Global accounting firm and a key member of the “Big Four”, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, PwC, has confirmed its exit from nine Sub-Saharan African countries last month.
The countries are Ivory Coast, Gabon, Cameroon, Madagascar, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congo Republic, Republic of Guinea and Equatorial Guinea.
The PwC statement did not give a reason for the move other than the fact that it was a result of a “strategic review”.
But Financial Times article reported that the company exited multiple countries that were deemed too small, risky or unprofitable.
The decision came due to mounting differences with local partners, who said they lost over a third of their business in recent years after pressure from PwC’s global executives to drop risky clients, the FT said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The FT report, citing a register of PwC entities and local news reports, said PwC had also cut ties with member firms in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Fiji.
Reuters reported that PwC has faced an exodus of clientele and layoffs across countries since last year.
PwC’s mainland China unit was hit with a $62 million fine and six-month suspension for audit failures related to property developer China Evergrande’s (3333.HK), opens new tab $78 billion fraud.
Last month, Britain fined PwC about $6 million in relation to the audit of Wyelands Bank for financial year 2019.
The firm is working with Saudi Arabia and its sovereign wealth fund to mend relations after the kingdom suspended activities between the $925 billion fund’s holding company and PwC. ($1 = 0.7531 pounds).
