NetQin hit again: PwC employee leaks secrets on Weibo

Recently, after NetQin was shorted by Muddy Waters and gradually evolved into a lawsuit between NetQin and its auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, a female internal employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers gradually became the focus of attention.

It is reported that this female employee named Chloechichi leaked the news of "NetQin terminated the contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers" on her personal Weibo on July 15, three days earlier than NetQin did. Then, she changed her Weibo name and information three times in a row and deleted all Weibo contents within three years.

The contractual relationship between NetQin and PricewaterhouseCoopers can be said to be the key to the battle between NetQin and Muddy Waters, especially when NetQin's 2013 annual report has been delayed in being released. The cooperation and termination of the contract between the listed company and the auditing firm has become heavyweight news information, which will directly affect the stock price fluctuations of NetQin.

Compared with the news that NetQin terminated its contract with PwC, which was leaked in advance by an internal employee of PwC, and the "insider theory" of NetQin's internal auditor Han Ying and Muddy Waters, it can be said that the leak by the internal employee of the auditing party this time is even more infuriating.

Regardless of the reason why the female employee of PwC leaked the information, whether it was just a personal act of venting anger or she was instructed by others, her current behavior has indirectly reflected PwC's lax management of client information confidentiality.

As an important partner of NetQin in fighting against Muddy Waters short-selling institutions and one of the Big Four international accounting firms, PwC should uphold its professional auditor responsibilities and the spirit of keeping information confidential for clients. However, in this leak, PwC not only failed to keep important information confidential for clients, but also brought a crisis of trust to clients and a crisis of its own reputation and brand.

As PricewaterhouseCoopers proposed to expand the scope of its assessment of NetQin, which led to a delay in the release of NetQin's 2013 annual report, and the occurrence of this internal employee leak, NetQin gradually lost its trust in its partner PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In fact, this is not the first time that NetQin has been involved in PricewaterhouseCoopers' mistakes in this regard. According to relevant information, PricewaterhouseCoopers was questioned by the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office in Japan for allegedly falsifying the accounts of Japan's Kanebo Company. It also paid a fine of 5 million US dollars to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating audit independence rules in its business with Top Group and Avon.

At present, NetQin has officially dismissed PricewaterhouseCoopers and hired Marcumbent CPA Ltd. as the new independent auditor to handle the financial statements for the 2013 fiscal year and subsequent periods.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has not yet made an official response to the employee leak. NetQin said that "there are no differences with PricewaterhouseCoopers regarding audit principles and methods, financial statement disclosure, or audit scope and procedures."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.