Accountants are protesting what they describe as the unlawful profiling of audit firms in the country. Their professional lobby group and regulator, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), has raised concerns that some financial institutions are imposing discriminatory restrictions on accounting firms based on the validity of their audited financial statements.
ICPAK has criticized this as an unjust and unacceptable attempt to undermine its authority. The Institute has reported that some institutions are prioritizing audit statements from the ‘big four’ firms—PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Deloitte, KPMG, and Ernst & Young—over those from smaller audit firms.
The statement from ICPAK noted that various stakeholders have expressed concerns that only audit reports from the ‘big four’ are being deemed valid and acceptable. ICPAK clarified that all auditors and accounting firms licensed by them have undergone thorough vetting, and all licensed audit firms are qualified to provide services according to their licenses.
Details of all licensed audit firms are available on the ICPAK website and are regularly published in national newspapers for further clarification. ICPAK categorizes audit firms based on the number of partners, ranging from sole practitioners to firms with over ten partners, reflecting their varying capacities.
“Any profiling that designates some audit firms as ‘the big four’ or considers only financial statements audited by these firms as valid or acceptable is discriminatory, biased, irregular, and anti-competitive,” stated ICPAK Chairman Philip Kaikai.
ICPAK, established under the Accountants Act of 1978 and operating under the Accountants Act No.15 of 2008, is the statutory body responsible for licensing audit firms and practitioners.
It issues licenses in four categories: Category C (Composite License), which allows for Audit and Assurance Services, Tax Services, Accounting, Controls, and Consulting Services; Category A, which permits only Audit and Assurance Services; Category M, for Accounting, Controls, and Consulting; and Category T, for Tax practices.
