PwC has been fined £5.5million after US regulators found more than 1,000 employees in China and Hong Kong cheated in exams.
Staff at two of the Big Four firm’s affiliates were accused of ‘extensively’ sharing answers on internal training tests designed to bring them up to US standards.
PwC’s Hong Kong unit agreed to pay £3.16million and its firm in China came to a £2.37million settlement with the US watchdog. Neither admitted the allegations by agreeing the settlement.
Erica Williams, the chair of the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said: ‘The days of China-based firms evading accountability are over.
‘We will take action to protect investors in US markets and impose tough sanctions against anyone who violates rules and standards.’
Fined: Staff at two of PWC’s affiliates were accused of ‘extensively’ sharing answers to cheat on internal training tests designed to bring them up to US standards
The penalties come a year after China and the US agreed to allow the regulator to look at the records of Chinese companies listed in New York.
They are among the biggest fines in the regulator’s history.
Investigators found PwC failed to detect or prevent staff using unauthorised software to share answers between 2018 and 2020.
More than 1,000 people in Hong Kong and ‘hundreds’ in China were implicated. Most worked in the firm’s assurance business.
The PwC affiliates said: ‘After becoming aware of these issues, the firms investigated these matters promptly and took remedial action.’
On top of paying the fines, the affiliates must review and improve their quality control policies to make sure staff ‘act with integrity in connection with internal training’.
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