PwC Is Grappling With an Exodus of Clients and Staff in China
- More than 30 Chinese companies dropped PwC as auditor in 2024
- Some senior PwC China partners are trying to join rival firms
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PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s regulatory troubles in China have caused an exodus of clients and led some of its accountants to seek out jobs at rivals, casting doubt over the firm’s prospects in the world’s second-largest economy.
Since March, more than 30 publicly listed companies based in mainland China have dropped PwC as their auditor, according to stock-exchange filings. The client losses picked up after property developer China Evergrande Group was accused by Chinese authorities of vastly overstating its revenue and profits, and PwC came under scrutiny for its role in the misstatements. China is weighing a record fine on the accounting firm and may suspend some of its local operations, Bloomberg News has reported.