By Kolawole Ojebisi
A multinational professional services network, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has announced exits of member firms in nine Sub-Saharan Francophone countries from its global network.
According to the company, the affected countries include Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Republic of Guinea, Senegal, and Equatorial Guinea.
In a statement on its website, PwC said the separation follows a strategic review and took effect recently.
“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 company said.
Despite the development, PwC said it will maintain a strong presence in Africa, with continuity plans in place to support clients through other offices across the region.
“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,” the statement added.
The service company, however, did not give a reason for its exit.
PwC is one of the world’s largest professional services networks, offering audit, tax, consulting, and advisory services across over 150 countries.
According to a Financial Times report, the accounting firm had exited multiple countries that were deemed too small, risky or unprofitable.
The publication said 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 report said PwC had also cut ties with member firms in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Fiji.
On March 25, PwC was fined £2.9 million and severely reprimanded by the UK’s accounting regulator for “serious failings” in its audit of the failed Wyelands Bank.
