United States of America: Published PCAOB report noting inability to inspect registered public accounting firms headquartered in China

On 16 December 2021, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued a report under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act of 2020 (HFCAA) stating that it is not able to inspect and investigate the public accounting firms established in People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Hong Kong. The PCAOB has the power to investigate and inspect companies issuing securities in the US that use an accounting firm from a foreign jurisdiction to certify to the Securities and Exchange Commission that they are not owned or controlled by a foreign governmental entity. The HFCAA gives the PCAOB the power to inspect and investigate the accounting firms of the companies that list their securities in the US and recommend delisting companies that it cannot investigate to confirm they are not owned by a governmental entity.