PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the world’s leading professional services firms, has announced the closure of its operations in nine African countries.
The company announced that the decision was part of what it described as “a strategic review to streamline its global network.”
However, Nigeria, one of the continent’s largest economies, remains unaffected by the closures.
According to a statement released by the company, the affected countries are Ivory Coast, Gabon, Cameroon, Madagascar, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Guinea, and Equatorial Guinea.
The company said the closures followed a comprehensive review of PwC’s network structure and long-term strategy in certain markets deemed high-risk or unprofitable.
Despite the development, the company said it will maintain a strong presence in Africa, with continuity plans in place to support clients through other offices across the region.
The statement reads in part: “The PwC firms in these countries (the PwC Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa firms) have separated and will no longer be part of the PwC network.
“The PwC Network will maintain a strong presence in Africa and has service continuity plans in place for our clients from other PwC offices across the region, as applicable.”
While PwC did not explicitly detail the reasons for exiting these countries, reports suggest that the decision was influenced by concerns over the viability of operations in smaller, higher-risk markets.
The firm has faced scrutiny in recent years, including a halt in engagements with Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion sovereign wealth fund and the termination of affiliations with member offices in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Fiji.
In January, PwC’s China arm was fined $62mn and suspended from undertaking new business for six months by Chinese regulators for audit lapses linked to China Evergrande, the property developer at the centre of a $78bn accounting scandal.
In March, PwC was fined £5mn by the UK’s Financial Reporting Council over its 2019 audit of Wyelands Bank.
The UK regulator found that PwC failed to obtain sufficient audit evidence and did not exercise appropriate professional scepticism.
