Accounting Firms KPMG and PwC Exit Russia and Belarus

Two big accounting enterprises, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) have disclosed that they will remove their member firms in Russia and Belarus due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to KPMG, its consultancy network in Belarus and Russia will no longer be active as Russia’s military spread across Ukraine. However, this update will notably affect over 4,500 partners and staff in Russia and Belarus.

According to PwC, its Russia-based network will be discontinued after operating in the country for over 30 years with 3,700 partners and staff. PwC however, didn’t mention any update regarding Belarus.

“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 disclosed in a statement on Sunday, 6th March.

KPMG and PwC are the lastest companies to sever ties with Russia and Belarus distinctively, following the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. This is also coming on the heels of a number of sanctions that have been served Russia by the U.K., EU and the U.S. These sanctions are forcing firms globally to consider whether they should continue working with Russian clients who are state-owned.

Investors King recalls that other firms like Adidas, Visa, Mastercard and a number of other companies have pulled out services from Russia.

Experts and analysts have also projected that the sanctions from KPMG and PwC may be tied to the U.S. and other Western allies having voted to remove some Russian banks from SWIFT in the past week and also coming on the decline in market value for many companies and Russian-based companies.

Experts also project that as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, more sanctions may be on the way against Russia in the coming weeks. In another update, Britain revealed that it is creating a legislature seeking to speed up its sanctions process against Russia on Monday, 7th March.

According to the British government, the new legislation will be designed to allow ministers tighten restrictions on Russian businesses and wealthy individuals.

While these sanctions are served to make Russia pull back its forces, it is also leading to heavy unemployment to Russians.