US regulators seek China cooperation

US AND CHINESE regulators have met in Beijing to discuss audit oversight, after a string of accounting scandals dogged US-listed Chinese companies in recent months.

PCOAB officials met their Chinese counterparts to discuss co-operating on the issue, and representatives spent two days teaching their peers about the US approach to oversight and inspection.

China could have the chance to return the favour in future, it would seem, and "follow-up collaboration" is in the early planning stages.

A letter from PCAOB chairman James Doty (pictured) called for greater cooperation between the two countries, saying: "The development of an effective cross-border oversight system is essential to market integrity and investor protection."

China has so far been reluctant to engage on the issue and the event seems to have been driven by the US. It is not clear how China plans to respond, although the PCAOB concluded both regulators "share the view that increasing cooperation on cross-border audit oversight will help improve the quality of auditing and accounting information of public companies".