Global accountants expand in SA

One of the world's top auditing and accounting associations has expanded its global footprint in South Africa to better service its rapidly growing client base.

Horwath International ranks among the top eight accounting associations in the world, with offices in 400 cities and 90 countries globally. It has recently launched Horwath in South Africa, grouping together four independent auditing and accounting firms based around the country.

The four firms include the Cape Town-based Horwath Zeller Karro, Horwath Leveton Boner in Johannesburg, Horwath Lubbes in Pretoria and Durban's Horwath Mahomedy Omar Paruk. All are linked into Horwaths global association.

Going forward, they will collaborate closely with other Horwath International firms globally, enabling them to draw upon a wide array expertise in many different fields to the benefit of their clients. 

Horwath in South Africa has 32 partners across its four offices, of whom eight are previously disadvantaged, giving its South African operation 25% black ownership. The group has approximately 300 staff in total.

According to Werner Rotach, the New York-based CEO of Horwath International, the companys South African business is considered to be of increasing strategic importance for the group.

"We expect South Africa to become even more important for us in the near future," says Rotach. "Not only do we plan to expand further here, but we will also use South Africa as a platform for more growth into the rest of Africa."

Horwath International already has offices in Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, amongst other countries on the continent. It is particularly strong in the Middle East, where it has a presence in every country, and it is ranked as the fifth largest auditing and accounting association in Asia.

Louis Defries and Kent Karro, Joint Managing Partners of Horwath in South Africa, say there has been increasing demand for services provided by independent accountants and business advisors, as globalisation and the ever-growing requirements of corporate governance have made these services indispensable.

"We have some of the foremost experts in tax, forensics, financial services, risk management and tourism and leisure in our associate firms in South Africa," notes Defries. "With its new offices in Durban and Pretoria, Horwath in South Africa will now be able to increase its service levels to national and international clients, in both audit and accounting as well as their other specialist services. Horwath in South Africa stands proudly behind its ethos of personal service."

Also this week, Cape Town played host to Horwath International's annual global conference at the International Convention Centre, which attracted over 260 delegates and 110 accompanying partners from 59 countries around the world to South Africa for the first time.

During the four-day event, the theme of which was "Threshold of Opportunity", delegates discussed topics ranging from the future of the accounting and auditing profession to the opportunities for investing in South Africa.