The Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower, left, and St. Basil’s Cathedral, center, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
International companies continue to disassociate themselves from Russia following its current invasion of Ukraine. This includes several global consultancies, including the four largest in the world, which are Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Deloitte announced on March 7 that it would cease operations in Russia and Belarus.
The company said:
“Although we know this is the right decision, it will have an impact on [aproximadamente] 3,000 Deloitte professionals located in Russia and Belarus. Like others, we know that our colleagues in Russia and Belarus have no say in the actions of their government.”
“We will support all affected colleagues during this transition and do everything we can to help them through this extremely difficult time,” the company added.
EY, also known as Ernst & Young, also said it would remove its Russian practice from its official global network, but would allow it to “continue to work with clients as an independent group of audit and consulting firms.”
“EY in Russia is a team of 4,700 professionals working in 9 cities in the country. The company has been operating in the Russian market for more than 30 years,” the statement said.
Consulting and accounting firm KPMG International said its “Russian and Belarusian firms will leave the KPMG network.”
“KPMG has more than 4,500 people in Russia and Belarus, and ending our employment relationship with them, many of whom have been with KPMG for many decades, is incredibly difficult,” the company said.
“This decision has nothing to do with them: it is a consequence of the actions of the Russian government. We are a purpose and values-oriented organization that believes in doing the right thing.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is also planning to divest its business in Russia.
“As a result of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian government, we have decided that under the circumstances, PwC should not have a member firm in Russia and accordingly PwC Russia will leave the network,” said the “Four Large” in a statement.
“Our main goal at PwC remains to do everything we can to help our Ukrainian colleagues and support humanitarian efforts,” he added.
“We are also committed to working with our colleagues at PwC Russia to deliver an orderly transition for the business, and with a focus on the well-being of our 3,700 colleagues at PwC Russia.”
Another of the big firms, Accenture, is also going to stop its activity in Russia, since “it is with the people of Ukraine,” he said.
The firm announced the move last week in a statement, thanking its “nearly 2,300 colleagues in Russia for their dedication and service to Accenture over the years.”
“We will provide support to our Russian colleagues,” the company added.
