'Dump Trump': Tens of thousands join global march

'Dump Trump': Tens of thousands join global march
Demonstrators arrive on the National Mall in Washington, DC, for the 'Women's March on Washington' on January 21, 2017 (AFP Photo/Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

March for Science protesters hit the streets worldwide

March for Science protesters hit the streets worldwide
Thousands of people in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday kicked off the March for Science, the first of more than 500 marches around the globe in support of scienceThousands of people in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday kicked off the March for Science, the first of more than 500 marches around the globe in support of science

Bernie Sanders and the Movement Where the People Found Their Voice

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."
"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)
(Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" Managed Business, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)


Hong Kong's grandpa protesters speak softly but carry a stick

Hong Kong's grandpa protesters speak softly but carry a stick
'Grandpa Wong' is a regular sight at Hong Kong's street battles (AFP Photo/VIVEK PRAKASH)
.
A student holds a sign reading "Don't shoot, listen!!!" during a protest
on June 17, 2013 in Brasilia (AFP, Evaristo)

FIFA scandal engulfs Blatter and Platini

FIFA scandal engulfs Blatter and Platini
FIFA President Sepp Blatter (L) shakes hands with UEFA president Michel Platini after being re-elected following a vote in Zurich on May 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/Michael Buholzer)
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

Wall Street's 'Fearless Girl' statue to stay until 2018

Wall Street's 'Fearless Girl' statue to stay until 2018
The " Fearless Girl " statue on Wall Street is seen by many as a defiant symbol of women's rights under the new administration of President Donald Trump (AFP Photo/ TIMOTHY A. CLARY)



“… The Fall of Many - Seen It Yet?

You are going to see more and more personal secrets being revealed about persons in high places of popularity or government. It will seem like an epidemic of non-integrity! But what is happening is exactly what we have been teaching. The new energy has light that will expose the darkness of things that are not commensurate with integrity. They have always been there, and they were kept from being seen by many who keep secrets in the dark. Seen the change yet?

In order to get to a more stable future, you will have to go through gyrations of dark and light. What this means is that the dark is going to be revealed and push back at you. It will eventually lose. We told you this. That's what you're here for is to help those around you who don't see an escape from the past. They didn't get their nuclear war, but everything else is going into the dumper anyway. … “

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

"Big Four" auditors brace for big changes in China

Reuters, by Rachel Armstrong, Tue Feb 28, 2012

(Reuters) - The Big Four global audit firms, which dominate the Chinese market, are negotiating with Beijing to lessen the impact of forced changes that could mean only accountants with Chinese qualifications can be partners in their audit practices.

The overhaul comes at a delicate time for an audit industry reeling from a rash of accounting scandals at Chinese companies, particularly those listed in high-profile overseas markets such as the United States.

Any reduction in the audit capacity of KPMG, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) would increase foreign regulators' and investors' concerns about Chinese auditing.

"The Big Four play a critical role in the integrity of financial markets, it's essential they have the right to practice in China," said Paul Gillis, visiting professor of accounting at Peking University and author of the China Accounting Blog.

The foreign joint venture arrangements signed in China 20 years ago by KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young expire later this year. PWC's joint venture expires in 2017, but it is also involved in restructuring discussions.

China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) is using the expiry milestone to force the global auditing giants to form special group partnerships, which in theory would mean all partners would need to hold notoriously tough Chinese accountancy qualifications.

But China's young accounting industry means there aren't yet enough experienced Chinese-qualified accountants to run these businesses, say people close to the Big Four, who did not want to be identified as they are not authorized to talk to the media.

"The Chinese authorities have indicated for some time that the four will have to convert into the same mode of practice as local firms when the joint venture terms end," said Winnie Cheung, chief executive at the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA).

The Big Four dominate China's accounting industry, having won much of the lucrative work to audit the books of the country's state-owned enterprises when they first listed.

In 2010, their audit practices, excluding their consultancy businesses, had combined revenue of more than 9.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), according to the Chinese Institute of CPAs (CICPA). However, their market share has slipped in recent years to around 70 percent of the revenue among the top-10 auditors, down from 85 percent in 2006.

Including consulting, the four firms say they each employ around 10,000 people in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan.

