U.S.-China Audit Dispute Tests Big 4 Global Network Limits (1)

U.S. regulators have opted to work with the largest international audit firms as a stopgap measure to offer some protection for investors while they seek to finally gain access to Chinese corporate audit records.

Regulators effectively need the Big Four to be their eyes and ears in China—a country with a burgeoning economy that remains beyond the typically global reach of U.S. audit rules.

Over the past year, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board have ramped up pressure on the firms, demanding they tighten their oversight of affiliates in China following a wave of ...