BDO to merge with Grant Thornton in South Africa

August 09, 2018

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BDO and Grant Thornton’s South African outfits have announced plans to merge in the fourth quarter of 2018. The merger is set to create the largest mid-tier accounting firm in the country.

BDO bought out Grant Thornton’s offices in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in February 2018. The merger will create a firm of 1,500 partners and staff across seven offices in South Africa. This includes Grant Thornton’s Johannesburg office, with almost 900 partners and staff.

BDO’s South Africa CEO Mark Stewart described the deal as providing a “credible alternative to the four largest auditing firms”. The merger comes just as KPMG is axing 400 jobs and closing offices in the country. The Big 4 firm has been haemorrhaging clients since it was engulfed in a scandal over its audits of companies owned by the Gupta brothers.

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News South Africa Africa

Josh White

Special Projects Editor ITR

Josh covers transfer pricing, BEPS, tax disputes and other direct tax matters for ITR’s audience. He covers a range of tax issues in these areas and how companies are dealing with them, as well as the influence of politics on tax developments.

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