Regional Review: Africa
Talent and complexity in a changing continent
In this installment of our regional reviews, we speak to Bob Borrill, Managing Partner at Nwanda Incorporated in South Africa and newly-elected Praxity Chair for Africa & the Middle East, to guide us through challenges and possibilities for this complex region.
Here, Bob discusses the contrasts between Africa and the rest of the world, what uncertainties lie ahead, and how International Accounting Standards are becoming more widely adopted.
Geography & GDP
Having compared the problems of other regions with those of my own, I am left with the unavoidable sense that Africa and the Middle East have huge gaps relating to technical abilities and skill when compared to their Praxity peers in other regions; or to put it another way, first-world problems vs fundamental issues.
Africa occupies about one-fifth of the planet’s land and is second only to Asia in size, crossing both the equator and the prime meridian. With 54 recognised sovereign countries, it also has more countries than any other continent. This gives us some idea of the vastness of the region. Further to the continent’s sheer size, The African Union (AU) is nowhere near as cohesive as the EU and each country is centred on their own interests first and foremost.
Looking into the GDP numbers below, the Middle East is roughly twice that of Africa, with the combined Africa & Middle East in a very distant fourth place behind Asia, North America and Europe.
GDP Scoreboard - Middle East vs, Africa
* Current-price (nominal) figures from the IMF datasets cited below
** The IMF lists Sub-Saharan Africa's PPP GDP at roughly US $6 trn; a precise figure depends on the base year used
Key Take-aways:
- In money-of-the-day terms, the Middle East's economy is almost twice the size of Africa's (~1.8x)
- When you strip out price-level differences (PPP), the gap narrows: Middle East is only about 22% larger than Africa
- That sizeable nominal gap is driven by a much smaller population base (371m vs 1.47bn) so Middle-Eastern per-capita output is an order of magnitude higher than Africa's average
- Within Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) produces just under US $2trn - roughly the output of Brasil - while North Africa (Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, etc.) supplies the rest
- Country concentration: three economies - Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - account for well over half of the Middle-Eastern GDP, whereas Africa's top three (South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria) make up only about 45% of the continental total
It’s impossible to avoid the fact that this region is way behind its global peers. It does however have potential that needs to be nurtured to bear fruit.
Growth Areas
ESG reporting is likely to be a big growth area in Africa.
Reports note that at least 23 African jurisdictions are on an ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board) adoption path. Governments and development banks are pouring funds into transparency and green finance, creating a steady pipeline of assurance and forensic work.
The industry is also strengthening independence and governance. Multinational client demand makes multi-jurisdiction capacity a necessity, which is likely to continue. Rising quality-control costs and mandatory firm rotation is pushing smaller firms to merge or join international networks.
PAFA/IFAC (Pan-African Federation of Accountants/International Federation of Accountants) scholarships, the World Bank’s Foundational Accounting and Financial Management Skills Enhancement Programme (FASE) and national initiatives e.g., the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (SAICA) transformation push, aim to widen the talent pipeline and diversify firm ownership.
Staff shortages, especially in ESG and analytics, will cap growth unless firms are able to ramp up internal academies and regional secondments going forward.
Service Lines
The fastest-growing fee lines appear to be at the intersection of audit, risk and sustainability consulting. The service lines however depend on each country’s economic development. In the more developed countries, the service lines are usually aligned with other regions. In the less developed countries, the service lines tend to be more aligned to general accounting and payroll services.
Audit
Risk
Sustainability Consulting
International Standards
- 31 African countries have fully adopted International Accounting Standards (IFRS) as their primary national Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for listed/public interest entities.
- A further 21 use International Financial Reporting Standards in a limited or transitional way, bringing the total with some level of IFRS reliance to 52 out of 55 AU member states (roughly equal to 95%).
- Only three countries currently have no formal IFRS mandate at all.
In numbers - IFRS adoption across the continent (May 2025)
31 full adopters
All Southern African Development Community (SADC) members except Angola, plus every member of the East African Community and most English-speaking West African states (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Gambia, Cape Verde) have embedded IFRS directly into company law or stock-exchange rules. Tanzania's profile is a typical example: IFRS is 'required' for every domestic issuer.
