniwill Insurance Broker Co., Ltd (“Uniwill”), Pursuant to the acquisition agreement, Ilife agreed to pay $14,535 (NTD 450,000) in exchange for the insurance brokerage licenses issued to Uniwill by the Taiwanese government, along with right to the Uniwill company name and $6,455 (NTD 200,000) of legal deposits. The Company has no intention of operating the Uniwill existing brokerage business nor retaining any of its sales personnel. Therefore the Company recognized only the acquisition of assets as part of this transaction.

The corporate structure as of September 30, 2019 is as follows:

NOTE 2 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of China United, its subsidiaries and variable interest entities as shown in the corporate structure in Note 1. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain reclassifications have been made to the consolidated financial statements for prior years to the current year’s presentation. Such reclassifications have no effect on net income as previously reported.

Basis of Presentation

The unaudited consolidated financial statements presented herein have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Regulation S-X. Accordingly, the financial statements do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, including normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair statement of the financial statements have been included. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2019.

These unaudited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2018, which were included in the Company’s 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K (“2018 Form 10-K”). The accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2018, has been derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements as of that date.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto. Actual results may differ from those estimates and assumptions. 

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts receivable includes commission receivables stated at net realizable values. The Company reviews its accounts receivable regularly to determine if a bad debt allowance is necessary at each quarter-end. Management reviews the composition of accounts receivable and analyzes the age of receivables outstanding, customer concentrations, customer credit worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment patterns to evaluate the necessity of making such allowance. No allowance was deemed necessary as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018.

Foreign Currency Transactions

The Company’s financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars ($), which is the Company’s reporting and functional currency. The functional currencies of the Company’s subsidiaries are NTD, RMB and HKD. The resulting translation adjustments are reported under other comprehensive income in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 220 (“ASC 220”), “Reporting Comprehensive Income”. Gains and losses resulting from the translation of foreign currency transactions are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive income (loss). Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency are translated at the functional currency using the rate of exchange prevailing at the balance sheet date. Any differences are taken to profit or loss as a gain or loss on foreign currency translation in the consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive income (loss).

The Company translates the assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars using the rate of exchange prevailing at the balance sheet date and the statements of operations and cash flows are translated at an average rate during the reporting period. Adjustments resulting from the translation from NTD, RMB and HKD into U.S. dollars are recorded in stockholders’ equity as part of accumulated other comprehensive income. The exchange rates used for financial statements are as follows:

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per common share (“EPS”) is computed by dividing net income attributable to the common shareholders of the Company by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted EPS is computed in the same manner as basic EPS, except the number of shares includes additional common shares that would have been outstanding if potential common shares with a dilutive effect had been issued.

As the holders of preferred stock of the Company are entitled to share equally with the holders of common stock, on a per share basis, in such dividends and other distributions of cash, property or shares of stock of the Company as may be declared by the board of directors, the preferred stock is treated as a participating security. When calculating the basic earnings per common share, the two-class method is used to allocate earnings to common stock and participating security as required by ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Potential common shares consist primarily of convertible bonds calculated using the if-converted method. However, convertible bonds were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per common share due to the antidilutive effect. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company does not have any outstanding convertible bonds. The antidilutive common share equivalents excluded from the computation were nil for both the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, and were nil and 36,047 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The calculation for basic and diluted EPS is as follows:

Long-Term Investments

Long-term investments include government bonds held as available-for-sale, investment in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) measured at fair value through net income, and equity investments under cost method. Available-for-sale investments are carried at fair value and unrealized gains and losses as a result of changes in the fair value are recorded as a separate component within accumulated other comprehensive income in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

The Company measures equity investments in companies that do not have a readily determinable fair value in which it holds an interest of less than 20% using cost method, and no changes in fair value is recognized in the income statement.

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company’s long-term investments consisted the following:

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value accounting establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosure about fair value measurements. Fair value, which is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. This framework provides a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three levels as follows:

The following fair value hierarchy tables present information about the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, there were no assets or liabilities that were transferred between any of the levels.

Marketable securities and long-term investments in REITs – The fair value of the mutual fund and REITs is valued based on quoted market prices in active markets.

Foreign government bonds – The fair value of government bonds is valued based on theoretical bond price in Taipei Exchange.

The amortized cost of the investment in government bonds is $97,042 and $98,732 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. The government bonds will mature on March 17, 2021.

