Hong Kong’s audit watchdog Accounting and Financial Reporting Council ( AFRC ) said on Friday ( Apr 19 ) it would investigate PricewaterhouseCoopers ‘ ( PwC ) management in auditing China Evergrande Group over a whistleblower report circulating in the media.
The statement raised significant questions about possible alleged shortcomings in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ quality control practices and the quality of China Evergrande Group audits, according to AFRC.
The watchdog claimed in the report that the auditor allegedly omitted suitable personnel from key positions,” which might have compromised the firm’s monitoring functions,” citing the statement.
In response to disagreements over issues relating to the assessment of its 2021 balances, PwC resigned as Evergrande’s accountant at the beginning of the time.
Evergrande and PwC have been investigated by Hong Kong’s assessment controller since 2021 over the company’s 2020 records.