Liquidators of the collapsed Chinese property group Evergrande can pursue PwC globally for audit failings, a Hong Kong judge has ruled, in a case that will test the Big Four accounting firms' partnership network model.

A Hong Kong judge on Wednesday allowed Evergrande's liquidators to pursue their negligence case against PwC International, the network's global umbrella organisation, alongside its Hong Kong and mainland China affiliates, which were responsible for auditing Evergrande.

The liquidators are seeking about $8.4bn in damages from the three entities after multiple regulators found PwC auditors in Hong Kong and mainland China failed to meet professional standards when they signed off on Evergrande's financial statements. The ruling is a victory for Eddie Middleton and Tiffany Wong, the liquidators from Alvarez & Marsal who have focused much of their legal attention on pursuing PwC for negligence, given the difficulty of recovering Evergrande assets in mainland China for creditors.

The Hong Kong ruling threatens to export financial and legal risks to the rest of the PwC network, where the largest member firms, including those in the US and the UK, shoulder most of the funding costs for PwC International. PwC International argued that it should not be party to the case because Evergrande was not its client. A spokesperson for PwC's global network said they disagreed with the court's decision and were evaluating their options.