The Chinese units of the Big Four auditing firms KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Ernst and Young are to appeal a U.S. ruling suspending them from practicing in the U.S. for six months. The Chinese units were censured for “willfully” failing to provide the U.S. securities regulator with the audit working papers of Chinese companies under investigation for accounting fraud. The ruling will not take effect until reviewed and approved by the full SEC Committee. In their statement, the auditing firms said: “It is regrettable that the SEC’s administrative law judge has recommended sanctions against the Big Four firms in China for failing to produce work papers to the SEC in circumstances where such production would have violated Chinese law and regulations. The firms intend to appeal and thereby initiate that review without delay.” The firms “can and will” continue to serve all their clients without interruption in the meantime, it said. If the decision is upheld, more than 200 Chinese companies listed in the U.S. will have to find new auditors. The ruling is the latest escalation in a six-year standoff between China and U.S. securities regulators over accessibility to audit documents, the Shanghai Daily reports.