Renowned and international business giant PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) have closed their Malawian business effective 1 July 2021. PwC has sold the Malawian business to a local audit company, Audit Consult Ltd at a purchase amount of US$100,000 (approx. K95 million).
According to the sale agreement that we have seen, the sale of the Malawian Business is a sale of an enterprise as a ‘going concern’.
“The Malawi Business will be an income earning activity on the effective date, the assets which are necessary for carrying on such Malawi Business are being disposed of by PwC to the purchaser in terms of this Agreement,” reads a statement of the sale agreement in part.
The agreement was signed by Andrew Vera and Ranwell Mbene on behalf of PwC and Isaac Kayira on behalf of Audit Consult with Lowani Munkhondia as a witness.
Almost half of the 75 strong staff member count at PwC has lost their jobs as a result of the closure and the company has only maintained a few members to finalize servicing on-going clients, especially international clients.
Insiders said the decision to close the Malawi business was reached at from the regional head office in South Africa and this may affect other countries like PwC Zimbabwe.
Mbene who was PwC Senior Partner for the Malawi business and a few other staff members are said to have been taken aboard by the new owners, Audit Consult which is also a Malawian correspondent firm of world-renowned audit firm RSM International.
PwC touts itself as one of the leading professional services networks in the world with presence in 155 countries and more than 284,000 people helping organizations and individuals creating value they are looking for by delivering quality in Assurance, Tax and Advisory services.
In the financial year 2020, PwC firms provided services to 84% of the Global Fortune 500 companies and more than 100,000 entrepreneurial and private businesses and 63,053 people joined PwC firms around the world. P
wC’s revenues were US$43 billion for the year ending 30 June 2020. Audit Consult is one of the top locally grown audit firms in Malawi that provides audit services and the coming in of PwC into Audit Consult will increase the local audit firm growth.
