Auditing Spat Dividing U.S. and China Turns Ugly

(Washington) -- The latest twist in a long-running dispute between Beijing and Washington securities regulators over Chinese audits is threatening to boot Chinese companies from America stock exchanges.

The plot thickened on December 3 when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced administrative proceedings against the Chinese affiliates of five global accounting firms working for nine U.S.-traded Chinese companies suspected of financial fraud.