The transformation of the accounting profession in South Africa was enhanced this week with the merger of MSGM Masuku Jeena Inc and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the world’s largest professional services firm.
MSGM, with 14 partners and 174 employees, is a black-owned firm of accountants and business advisers, while PwC employs 830 black professionals — more than any other firm in the professional services industry. PwC has 24 black partners and a total staff complement of 3 450.
The merged entity, operating under the name PricewaterhouseCoopers, with 37 black partners and 1 000 black professionals, will boast the largest number of black professionals among the top four accounting firms.
Colin Beggs, CEO of PwC for Southern Africa, said the merger would promote stronger service offerings and capabilities in the public and private sectors, as well as the small business sector.
“Fifty percent of the merged firm’s executive is now black and one-third of the 18-strong governing board now consists of black directors,” Beggs said.
l Empowerdex, the economic empowerment rating agency, said in a document released last week that black empowerment investments needed in the financial services sector were estimated at between R22,4-billion and R65,7-billion, depending on the empowerment ownership targets eventually adopted in the charter, expected in September.
The estimate was based on the transfer of ownership at holding company level. Empowerdex estimated the number of black economic empowerment directors required in the sector at 92 (based on a 25% empowerment control target) or at 203 (based on the black economic empowerment commission’s target of 40% control).
This represents a 160% to 400% increase in the current number of empowerment directors in the financial sector and an increase of up to 55% in the number of empowerment directors across all industries on the JSE Securities Exchange.