‘No man is an island.’ For Adeniyi Bamgboye FCCA, managing partner of Empyrean Professional Services in Nigeria, those five words capture the reality facing accounting and advisory firms across Africa. Expertise matters – but networks are often what unlock opportunity, capability and credibility.
Across the continent’s professional services landscape, relationships underpin everything from client acquisition to capability building and career development. As African economies grow, regulations evolve and regional integration accelerates, senior finance professionals increasingly see networks as strategic assets rather than optional extras.
Engines of growth
For many firms, client expectations are driving collaboration and partnership models. Businesses want seamless support across compliance, advisory, finance and operational matters. That means firms cannot always operate alone.
‘We actively collaborate and partner with other firms to expand our service offerings’
Bamgboye puts it plainly: ‘We actively collaborate and partner with other firms to expand our service offerings. It is very important.’
His firm works with lawyers, engineers and bankers to enhance its client offering. The motivation, he says, is both practical and strategic: to meet client needs more comprehensively, leverage specialist expertise and extend market reach. ‘We view it as essential for meeting client demands and seizing new opportunities.’
South Africa-based Farooq Ronnie Shumba FCCA, founder of FRS Accountants, echoes this shift. He has built an ecosystem of partners – from bookkeepers and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) verification agencies to bankers and financial advisers.
‘Clients increasingly expect one-stop solutions,’ he explains. ‘Our network helps us deliver on that expectation efficiently, improves client loyalty and creates additional revenue streams through complementary services.’
Crossborder reach
Networks are not only local. Many African firms are joining regional and global alliances to compete more effectively for both domestic and international business.
‘Clients expanding offshore need to know that we can assist with their expansion’
Suresh Naidoo, director/partner at Accensis in South Africa, points to his firm’s long-standing membership of PrimeGlobal, an association of independent advisory and accounting firms. ‘Clients expanding offshore need to know that we can assist with their expansion,’ he says. ‘It’s a defensive move; the client could opt for a competitor who has offshore links.’
The benefits cut both ways. ‘We have had several inward referrals,’ Naidoo adds. ‘We provide outsourced audit services to PrimeGlobal member firms in the UK and the Netherlands. This has provided excellent growth for our firm.’
Such partnerships reinforce a message that many African practices want to send: they may be locally rooted, but they operate to global standards and can support crossborder ambitions.
Be strategic
For these practitioners, one theme stands out: effective networking requires deliberate investment.
Bamgboye prioritises shared values and mutual goals when partnering. ‘I actively engage in networking events and online platforms to build relationships, fostering open communication and trust.’
Secrets of successful networking
Start with shared values and mutual benefit. ‘Seek partners with shared goals; engage genuinely and create mutual value,’ says Adeniyi Bamgboye FCCA of Empyrean Professional Services.
Be active and present. ‘The greater our participation, the better it has been for our business,’ says Suresh Naidoo of Accensis.
Think partnership, not competition. ‘Networking isn’t about competition; it’s about finding shared value,’ says FRS Accountants’ Farooq Ronnie Shumba FCCA.
View networking as long-term investment. ‘It may seem time-consuming at the outset, but the return on investment is worth it,’ Naidoo stresses.
Shumba’s approach, meanwhile is pragmatic and structured: ‘The conversation is always centred on how we can help each other serve clients better and generate shared revenue. It’s about finding synergy rather than competition,’ he says, adding that his firm even builds referral models that allow partners to add a markup to shared client work – ensuring that both parties benefit.
‘We help clients with BEE requirements while strengthening our value chain’
Naidoo focuses on participation and presence within his global network. ‘We are always active – the greater our participation, the better it has been for our business,’ he says. This activity includes attending conferences, maintaining regular dialogue and staying visible in the community.
Networking also helps firms access niche and emerging expertise – particularly valuable as African markets digitalise, regulators tighten frameworks, and sustainability, transformation and governance agendas advance.
Shumba points to BEE compliance as a prime example. ‘By collaborating with verification agencies and training providers, we help clients with BEE requirements while strengthening our value chain,’ he says.
Bamgboye notes that working with diverse professionals – from lawyers to engineers – ensures that clients receive ‘a comprehensive service’ while the firm benefits from varied perspectives and knowledge sharing.
Talent pipelines
As in much of the world, skilled finance professionals are in short supply, but networks can also help firms secure and develop talent.
Shumba explains how partnerships create practical capacity: ‘We work with independent bookkeepers who prepare client records but cannot legally sign off on compilations or independent reviews,’ he says. ‘We provide the required review and sign-off services in compliance with professional standards.’
He also expects network growth to accelerate now that ACCA members in South Africa have Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors audit rights – enabling firms like his to serve associates needing audit capacity.
For Bamgboye, networks also foster talent development and mentoring: ‘Being part of a network facilitates knowledge sharing, collaboration and access to resources, enhancing professional development.’
Finding a route
Networking can be time-intensive, particularly for smaller firms balancing fee-earning with relationship-building. Naidoo recognises this, admitting that at first the process can feel ‘time-consuming and expensive’, but he emphasises that ‘the return on investment is worth it’.
Competition is another factor. Firms must collaborate while ensuring independence, especially where services overlap. Shumba resolved this by stepping back from product-selling partnerships to maintain independence and trust: ‘It created a potential conflict, so I chose to step back.’
Digital networking offers new pathways, but in many African markets, personal trust and relationship-building remain paramount. Consistency, visibility and authenticity matter.
Above all, practitioners agree that firms who invest in relationships – locally and globally – are better positioned to serve clients, attract talent and compete in an increasingly interconnected market. In a continent defined by growth and complexity, collaboration is not just smart; it’s essential.
