I just found a this comment from an older thread http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1234734485:
For a single color matrix, there is no "common" anything. A row of anodes and a column of cathodes, one-for-one. You just have to put the cathode pins LOW and the anode pins HIGH and be able to source and sink enough current through the LED without frying it.
The only meaning the "common" has is when you're talking about multiple colors. You show an RG matrix with common anodes (each cell has two LEDs wired to the same anode).
so the answer is yes, for single-color matrix only
if the matrix has more than one colors, then the number of the row pins is NOT the same as the number of the columns pins and no interchange can happen...