Stocks official: Stricter accounting monitoring needed

The chief accountant at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said the body should monitor accounting standards to prevent listed companies from manipulating their earnings, state media reported. Zhou Huizhong said a number of public companies have been discovered counting gains from corporate restructuring as profits. Zhou said the practice, though allowed under a new standard introduced in January, "is not in line with China’s special environment and the requirement of the capital market." He added that the CSRC would collaborate with the Ministry of Finance to clamp down on accounting misconduct by listed companies.