PWC ceased its operations on more than one dozen countries than their Global managers estimate too small, risky or unprofitablewith the aim of preventing the scandals from being repeated in which the firm has been involved.
Earlier this month, the signature of the Big Four, which operates as a global network of local property societies, was disconnected from ten firms member of Francophone countries in Africa after maintaining disputes with local partners, according to people familiar with conversations, said the site expansion based on information from the Financial Times.
Local leaders regretted having lost more than a third of their business in recent years due to the pressure of PWC’s global executives to stop attending risk clients, and began to negotiate an exit last year, added the morning. The separation materialized just a few months after PWC cut the relationship with its headquarters in Zimbabue, Malawi and Fiyi, according to a registration of PWC entities and the local press.
A person familiar with the decision -making process said that PWC was eliminating smaller member firms due to the possible risk to their reputation being affected or did not have the necessary scale to make the necessary investments in compliance systems. According to Financial Times last month, his rival, KPMG, has communicated to the smallest member firms that must be merged.
In full accusations for fraud, PWC leaves a dozen countries
According to an ex -PWC ex -responsible for compliance matters, international leaders dedicated a disproportionate amount of time to Africa, despite their low income compared to other regions.
Since he assumed the position in July, the global president of PWC, Mohamed Kande, He had to face the consequences of the scandals on several continents, Even in some of PWC’s most important national firms.
In China, it was discovered that the local headquarters had “hidden or even tolerated” a fraud in the Promoter Inmobiliaria Evergrande and was forbidden to sign audits for six months. The scandal caused a client leak. In Australia, the news that a fiscal partner had made improper use of confidential public information caused a political scandal. In both cases, PWC’s global managers intervened to replace the local dome.
The firm has also been disabled to work for the Sovereign Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia for a year.
The PWC business in the region had undergone intense control by global managers from the revelations of the Congo Hold-Up case in 2021, when filtered documents brought to light a plot of corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, even through Banks audited by PWC.
Approximately half of the 30 PWC partners in Francophone Africa It became part of one of the two successor companies: Vinkka, directed by Tinen, based in Cameroonwhose objective is to recreate an accounting and consulting business in the style of the Big Four throughout the region, or Mansa, a network of national associations specialized in tax and legal work. Both companies claim that they will maintain PWC standards, but responding to local needs.
“The sensation of risk in Africa may be different if you live here or abroad,” said Tinen. PWC did not want to make statements about its reduction of personnel worldwide, although it issued a brief statement on its website that indicated that the departure of the firms of the Francophone Africa was due to a strategic review.
“PWC will maintain a solid presence in Africa and has service continuity plans for our customers,” he said.
