By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 8th, 2024
KPMG announced that it will completely exit the Russian network in a move to help its Ukrainian colleagues and thus support humanitarian efforts.
Big four giants have now joined other global conglomerates to announce their exit from Russia. On Sunday, March 6, accounting giants KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) announced to discontinue their operations in Russia.
Companies have been showing increasing hostility towards Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. KPMG further added that its Russia and Belarus firm will leave the KPMG network. This will likely affect 4,500 partners and staff in Russia and Belarus. PwC Russia has operated for more than 30 years now. In a statement on Sunday, the company said:
“As a result of the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine we have decided that, under the circumstances, PwC should not have a member firm in Russia and consequently PwC Russia will leave the Network”.
PwC’s global chairman Bob Moritz further added:
“Our main focus at PwC continues to be doing all we can to help our Ukrainian colleagues and support the humanitarian efforts to aid the people of Ukraine who have been devastated by this invasion. We are also committed to working with our colleagues at PwC Russia to undertake an orderly transition for the business, and with a focus on the wellbeing of our 3,700 colleagues in PwC Russia.”
Companies Facing Pressure to Leave Russia
Amid the heavy financial sanctions levied by the West, companies have been facing increasing pressure to exit Russia. Global companies across entertainment, financial services, banking services, accounting, and tech have announced their exit from Russia over the last two weeks.
Along with PwC and KPMG, two other Big Four giants Deloitte and EY are working on similar measures. Last week, Deloitte similarly said it was reviewing its “business and presence in Russia”. Similarly, EY said that it’s working to comply with relevant sanctions.
Coming to the financial services sector, companies like Visa and Mastercard have announced their exit from Russia. They further added that locally issued cards won’t be able to transact internationally. American Express too has announced to terminate its operations.
While the US and the EU have been swift in imposing sanctions on Russia, Britain has been relatively slower. On Monday, Britain said that it is looking to speed up sanctions on Russia and tighten its grip on Russian businesses and wealthy individuals.