The carrying amounts of financial assets and liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets for cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, restricted cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, short-term loans, due to related parties and accrued expense approximate fair value due to the short-term duration of those instruments.

Concentration of Risk

The Company maintains cash with banks in the USA, People’s Republic of China (“PRC” or “China”), Hong Kong, and Taiwan.  Should any bank holding cash become insolvent, or if the Company is otherwise unable to withdraw funds, the Company would lose the cash with that bank; however, the Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to any significant risks on its cash in bank accounts. In Taiwan, a depositor has up to NTD3,000,000 insured by Central Deposit Insurance Corporation (“CDIC”). In China, a depositor has up to RMB500,000 insured by the People’s Bank of China Financial Stability Bureau (“FSD”). In Hong Kong, a depositor has up to HKD500,000 insured by Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board (“DPB”). In the United States, the standard insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor in a bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”).

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, restricted cash, register capital deposits and accounts receivable. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, approximately $2,335,000 and $1,751,000 of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, restricted cash equivalents and register capital deposits held by financial institutions, was insured, and the remaining balance of approximately $49,338,000 and $44,289,000, was not insured. With respect to accounts receivable, the Company generally does not require collateral and does not have an allowance for doubtful accounts.

For the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company’s revenues from sale of insurance policies underwritten by these companies were: 

For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company’s revenues from sale of insurance policies underwritten by these companies were: 

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company’s accounts receivable from these companies were: 

The Company’s operations are in the PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Accordingly, the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations may be influenced by the political, economic, foreign currency exchange and legal environments in the PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and by the state of each economy. The Company’s results may be adversely affected by changes in the political and social conditions in the PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and by changes in governmental policies with respect to laws and regulations, anti-inflationary measures, and rates and methods of taxation, among other things.

New Accounting Pronouncements and Other Guidance

New Accounting Pronouncements Effective January 1, 2019:

Leases

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-02, (ASC Topic 842), Leases, which amends existing guidance to require lessees to recognize assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for the rights and obligations created by long-term leases and to disclose additional quantitative and qualitative information about leasing arrangements.

The Company adopted ASC 842 as of January 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective transition with no adjustment to its comparative periods in the year of transition. The Company elected the practical expedients, which allow the Company not to reassess prior conclusions with respect to lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs under ASC 842. The Company did not elect the hindsight practical expedient to determine the lease term or in assessing the likelihood that a lease purchase option will be exercised. In addition, the Company elected the short-term lease recognition. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the consolidated balance sheet.

The Company recognizes lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The adoption of ASC 842 resulted in the recognition of operating lease right-of-use assets of $4.0 million and corresponding operating lease liabilities of $3.7 million as of January 1, 2019 on the consolidated balance sheet. See Note 11 for details.

Accounting Standards Issued but Not Yet Adopted

Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, (Topic 326), Financial Instruments – Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments which amends the current accounting guidance and requires the use of the new forward-looking “expected loss” model, rather than the “incurred loss” model, which requires all expected losses to be determined based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. This guidance amends the accounting for credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments including trade and other receivables, held-to-maturity debt securities, loans and other instruments. ASU 2016-13 is effective for public entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods therein. The Company is evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2016-13 on its financial position and results of operations.

There were other updates recently issued. The management does not believe that other than disclosed above, the recently issued, but not yet adopted, accounting pronouncements will have a material impact on its financial position results of operations or cash flows.

NOTE 3 – CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH EQUIVALENTS

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

On March 27, 2019, the Company and China Bills Finance Corporation entered into a repurchase agreement to purchase re-purchase bonds of $1,296,642 (NTD 40,000,000) with 0.48% interest rate per annum. The re-purchase bonds were due in April 2019. As of September 30, 2019, the re-purchase bonds held by the Company was nil.

On December 14, 2018, the Company purchased a commercial paper of $654,006 (NTD 19,989,649) with 0.70% interest rate annum and with the maturity date of January 10, 2019. As of September 30, 2019, the Company did not hold any commercial paper.

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company had restricted cash equivalents of nil and $3,320,802 (NTD101,500,000), which were time deposits with original maturities less than three months and pledged to satisfy the requirements of certain debt agreements.

Noncurrent restricted cash includes a mandatory deposit in the bank in conformity with Provisions of the Supervision and Administration of Specialized Insurance Agencies in PRC, which is not allowed to be withdrawn without the permission of the regulatory commission, and a trust account held for the bonus accrued for Law Broker’s general manager.