17 OHADA countries (West & Central Africa)
Since 1 January 2019 these francophone jurisdictions have compelled listed groups to switch their group statements to full IFRS while keeping the revised SYSCOHADA chart of accounts fo separate financials.
North-African transition block (4)
- Morocco and Egypt already oblige listed companies to publish IFRS-based consolidated figures alongside local GAAP
- Tunisia has legislated full IFRS for reporting periods beginning 2026
- Algeria allows but does not yet mandate IFRS outside the banking sector
Sector-only adopters (eg Angola)
Angola illustrates a smaller group where the central bank moved first: IFRS is compulsory for banks and insurers, but other companies still file under national GAAP.
Three hold-outs
Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan have yet to enact any IFRS requirement; financial reporting is still governed by legacy or ad-hoc local rules.
Cross-Border Work
Cross-border accounting and audit work is a routine part of professional practice in Africa and is growing in both volume and complexity. Most of the activity is driven by:
- Multinational and pan-African corporate groups that need group audits and consolidated IFRS accounts across many jurisdictions.
- Development-finance and donor-funded projects that require internationally recognised auditors.
- Sustainability, social-compliance and ESG assurance engagements for global supply-chains.
Cross-border work is no longer a niche in Africa—it is a material slice of the profession’s revenue and is becoming the norm for any firm that services mid- to large-sized organisations. The direction of travel is clear; more multi-country engagements, more digital collaboration, and steadily closer alignment of professional rules across the continent. For practitioners the opportunities are substantial, but so are the demands for mobility, up-skilling and robust quality-control systems.
The Landscape in South Africa
South Africa’s accountancy profession has long been world class and often at the leading edge. However, the Audit profession suffered some credibility issues during the “state-capture” years. Quality oversight by the regulator is now tougher; IRBA’s latest inspection cycle shows “steady improvement” in audit quality. Leading firms have adopted data-analytics and AI-assisted audit techniques - firms that don’t adopt these tools will fall behind.
The professional pipeline is however still thin. The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) census from December 2024 lists around 54,000 Chartered Accountants (CAs(SA)); women now make up 47% of members, but only 15% of CAs are Black African. South Africa’s Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors’ (IRBA) Public Inspections Report notes that at year end 2024 there were only 3,527 Registered Auditors (RA’s) in South Africa. Firms report severe shortages of talent; young graduates say the profession still looks more attractive than tech or banking and many graduates are poached internationally. This appears to be a worldwide problem.
South Africa has no mandatory sustainability reporting yet, but IRBA’s Committee for Auditing Standards (CFAS) has issued updated illustrative assurance reports and, in February 2024, released an exposure draft on the International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (IESSA). Listed companies are piloting ISSB S1/S2 disclosures, and audit firms expect sustainability assurance to be the next big fee line.
Digital fluency, ESG competence and credible quality controls are now non-negotiable tickets to play in South Africa’s evolving audit market.
Trends Ahead
South Africa is the largest and most mature economy in Africa, and one of the fastest growing. However, political crosscurrents have created a tenuous future for the country, as well as for the continent as a whole.
South Africa in particular appears to be at the sharp end of the American administration’s wrath. America has not looked favourably on SA’s stance on Israel at the International Court of Justice, the country’s BRICS alliance and close relationship with China. Having stated that, President Ramaphosa is undertaking attempts to rebuild the relationship with President Trump and the US administration.
Unavoidably, the trade tariffs mooted by the US on South Africa and China, one of the country’s biggest trading partners, are a dark cloud over the economy. Successful trade tariff negotiations are seen as very important for the African exports to the USA.
The proposed cancellation of The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) - a U.S. trade policy enacted in 2000 that grants eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market for certain products - will no doubt damage industries such as vehicle manufacturing and agricultural exports.
While the future is so uncertain, it is hard to make too many solid predictions as to what the future holds. However there is still a lot of work to be done in the region and it’s crucial that African professionals are given a seat at the table.