Restructured companies need its stamp of approval to seek new investment.
Governments employ it to track ineptitude and corruption.
But both its calculations and their political fallout are stirring up controversy. First the firm uncovered a campaign-funding scandal in Indonesia that helped bring down former President B.J. Habibie. Then its review of loans at a troubled state-run bank in Thailand produced a political firestorm that tarnished the coalition government as it goes into an election year. Throughout the region, PwC staff are challenging the rich and powerful as they pore over the books of indebted companies and troubled government agencies, looking for evidence of irregularities. Tough times for Asia are proving to be good times for PwC, the world's largest accounting firm.