Hong Kong Regulators Partially Clear PwC in Evergrande Audit Case

12 Jul 2024 CW Team

Hong Kong regulators announced that they had partially cleared PwC of allegations related to deficiencies in its auditing of the Chinese real estate giant Evergrande. This decision followed an investigation prompted by a whistle-blower report.

Evergrande, heavily indebted, became emblematic of China's long-standing real estate market crisis. In March, its onshore unit was accused of overstating revenue by $ 78 billion. Once the largest real estate firm in China, Evergrande faced liquidation by a Hong Kong court in January after years of struggling to repay creditors following a default in 2021. In May, Beijing regulators fined Evergrande's flagship onshore unit $ 576 million for fraudulent practices.

PwC had been Evergrande's auditor for over a decade but resigned last year due to disagreements over the audit of the firm's 2021 accounts. In April, Hong Kong's Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) announced that it had initiated a probe into PwC following an anonymous letter. The letter, titled "Who led PwC into the firepit that was Evergrande?", raised concerns about the quality of the audit. PwC condemned the letter, stating it contained "inaccurate statements and false allegations."

The AFRC reported that three allegations concerning PwC's quality management systems were not supported by a "rigorous review of the internal investigation carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers." These allegations were related to ineffective audit quality control and compliance, improprieties in maintaining the client relationship with Evergrande, and inappropriate appointments of key personnel.

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