http://www.mwe.com/SEC-Sanctions-Chinese-Accounting-Firms-for-Refusal-to-Surrender-Documents-02-13-2015/

SEC Sanctions Chinese Accounting Firms For Refusal To Surrender Documents

Yodi S. Hailemariam

18 February 2015

Mondaq Business Briefing

On February 6, 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed sanctions against four China-based accounting firms for their refusal to surrender documents in conjunction with an investigation of potential accounting fraud and corruption in China.  These sanctions highlight the intensifying challenges multinational companies face when asked to participate in U.S. discovery of data stored in China, and emphasize the increasing importance of creative but sound solutions for dealing with U.S. discovery obligations in China. Continue reading →

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55700044-b76c-11e4-8807-00144feab7de.html#axzz3SA7rKDH3

February 18, 2015 4:45 pm

Watchdog ‘disappointed’ with Grant Thornton audits

Harriet Agnew, City Correspondent

A report from the UK accountancy watchdog said it was “disappointed” to find that five of the eight Grant Thornton audits it reviewed required either improvements or significant improvements, a blow to the mid-tier firm that is facing two investigations connected to its auditing work. Continue reading →

Posted by Lin Liye, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Economics, Singapore Management University

Food for thought:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ninaxiang/2014/04/16/accounting-fraud-is-still-widespread-among-chinese-companies/

http://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1425932/chinese-companies-head-us-listings

Posted by Amy CHAN Wen Yi, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

Accounting Fraud Is Still Widespread Among Chinese Companies

With the renewed enthusiasm shown by the market for new listings from China, one would assume that investors had turned the page on all the claims of accounting fraud over the past few years.

But do so only at one’s own risk.

There are still many U.S.-listed Chinese companies with the potential to be hit with accounting fraud that investors do not yet know about, at least according to one China-focused hedge fund manager. Continue reading →

http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Popups/PrintArticle.aspx?ArticleID=3427665

How to Tell if a CEO Is Lying: A new approach to financial analysis measures executive evasion and candor to gauge a company’s outlook.

16 FEB 2015 – JAN ALEXANDER

William McCaffrey, chairman and CEO of MEG Energy Corp. in Calgary, Alberta, was telling analysts about the capital expenditures of his Canadian oils sands development company during its third-quarter 2014 earnings call. “What we’re doing, is we are doing ground field expansion that we are just in the early stages of design,” he said. “When we take a look at our capabilities on that, we focused — our capital programs we focused first obviously on the sustaining and maintenance and that’s really 20 percent of its street 2015 estimate our cash flow.” Continue reading →

http://www.businessinsider.sg/pakistan-stock-market-investigates-staff-acces-2014-2/#.VONb19H9kdV

Posted by Latha Do NADARAJAN , Year 3 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

A computer screen is reflected in the glass window of a booth where a broker monitors the market at the Karachi Stock Exchange November 7, 2012.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Karachi Stock Exchange is investigating whether staff profited from years of unauthorized access to real time trading data in a market that has rocketed more than 450 percent since 2009.

The potential breach came to light after two whistleblowers accused senior staff of accessing sensitive trading data through a secure network and accessing emails without authority, according to confidential documents seen by Reuters. Continue reading →

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/TUCC-execs-and-others-accused-of-corporate-fraud-30254226.html

TUCC execs and others accused of corporate fraud

THE NATION February 17, 2015 1:00 am

THE STOCK Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint with the Department of Special Investigation against six people and three companies for allegedly falsifying documents and accounts and committing fraud that caused unspecified damage to Thai Unique Coil Centre (TUCC) from 2010 to 2011. Continue reading →