????談到美國中概股的會計欺詐問題，我總是喜歡以上海雙金生物科技有限公司（China-Biotics）為例。遭遇香櫞（Citron）狙擊后，2011年，中國生物股價暴跌。當時，我就注意到現金占到了這家公司資產的54%，是真是假取決于審計機構能否確認這些現金結存。

????一個月后，審計機構德豪國際（BDO）請辭，原因是它們發現上海雙金生物科技有限公司提交給它們用于核實現金結存的銀行網站是假的。中國公司在提供銀行詢證函方面總是存在大量問題，但這很可能是最肆無忌憚的一例。

????美國證券交易委員會（SEC）暫停了這只股票的交易。2012年2月，一位行政初審法官以其未提交年度報告為由，取消了上海雙金生物科技有限公司的證券注冊。SEC已經取消了很多“進入休眠”(go dark)的中概股的注冊。

????但與其他取消注冊的大多數中概股不同，上海雙金生物科技有限公司并沒有就此銷聲匿跡。它對SEC的行動提起了上訴。中國生物找了一家新的審計機構Weinberg and Co.，這是一家總部位于佛羅里達州博卡拉頓的小型注冊會計師事務所。Weinberg為很多中國公司的借殼上市提供了審計服務。但美國上市公司會計監管委員會（PCAOB）最新的調查報告發現，它調查的5項審計中有4項存在非常嚴重的缺陷，PCAOB認為Weinberg沒有獲得充足的合格證明材料來支持其對發行人財務報告的審計意見。這可能是在PCAOB報告中所能看到的最糟糕的結論了。但PCAOB的處罰流程非常緩慢，可能要到幾年后，Weinberg才需要為這些審計行為承擔責任。與此同時，其客戶的投資者們正暴露在風險中。

????上海雙金生物科技有限公司已要求SEC重新考慮取消其注冊的決定。這家公司的律師表示，上海雙金生物科技有限公司的文件提交已經符合相關規定。目前，這家公司的CFO已經換人，但CEO仍在位。如果SEC委員們真的投票讓這家公司再次上市交易，估計他們今后會允許任何阿貓阿狗上市交易。（財富中文網）??

????China-Biotics has been one of my poster children for accounting frauds in China. It blew up in 2011 after it was attacked by Citron. At the time, I observed that with 54% of its assets in cash, the proof would be in whether the auditors were able to confirm the cash balances.

????A month later auditor BDO resigned after they discovered that the company had sent them to a fake bank website to confirm the cash balances. There have been a number of problems with bank confirmations for Chinese companies, but this was probably the most audacious.

????The SEC suspended trading the stock and in February 2012 an administrative trial judge revoked the company’s securities registration for failing to file annual reports. The SEC has revoked the registration of many Chinese companies when they “go dark”.

????What is unusual about China-Biotics is that unlike most other deregistered Chinese companies it did not just disappear. An appeal was filed against the SEC action. The company found a new auditor, Weinberg and Co., a small CPA firm based in Boca Raton, Florida. Weinberg audits a number of Chinese reverse mergers. Its most recent PCAOB review found deficiencies in four of five audits reviewed that were so serious that the PCAOB concluded that Weinberg had not obtained sufficient competent evidential material to support the opinion on the issuer’s financial statements. That is about as bad as it gets in a PCAOB report. PCAOB disciplinary procedures are so slow it could be years before Weinberg faces accountablilty for those audits. In the meantime, investors in their clients are exposed.

????China-Biotics has now asked the SEC Commissioners to reconsider the decision to revoke their registration. The company’s lawyer argues they are now up to date in their filings. Although the CFO has been replaced, the CEO is still there. If the SEC commissioners vote to let this one trade again, they will let anything trade.