NOTE 4 – TIME DEPOSITS

Time Deposits Pledged as Collateral

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company had time deposits of $5,580,424 and $5,404,889 out of total $35,448,840 and $34,311,043, respectively, pledged as collateral for short-term loans (see Note 5).

NOTE 5 – SHORT-TERM LOANS

The Company’s short-term loans consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

The Company entered into credit agreements with several commercial banks as follows:

Total interest expenses for short-term loans incurred were $64,273 and $23,239, respectively, for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, and were $144,416 and $59,944 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

NOTE 6 – INCOME TAX PAYABLE

The Company’s income tax payable consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

NOTE 7 – COMMISSIONS PAYABLE TO SALES PROFESSIONALS

Commissions payable to sales professionals consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

Commissions payable to sales professionals are usually settled within twelve months.

NOTE 8 – OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

Other current liabilities consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

See Note 9 for additional information on current liabilities related to AIA International Limited Taiwan Branch (“AIATW”).

NOTE 9 – OTHER LIABILITIES

The Company’s other liabilities consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

Unearned revenue – AIATW

On June 10, 2013, AHFL entered into a Strategic Alliance Agreement (the “Alliance Agreement”) with AIA International Limited Taiwan Branch (“AIATW”), the purpose to which is to promote life insurance products provided by AIATW within Taiwan by insurance agencies or brokerage companies affiliated with AHFL or CUIS. The original term of the Alliance Agreement was from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2018. Pursuant to the terms of the Alliance Agreement, AIATW paid AHFL an execution fee approximately $8,068,446 (NTD250,000,000, including the tax of NTD11,904,762, the “Execution Fee”), which is to be recorded as revenue upon fulfilling sales targets and the 13-month persistency ratio, as defined, over the next five years. The Execution Fee may be required to be recalculated if certain performance targets are not met by AHFL.

On September 30, 2014, AHFL entered into a Strategic Alliance Supplemental Agreement (the “Supplemental Agreement”) with AIATW. In the Supplemental Agreement, the performance targets and the provision about refunding the Execution Fee on a pro rata basis when the performance targets are not met were revised.

On January 6, 2016, AHFL entered into an Amendment 2 to Strategic Alliance Agreement (the “Amendment No. 2”) with AIATW to further revise certain provisions in the Strategic Alliance Agreement and the previous amendment entered into by and between AHFL and AIATW. To the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, AHFL shall assist and encourage any insurance agency company or insurance brokerage company duly approved by the competent government authorities of Taiwan (the “Appointed Broker/Agent”), to cooperate with AIATW for the promotion of life insurance products of AIATW. Pursuant to the Amendment No. 2, the expiration date of the Strategic Alliance Agreement was extended from May 31, 2018 to December 31, 2021, and the effect of the Strategic Alliance Agreement during the period from October 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015 was suspended. In addition, both AHFL and AIATW agreed to adjust certain terms and conditions set forth in the Strategic Alliance Agreement, among which: (i) expand the scope of services to be provided by AHFL to AIATW to include, without limitation, assessment and advice on suitability of cooperative partners, advice on product strategies suitable for promotion channel development, advice on promotion/sales channel improvement, advice on promotion channel marketing and strategic planning, and promotion channel talent training; and (ii) remove certain provisions related to performance milestones and refund of Execution Fees. On March 15, 2016, AHFL issued a promise letter (the “2016 Letter”) to AIATW that AHFL is required to (i) fulfill sales targets and (ii) the 13-month persistency ratio.

On June 14, 2017, with AIATW’s consent, the 2016 Letter was revoked in order to conform with the latest terms and conditions regarding the cooperation between AHFL and AIATW as set forth in a third amendment (Amendment No. 3). Pursuant to the Amendment No. 3, both AHFL and AIATW agreed to adjust certain terms and conditions set forth this amendment, among which (i) except the first contract year (April 15th, 2013 to September 30th, 2014), the sales target of the alliance between the parties shall be changed to (a) value of new business (“VONB”) and (b) the 13-month persistency ratio; and (ii) AIATW will calculate and recognize the VONB and 13-month persistency ratio each contract year and inform the Company the result; and (iii) the Company agrees to return the basic business promotion fees to AIATW within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice sent by AIATW if the Company fails to meet the targets set forth in Amendment No. 3, AIATW reserves the right to offset such amount against the amount payable by it to the Company; and (iv) upon the termination of the Alliance Agreement and its amendments pursuant to the Section 8.2 of the Alliance Agreement, both parties agreed to calculate the amount to be returned or repaid, as applicable, based on the past and current contract years. The Company shall return the basic business promotion fees at NTD 33,000,000 for each contract years within one month after the termination.

