Jonathan Holt, chief executive of KPMG U.K., said in a LinkedIn post that the firm is working to comply with international sanctions against Russia imposed after the country invaded Ukraine. This compliance means the firm will drop some clients, according to Holt.
"We are reviewing and adapting our client work and operations to align with sanctions and comply with all new laws," Holt said. "This will mean ending some of our client relationships in the U.K. and globally."
Holt's statement is the furthest any of the Big Four accounting firms — which all have offices in Ukraine and Russia — have gone in their public response to Russia's invasion of its neighbor to the west. A PwC spokesperson, Mike Davies, declined to disclose whether it was dropping clients following the invasion but told Law360 on Tuesday the firm "takes compliance with applicable sanctions very seriously."
"We monitor sanctions developments on a real time basis to stay up to date with the latest changes and we then act accordingly," Davies told Law360.
EY has also not said if it will drop clients but said in a statement on its website Monday that it is "working with relevant governments to comply with the recently enacted country policies and applicable sanctions." EY spokesperson Sunny Tucker didn't respond to a request from Law360 for additional information and Deloitte did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia has been hit with sanctions from the U.S., U.K. and other countries for its invasion of Ukraine, which began Thursday. The sanctions' targets include Russian banks and financial institutions, as well as high-ranking officials in the governments of Russia and Belarus, which has aided in the invasion.
The KPMG, EY and PwC spokespeople all denounced the invasion and said the firms are prioritizing the safety of their employees in Ukraine. All three firms have office locations in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital that is threatened by a Russian approach. PwC and KPMG also have locations in Lviv, a city in the country's west, while PwC has an additional presence in Dnipro.
"From the outset of this crisis, we have been primarily focused on the safety of EY people in Ukraine and colleagues outside of Ukraine who have family and friends in the midst of this ongoing military conflict," EY said in its statement. "We have been determined to bring the full support an organization such as ours can bring — to help those who want to leave, as well as those who have had to, or have chosen to, stay."
PwC is also helping colleagues who choose to leave or stay in Ukraine and is providing legal and financial support, according to Davies. KPMG's Holt said in his LinkedIn post that the firm is "in constant dialogue with our local colleagues to support them through this period."
In addition to their Ukraine locations, the Big Four accounting firms have a total of 35 office locations in Russia, according to their websites.
--Additional reporting by Rachel Rippetoe. Editing by Roy LeBlanc.
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