PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, is said to have let go of around 50 partners in Hong Kong, with multiple departments having pay cuts of up to 30 percent, according to media reports.
Some of the partners are leaving the accounting firm voluntarily, while others are being sacked, local media reported on Monday.
PwC will focus its resources on the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) sector in the future, the report said. Chinese tech giants Tencent (0700) and Alibaba (9988) are currently among PwC’s clients.
Given their long-standing partnerships, it is unlikely that they will switch auditors in the near term, the report said, citing people it did not identify. The company will remain among the world’s four biggest accounting firms despite the recent setbacks, it quoted the sources as saying.
It was followed by a similar report by Bloomberg News, in which the news agency said an additional 10 partners will leave the firm over the coming month.
Pressure on the accounting firm had mounted before the news, with a string of its clients, including blue-chip companies Link Real Estate Investment Trust (0823), AIA (1299), and Li Ning (2331), moving to replace it as their auditor.
The three companies have had PwC as their auditor since their Hong Kong listings.
Last month, at least 26 companies announced auditor changes, 11 of which involved dropping PwC, while none appointed the firm as their new auditor.
PwC's reputation has taken a hit from the crisis at Chinese property developer China Evergrande (3333), and the accounting firm has since lost several high-profile mainland clients, such as Bank of China (3988), China Life Insurance (2628), Sinopharm (1099), and PetroChina (0857).
Many of these departing clients have switched to rivals, including Ernst & Young and KPMG.
STAFF REPORTER