The following table presents the amounts recognized as revenue and the refunded for each contract year:

The Company recognized revenue of $73,691 (NTD 2,281,470) and $92,259 (NTD2,827,107) , net of VAT, for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, and $234,852 (NTD 7,271,032) and $249,733 (NTD7,466,550) , net of VAT, for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 related to this agreement. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company had non-current portion of unearned revenue of $1,343,938 and $2,056,513, respectively, and amounts in other current liabilities of $1,459,804 and $1,028,256, respectively, related to the Alliance Agreement. 

Due to previous shareholders of AHFL

Due to previous shareholders of AHFL is the entire remaining balance payable of the acquisition cost. On March 12, 2017, the Company and the selling shareholders of AHFL entered into a fifth amendment to the acquisition agreement, pursuant to which, the Company agreed to make the cash payment in the amount of $480,559 (NTD15 million) on or prior to March 31, 2019. On March 27, 2019, the Company and the selling shareholders of AHFL entered into a sixth amendment to the acquisition agreement, pursuant to which, the Company agreed to make the cash payment in the amount of $480,559 (NTD15 million) on or prior to March 31, 2021.

Accrued bonus for Ms. Chao

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company had a total accrued bonus of $917,382 and $597,631, which included current accrued bonus of $836,828 and $597,631 and noncurrent accrued bonus of $80,554 and nil, respectively. Please see details of the engagement agreement with Ms. Chao in Note 15.

NOTE 10 – REVENUE

The Company’s revenue is derived from insurance agency and brokerage services. The Company, through its subsidiaries and variable interest entities, sells insurance products provided by insurance companies to individuals, and is compensated in the form of commissions from the respective insurance companies, according to the terms of each service agreement made by and between the Company and the insurance companies. The sale of an insurance product by the Company is considered complete when initial insurance premium is paid by an individual and the insurance policy is approved by the respective insurance company. When a policy is effective, the insurance company is obligated to pay the agreed-upon commission to the Company under the terms of its service agreement with the Company and such commission is recognized as revenue.

The Company considers the contracts with insurance companies contain one performance obligation and consideration should be recorded when performance obligation is satisfied at point in time. The amount of revenue to be recognized when the insurance policy is effective includes first year commission and other contingent commission that a significant reversal of revenue would not occur in the subsequent periods. When other contingent commission that could not be determined if a significant reversal of revenue would occur, the Company recognizes the commission after receiving insurance companies’ notice.

For the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded revenue of $23,266,852 and $16,147,000, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded revenue of $64,449,994 and $53,811,717, respectively. Disaggregation information of revenue is disclosed in Note 16.

Contract balance

Contract assets are the Company’s conditional rights to consideration for completed performance obligation and are in relation to the performance bonus to be rewarded based on the annual performance. The Company recognizes the contingent commission as a contract asset when the performance obligation is fulfilled, and the Company has not had the unconditional rights to the payment.

NOTE 11 –LEASE

The Company has operating leases for its offices with lease terms ranging from one to six years. We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception of the contract and whether a contract is or contains a lease by determining whether it conveys the right to control the use of the identified asset for a period of time. If the contract provides us the right to substantially all of the economic benefits from the use of the identified asset and the right to direct the use of the identified asset, we consider it to be, or contain, a lease. We record a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability based on the present value of the minimum lease payments. The lease term used in the calculation of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities include renewal and termination options that are reasonably certain to be exercised. Leases with an initial term of twelve months or less are not recorded on the consolidated balance sheet and the related lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Our leases do not provide an implicit borrowing rate, and we estimate the Company’s incremental borrowing rate to discount the lease payments based on information available at lease commencement.

The Company recorded operating lease cost of $701,341 and $2,076,084 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively.

Operating lease right-of-use assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company's obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. As of September 30, 2019, operating lease right-of-use assets and lease liabilities were as follows:

Lease term and discount rate

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases

The minimum future lease payments as of September 30, 2019 are as follows:

NOTE 12 – NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS

Non-controlling interests consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

NOTE 13 – INCOME TAX

The following table reconciles the Company’s statutory tax rates to effective tax rates for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018:

The Company’s income tax expense is mainly contributed by its subsidiaries in Taiwan and PRC.

The Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan are governed by the Income Tax Law of Taiwan and are subject to a statutory tax rate at 20% on income reported in the statutory financial statements after appropriate adjustments. In addition, Income Tax Law of Taiwan provides that a company is taxed at additional 5% on any undistributed earnings.

CU WFOE and the VIE in the PRC are governed by the Income Tax Law of the PRC concerning the private-run enterprises, which are generally subject to tax at 25% on income reported in the statutory financial statements after appropriated adjustments, except for Jiangsu. For Jiangsu, according to the requirement of local tax authorities, the tax basis is deemed as 10% of total revenue, instead of net income.

The Company’s subsidiaries in Hong Kong are governed by the Inland Revenue Ordinance Tax Law of Hong Kong and are generally subject to a profit tax at the rate of 16.5% on the estimated assessable profits.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “2017 Tax Act”) was enacted into law on December 22, 2017. The 2017 Tax Act significantly revised the U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering the statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, eliminating certain deductions, imposing a mandatory one-time tax on accumulated earnings of foreign subsidiaries, introducing new tax regimes, and changing how foreign earnings are subject to U.S. tax. The Company has determined the implication of the tax rate reduction does not have any impact on the consolidated financial statements. One-time transition tax is based on the Company’s total post-1986 earnings and profits (“E&P”) that it previously deferred from U.S. income taxes. The Company completed its calculation and recorded $1,199,195 of the transition tax on undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries during the six months ended June 30, 2018. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company had current income tax payable of $123,984 and $95,936 and noncurrent income tax payable of $911,387 and $1,007,323.

In addition, the 2017 Tax Act also creates a new requirement that certain income (i.e., Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”)) earned by controlled foreign corporations (“CFCs”) must be included currently in the gross income of the CFCs’ U.S. shareholder income. GILTI is the excess of the shareholder’s net CFC tested income over the net deemed tangible income return, which is currently defined as the excess of (1) 10 percent of the aggregate of the U.S. shareholder’s pro rata share of the qualified business asset investment of each CFC with respect to which it is a U.S. shareholder over (2) the amount of certain interest expense taken into account in the determination of net CFC-tested income. The Company has elected to recognize the tax on GILTI as a period expense in the period the tax is incurred. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, no GILTI tax obligation existed and the GILTI tax expense was nil.

NOTE 14 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Due to related parties

The following summarizes the payable balances due to related parties as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

  *Amounts due to Mr. Mao bear no interest and are payable on demand.

NOTE 15 – COMMITMENTS

Operating lease

See future minimum annual lease payments in Note 11.

Pledged securities

See time deposits pledged as collateral for short-term loans in Note 5.

Appointment agreement

On December 21, 2018, Law Broker entered into an appointment agreement with Shu-Fen, Lee (“Ms. Lee”), pursuant to which, she serves as the president of Law Broker from December 21, 2018 to December 20, 2021. Ms. Lee’s primary responsibilities include 1) overall business planning, 2) implementation of resolution of the shareholders' meeting or the board of directors, 3) the appointment and dismissal of the Law Broker’s employees and sales professionals, except for internal auditors, 4) financial management and application, 5) being the representative of Law Broker, 6) other matters assigned by the board of directors. According to the agreement, Ms. Lee’s compensation plan include: 1) base salary, 2) managerial allowance, 3) surplus bonus based on 1.25% of Law Broker’s income after tax, and 4) annual year-end bonus. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company has recorded the compensation expense of $89,408 and $125,954 under the appointment agreement, respectively.

Engagement agreement

On May 10, 2016, Law Broker entered into an engagement agreement with Hui-Hsien Chao (“Ms. Chao”), pursuant to which, she serves as the general manager of Law Broker from December 29, 2015 to December 28, 2018. The engagement agreement with Ms. Chao was renewed in 2019 and her service period has extended to December 20, 2021. Ms. Chao’s primary responsibilities are to assist Law Broker in operating and managing insurance agency business. According to the engagement agreement, Ms. Chao’s Bonus plans include: 1) execution, 2) long-term service fees, 3) pension and 4) non-competition. The payment of such bonuses will only occur upon satisfaction of certain condition and subject to the terms in the engagement agreement. Ms. Chao acts as the general manager or equivalent position of Law Broker for a term of at least three years. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company has recorded the performance bonus of $213,190 and $375,718 under the engagement agreement, respectively.

NOTE 16 – SEGMENT REPORTING

The geographical distributions of the Company’s financial information for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

The geographical distributions of the Company’s financial information for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

The geographical distribution of the Company’s financial information as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows: