Auditing giant PwC has ceased operations in more than a dozen countries deemed too small, risky, or unprofitable, reported the Financial Times (FT).  

 At the start of this month, PwC cut ties with ten member firms in Africa following disagreements. 

PwC has officially ended its affiliation with its member firms located in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Fiji, according to a register of PwC entities and local news reports. 

The move is part of the firm’s efforts to avoid repeats of scandals that have impacted its reputation. 

The decision follows growing tensions with local partners, the FT reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.  

Local leaders at PwC noted that the firm lost more than a third of its business in recent years, driven by pressure from global executives to sever ties with high-risk clients.  

The company has also experienced significant client departures and layoffs since last year, the report added. 

PwC declined to comment on the FT report. 

In addition, th company’s China unit has faced a fine of 441m yuan ($60.01m) and a six-month suspension by China’s Ministry of Finance and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.  

This was a response to the $78bn fraud at Evergrande, a property giant whose financial reports were inflated between 2018 and 2020, audited by the company for almost 14 years until early 2023. 

In the UK, PwC was fined £4.5m by the Financial Reporting Council for its audit of Wyelands Bank for the 2019 financial year.  

Additionally, in Australia, a tax partner’s misuse of confidential government information led to political controversy and subsequent action by PwC’s global leadership. 

PwC has also faced a one-year ban from working for Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.  

The firm is reportedly striving to enhance relations with the oil-rich kingdom to resume operations.  

Currently, PwC is a network of firms in 152 countries with more than 327,000 people providing assurance, advisory, and tax services.