'Hire Local' Rule Puts Big Four at Crossroads

(Beijing)– The countdown has started for staffing overhauls at the world's Big Four auditors' Chinese offices, which, by the time the dust settles, are expected to emerge as thoroughly local firms.

The Ministry of Finance recently told KPMG, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers they'll have to undergo the transformations and form special partnerships by the time their current joint-venture contracts with Chinese firms expire.