Info Aggregator: 中国当局要求四大不向任何国外监管机构提交文件

Thursday, 20 October 2011

中国当局要求四大不向任何国外监管机构提交文件

China’s financial regulators have asked the world’s biggest audit firms to urgently review their work on U.S.-listed Chinese companies and give details on information they may have provided to overseas regulators, two sources told Reuters.

路透从两方面得到消息，中国的金融监管机构已要求世界最大的审计公司紧急检查在美国上市的中国公司的工作情况并要求他们提供其可能提供给海外监管机构的详细资料。

The unprecedented move, following a string of accounting scandals at U.S.-listed Chinese companies, is set to ratchet up tensions between the financial regulators of America and China.

随着一系列的在美上市中国企业的会计丑闻之后，此次史无前例的举动可能是中美金融监管的关系更加紧张。

The request, sources said, is seen as a direct response to the move by the U.S. regulators in the case of scandal-hit Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd, and to ensure that firms do not succumb to pressure to hand over documents to regulators outside of China.

据消息称，此举是针对美国监管机构丑化东南融通科技有限公司的直接行动，并确保企业不会屈于压力而像任何国外监管机构提交文件。

Last month the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked an American court to enforce a subpoena it sent to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu’s China practice for documents from its audit of Longtop.

上月，美国证券交易委员会要求美国法院执行其发给德勤中国事务所要求提交融通审计资料的传票。

Two sources from the audit industry told Reuters that the Ministry of Finance and China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) met last week with the so-called ‘Big Four’ audit firms — KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and Deloitte — along with two smaller firms.

路透从审计行业获得两个消息来源称，中国财政部和中国证券监督委员会于上周约谈了四大会计师事务所-毕马威、普华永道、安永和德勤-还有两家小的事务所。

The firms were requested by the government to conduct an urgent review of all audits they had done on U.S.-listed Chinese firms in 2010 along with work on U.S. initial public offerings by Chinese companies.

政府要求四大立刻着手复查其2010年给美国上市中国公司做的所有审计报告并检查中国公司在美国首次公开募股的工作。

They have been asked to report back by the end of this week with information on whether audit work papers or other client information were given to overseas regulators or any of their overseas practices.

并要求四大在本周末将信息反馈，包括他们是否向海外监管机构或其海外事务所提供过审计报告和其他客户信息。

One source, who can’t be named due to the sensitive nature of the meeting, said the Chinese authorities emphasized to the firms their rules on confidentiality.

匿名者称，中国当局强调了他们的保密规则。

“We are being asked to give that message to foreign regulators that seek to get information from us,” the source said.

该人士称，“政府要求我们向想从我们这得到信息的外国监管者强调保密规则”。

The second source said that the information requested included all correspondence on U.S.-audit work between the firms’ mainland Chinese offices and their counterparts in Hong Kong and Macau. Firms have also been asked to provide details of audits done by their Hong Kong offices on U.S.-listed Chinese companies, provided their main operations are on the mainland.

另一人士称，被要求提供的信息包括所有大陆所与其香港和澳门合作方的所有函电。事务所还被要求提供其香港所为主要管理机构在中国境内的，美国上市中国公司提供的审计信息。

“Given what’s happened in the States recently with the SEC ratcheting up the pressure, there was likely to be some sort of reaction and this is part of it, if not the total of it,” said one industry expert who did not have direct knowledge of the meeting.

一位没有直接参加会议的业内专家说，“鉴于美国证监会最近的不断施压，这可能是一部分应对措施。”

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

进退两难

The request is likely to heap more pressure on auditors caught in the middle of competing demands from the U.S. and Chinese regulators.

该要求使事务所夹在中美监管者之间，进退两难。

“I would guess they (auditors) are terrified,” said Paul Gillis, a former partner for PWC and visiting professor of accounting at Peking University. “This is not a pleasant time for them and I think they would like to find a resolution to these problems as quickly as possible.”

Paul Gillis说，“我猜他们被吓坏了”，他是普华永道的一位前合伙人、清华大学客座教授，他说“对于四大来说，这是个很艰难的时刻，他们一定要尽快找到解决问题的方法。”

Gillis added that auditors may well have provided some information to the U.S. SEC in response to questions on listed Chinese companies, while the exchange of information with their overseas offices happens frequently.

Gillis补充四大很可能已经给美国证监会提供一些信息来回应其对上市中国公司的质疑，因为国内所与国外所得信息交换是经常发生的。

“They (Chinese regulators) are going to learn, if the firms are honest about what they are doing, that they have shared a lot of information from China with foreigners,” he said.

他说“如果事务所对他们的行为实事求是的话，中国监管者很快机会发现他们已经与外国人分享了很多信息。”

The CSRC and China’s Ministry of Finance ministry had no immediate response when reached by phone. Reuters asked all of the ‘Big Four’ firms about the meeting. PWC, KPMG and Ernst & Young declined to comment while Deloitte did not immediately respond.

证监会和商务部都没有立刻做出回应。路透社针对这次会议采访了所有四大。普华永道、毕马威和安永拒绝评论，而德勤则没有立即回应。

Gillis said it was unlikely the big audit firms will face major sanctions for disclosing that they passed on information to their overseas offices or foreign regulators but will likely be told such behavior will not be tolerated in future.

Gillis说四大应该不会因为向其海外所或外国监管者提供信息而受到制裁，但是他们一定会被警告，这样的情况下不为例。

U.S. accountancy watchdog Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has been negotiating with the Chinese authorities to be allowed to conduct inspections of mainland firms that audit Chinese companies listed in America.

美国会计监管上市公司会计监督委员会已经于中国当局协商允许有中国事务所审计美国上市的中国公司。

However, the momentum of the talks appears to have been slowing in recent weeks, with no date yet set for the next round of discussions.

然而，近几周会谈的势头似乎减缓了，下一轮讨论的日期还没有确定。

Earlier this month the PCAOB’s chair James Doty said he could not wait indefinitely for an agreement and indicated they may consider taking alternative measures against audit firms that would not co-operate with inspectors.

本月初上市公司会计监督委员会主席James Doty 说他不能无限期的等下去，并暗示如果会计师事务所不配合监管者那么他们将考虑采取其他措施。

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