Zsari
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China urges state firms to drop Big Four auditors
Wed, February 22, 2023 at 12:28 AM PST·2 min read
Feb 22 (Reuters) - Concerns about data security have prompted Chinese authorities to ask state-owned firms to stop using the four biggest global accounting firms as Beijing seeks to curb the influence of Western auditors, Bloomberg News reported.
China's Ministry of Finance is among government entities that gave informal guidance to some state-owned enterprises as recently as last month, urging them to let contracts with PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte expire, the report said, quoting people familiar with the matter.
While offshore subsidiaries can use the global auditors, their parent firms were urged to hire local Chinese or Hong Kong accountants when contracts come up for renewal, one of the people told Bloomberg.
The Ministry of Finance did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) declined to comment and the other leading audit firms did not immediately respond.
Data policy is one of several areas over which China has tightened its scrutiny to try to ensure practices do not threaten the country's national and economic interests.
At the same time, geopolitical tensions are running high, with some business leaders voicing concerns about the decoupling of China, the world's second-largest economy, from the United States, the largest.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/1-china-urges-state-firms-082859420.html