BIG FOUR LOBBYING

A firm dominated by Chinese-qualified partners would raise concerns at the Big Four's global headquarters as they'll have less control over their China practices. The joint ventures agreed in 1992 allowed foreign-qualified partners to dominate the practices.

The four are now pushing for many of their foreign-qualified partners to be allowed to retain their roles during a 'grandfathering' handover period.

"The Big Four will want to get enough foreign partners into a deal so they can still control it for a few more years," said Peking University's Gillis.

"Although they will be delaying the inevitable, it will at least give them a few more years control until they migrate to a completely Chinese-owned and controlled entity," he added.

Over the last five years, the firms have collectively doubled the number of Chinese-qualified CPAs they employ, according to the CICPA, but many of their partners gained their qualifications in Hong Kong, the United States or Europe.

An email circulated by management at one of the Big Four firms on February 22, seen by Reuters, said the finance ministry was demanding a break-down of all the qualifications held by the firm's China partners.

"This is a complex process and the MOF have been requesting a great deal of information to understand our practice," it said, adding the firm planned to send the data last week.

"The question for the authorities is; are the firms mature and ready enough to just have local qualified partners?" said Cheung at the HKICPA. "They should also think about diversity and expertise, the advantages of allowing a certain number of non-locally qualified partners in the transition of the joint venture to a local firm."

KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and PWC all declined to comment for this article. Partners at the firms told Reuters they could not discuss the matter publicly as the MOF had insisted the negotiations be confidential.

Neither the MOF nor CICPA responded to faxes asking for comment.

SCANDAL-TAINTED

Overseas regulators will be watching events keenly.

The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is in negotiations with the MOF and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) about being allowed to inspect firms that audit Chinese companies listed in the United States.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has struggled in some of its investigations into alleged fraud at U.S-listed Chinese firms, partly due to the fact auditors in China haven't been able to provide them with key information.

Last year, several Chinese companies were de-listed in the United States after being caught up in accounting scandals, some of which were highlighted by short-sellers such as Muddy Waters.

One high-profile blow-up, Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd LGFTY.PK, showed the difficulties that auditors in China can run into.

Deloitte resigned as the software company's auditor last May, alleging Longtop tried to falsify its financial statements and bank confirmations. The auditor noted in its resignation letter that Longtop management had threatened Deloitte staff and tried to stop them leaving company premises when the discrepancies were uncovered.

But the SEC is struggling in its investigation of Longtop management as Deloitte's Shanghai office said it cannot provide U.S. authorities with its audit work papers. The SEC has gone to the courts to try and force Deloitte's hand, but the auditor says it cannot comply as this could breach China's state secrecy rules.

"If the change in the structure of audit firms loosens their ties to the U.S., the challenges for the SEC enforcement program in China will increase," said William McGovern, partner at Kobre & Kim in Hong Kong.

A report last week from the Canadian Public Accountability Board on the audits of Canadian Chinese companies found many auditors in China failed to apply procedures that would be "considered fundamental" in Canada.

While the Big Four were caught up in a number of recent Chinese accounting scandals, most were at mid-cap companies audited by smaller audit firms.

China's accounting exams are among the toughest around. The pass-rate is well below 20 percent and all papers are in mandarin, making it even tougher for non-Chinese auditors at the Big Four to try to convert.

The difficult exams and the economy's rapid growth over the past two decades means there is currently a shortage of qualified accountants in China.

The CICPA wants to have 250,000 members by 2015, up from around 180,000 today, and aims to boost the number of people in the accounting industry nationwide to 12 million.

A wider part of the ministry's plan for the industry is to develop 10 big domestic accounting firms, reducing their reliance on foreign auditors. The MOF wants at least three local audit firms to be among the world's top 20.

"China recognizes the expertise of the Big Four and the need for them as far as the worldwide market is concerned, but they want to expand and help the growth of local firms to the size and expertise and quality that is required to support the country's increased importance," said HKICPA's Cheung.

($1 = 6.2978 yuan)

(Reporting by Rachel Armstrong in SINGAPORE, additional reporting by Dena Aubin in NEW YORK; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)


Related Article:


A protester who accused the World Bank of poisoning China
 is removed by security as he tries to hand out leaflets a
 press conference by World Bank president Robert Zoellick 
at the World Bank China office in Beijing, China, 
February 28, 2012. (Photo: European Pressphoto Agency)

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