Bank of Uganda has released the list of 18 shortlisted external audit firms that will audit supervised financial institutions in 2023.
Section 62 (1) of the Financial Institutions Act (FIA) 2004 and Section 30 (2) of the Microfinance Deposit-taking Institutions Act 2003 and the External Auditor Appointment Guidelines for Forex Bureaus and Money Remitters (2016), Bank of Uganda is mandated to pre-qualify and publish a list of External Auditors for Commercial Banks, Credit Institutions and Microfinance Deposit-taking Institutions and Forex Bureaus.
The selected firms were chosen after a process that started in September 2022.
According to a Bank of Uganda, Best Evaluated Bidder Notice number EDA.000A.1 dated 30th December 2022 and addressed to all bidders, signed by one, Hajara Kasule Mawanda, that the CEO East Africa Magazine has seen, those prequalified to audit all categories of supervised financial institutions include BDO East Africa, KPMG, RSM East Africa, Goldgate, Gemaco & Associates, Deloitte & Touche and HLB Jim Roberts.
Others are Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton Uganda, Tomson & Company, JNN Associates and PKF Uganda.
Those prequalified for only Forex Bureaus include Chuckle and Company, Nexia HMS Associates, Philip & Elnest Partners, Kakande & Company, Baker Tilly Hem LLP, and Kalinda & Associates.
Sixty Eight (68) other audit firms failed to qualify for various reasons. They include such big names as PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Sejjaaka & Kawaase & Co and Mazars BRJ.
Letters to My Younger Self: Robinah Siima — “Success Is Quieter, But Richer”Without giving details, the Best Evaluated Bidder Notice said the firms failed the preliminary examination stage.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Mazars BRJ are the only of two global big names to not make it to the 2023 list of the lucrative financial institutions’ audit business.
According to the audited books of the 26 commercial banks in 2021 KPMG audited the most number of banks- nine (9), including big names such as Centenary Bank, Citi Bank and DTB Uganda.
KPMG was followed by Ernst & Young who audited seven (7) banks, that included Absa, Standard Chartered and Equity Bank.
Grant Thornton audited three (3), PKF Uganda audited two (2), while PriceWaterhouseCooopers, RSM East Africa and Deloitte & Touche each audited one (1) bank.
The Office of the Auditor General audited the two government banks i.e Housing Finance Bank and PostBank Uganda.
