International accounting

Markus Braun’s almost two decades as Wirecard AG’s chief executive officer ended after accusations about the company’s accounting culminated in a shock disclosure that it was unable to locate 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion).

Wirecard suffered one of the worst stock slumps in the history of Germany’s benchmark index after revealing that about 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in cash has gone missing, spooking investors who have endured years of allegations of wrongdoing at the payments company.

A backlash is growing among regulators and participants against EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and coronavirus.

The firm admitted shortcomings in three years of work for a client, which had to restate its distributable reserves twice.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV is paying for forensic auditors at PwC to help South African anti-corruption police investigate alleged financial wrongdoing that brought the retailer to the brink of collapse.

International Federation of Accountants CEO Kevin Dancey talks about how accounting organizations around the world are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and working with each other to solve problems and share resources.

Defunct U.K. contractor Carillion Plc won’t be able to get key KPMG documents to prepare for a 250 million-pound ($314 million) negligence lawsuit against the accounting firm.

South Korean prosecutors have summoned Samsung Electronics Co. Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee for questioning in an ongoing investigation into alleged accounting fraud and a controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates, dealing another legal blow to the country’s largest corporation.

The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation Wednesday that could lead to Chinese companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. being barred from listing on U.S. stock exchanges amid increasingly tense relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Europe’s top markets watchdog is warning companies against getting creative with financial statements that obscure the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on their bottom line.

The founder of U.K. discount retailer Matalan Plc is suing PricewaterhouseCoopers over claims he lost as much as 135 million pounds ($165 million) by relying on advice the accounting firm gave him when he moved to Monaco 20 years ago.

China’s securities regulator blacklisted six executives for their role in a $4.2 billion accounting scandal at Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co., one of the country’s biggest drugmakers.

EY’s Dutch unit is asking its partners in the Netherlands to stump up funding to help it confront the blow to its business from COVID-19 measures.

The international group has published a roadmap that focuses on four main areas of change.

The U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council has opened an investigation into Ernst & Young LLP’s auditing of NMC Health Plc, the Middle Eastern hospital operator facing fraud allegations.

An independent audit into Wirecard AG concluded that it was unable to obtain the data needed to confirm past revenues, and criticized the payment processor for internal “shortcomings” and unwillingness by its third-party partners to contribute to the report.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has released an exposure draft of a standard for improving the quality of audits of group financial statements.

Chinese investigators raided the offices of Luckin Coffee Inc. as part of a multi-agency investigation into its finances, according to a person familiar with the matter, as pressure grows on the formerly high-flying coffee chain at the center of an accounting scandal.

When it comes to companies exposed to emerging markets — most notably China — investors should beware the lack of visibility into their books.

Tycoon OK Lim and his family are set to hand over management of the company founded in 1963 to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, deepening the demise of an empire Lim built into one of Singapore’s most powerful oil traders.