四大會計師事務所因中國業務向美國認繳罰款

The Chinese affiliates of the Big Four accounting firms have agreed to pay a combined $2 million as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over their failure to produce documents from their audits of Chinese companies under investigation by the agency.

“四大”會計師事務所的中國分公司同意支付共計200萬美元（約合1250萬元人民幣），與美國證券交易委員會（Securities and Exchange Commission，簡稱SEC）達成和解。案件的起因是這些會計師事務所未能出具受到調查的中國企業的審計底稿。

The Chinese accounting firms — affiliates of Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers — agreed to pay $500,000 each and take certain steps to satisfy future document requests by the S.E.C., the agency said on Friday.

SEC週五稱，這些中國會計公司——德勤(Deloitte)、安永(Ernst & Young)、畢馬威(KPMG)和普華永道(PricewaterhouseCoopers)的分支——同意各支付50萬美元，並採取具體措施，以滿足SEC未來對提交審計文件的要求。

But the S.E.C. stopped short of suspending the firms from auditing Chinese companies listed in the United States. Last year, an S.E.C. administrative law judge called for a six-month suspension from such work.

但SEC並未讓這些公司停止針對在美上市中國企業的審計業務。去年，SEC的一名行政法法官曾呼籲，在六個月時間裏禁止它們開展此項業務。

The four firms on Friday did not admit or deny the S.E.C.’s contention that they violated securities laws. But they acknowledged that they did not hand over the documents before the S.E.C. brought charges against them in 2012.

這四家公司週五既沒有承認，也沒有否認SEC關於它們違反了證券法的說法。但這些公司表示，它們確實沒有在2012年SEC對其提起指控之前提交這些文件。

“As we repeatedly have stated throughout this litigation, obtaining an audit firm’s work papers is critical to enforcement staff’s ability adequately to protect investors from the dangers of accounting fraud,” Andrew Ceresney, the director of the S.E.C’s enforcement division, said in a statement.

“正如我們在訴訟中反覆強調的，取得一家審計公司的工作底稿，對於執法部門能否充分保障投資者免於審計欺詐的風險，是至關重要的，”SEC執法部門的負責人安德魯·塞萊斯尼(Andrew Ceresney)在一份聲明中說。

In a joint statement, the four Chinese firms said they were “pleased” to have reached the settlement and added that their “ability to continue to serve all their respective clients is not affected by this settlement.”

這四家中國分公司在一份聯合聲明中稱，對達成和解感到“滿意”，並表示，他們“可以繼續服務各自的客戶，不會受到這項和解協議的影響”。

In a separate statement, Ernst & Young said it was “pleased this matter has been resolved given the potential for significant harm to investors and the global capital markets of further proceedings.”

在另一份聲明中，安永表示，“鑑於進一步的訴訟可能會給投資者和全球資本市場造成嚴重損害，我們很高興看到此事得到解決。”

The settlement resolved a yearslong dispute that stemmed from the S.E.C.’s investigating possible fraud at Chinese companies that had gone public in the United States. The S.E.C. said in late 2012 that the companies’ auditors had refused to hand over relevant paperwork and that they could face sanctions.

這項和解協議解決了長達一年的糾紛。糾紛的起因在於，SEC對在美國上市的中國企業可能存在的欺詐行爲開展的調查。SEC在2012年末表示，這些公司的審計師拒絕提供相關文件，因而可能會受到處罰。

The firms countered that handing over the documents could violate Chinese secrecy laws.

四家公司反駁稱，提供文件會違反中國的保密法規。

But in early 2014, the administrative law judge, who is independent of the S.E.C., censured the Chinese affiliates of the four firms and called for the six-month suspension. Accounting experts have since said that such a suspension could have broad consequences and complicate the audits of American firms that do business in China.

但在2014年初，獨立於SEC的上述行政法法官，對四大會計師事務所在中國的分支機構提出了譴責，並呼籲禁止它們開展業務六個月。會計專家表示，暫停業務可能會造成廣泛的後果，爲在華經營的美國公司的審計工作帶來麻煩。

As part of the deal announced on Friday, the S.E.C. gained a few important levers it can pull if the Chinese firms fail to meet future requests for documents. Among these are the ability to impose a six-month bar on certain audit work and the right to restart the administrative proceedings.

作爲週五宣佈的協議的一部分，SEC獲得了幾個重要的鉗制手段，如果這些中國公司未來沒有滿足提供文件的要求，SEC就可以動用這些手段。比如，SEC可以禁止它們在六個月的時間裏開展某些審計工作，SEC也有權重啓行政訴訟。

“The settlement is an important milestone in the S.E.C.’s ability to obtain documents from China,” Antonia Chion, associate director of the S.E.C.’s enforcement division, said in a statement. “Of course, we hope that it is an enduring milestone.”

“這項和解協議對於SEC從中國獲取文件的能力來說，是一個重要的里程碑，”SEC執法部門副主任安東尼婭·希翁(Antonia Chion)在一份聲明中表示。“當然，我們希望這是一個持久性的里程碑。”