Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /var/www/nairametrics/wp-content/themes/nairametrics/functions.php on line 104
The number of corporate clients an audit firm serves is one of the clearest indicators of its influence in Nigeria’s financial reporting ecosystem.
A review of the 2025 auditor disclosures of 128 major listed and unlisted companies shows that the country’s audit market remains concentrated among a relatively small group of firms, with a handful of professional services firms accounting for the majority of corporate audit engagements.
The ranking is based entirely on the number of companies audited by each firm within the 128-company sample reviewed by Nairametrics. PwC and EY led the market with 23 clients each, followed by Deloitte with 17, KPMG with 13, and PKF with 10.
Behind these firms are the managing and principal partners responsible for driving audit quality, business development, regulatory compliance, and client relationships. Their leadership has helped shape the competitive position of their firms in one of Nigeria’s most strategically important professional services markets.
Also Read
Here are the managing partners of the leading audit firms ranked by the number of corporate clients they audited in the 2025 review.
10. Uhabia Ojike (Forvis Mazars Nigeria)
Uhabia Ojike’s career has taken him through three different stages of the audit profession: training within a Big Four firm, entrepreneurship, and leadership of an international professional services network.
Today, he serves as Managing Partner of Forvis Mazars in Nigeria, leading a firm that audited two companies in the 2025 review. While the client count places the firm among the smaller players in the ranking, Ojike’s professional trajectory reflects experience across some of the most sophisticated segments of the audit and advisory industry.
- He began his career as an audit intern at KPMG Nigeria during his National Youth Service year, an entry point that introduced him to large-scale audit practice and multinational client work. He later joined Deloitte, where he progressed from Audit Associate to Senior Manager, gaining experience across financial reporting, assurance, and advisory engagements.
Rather than remaining within the partnership track of a global firm, Ojike established Ojike & Partners, serving as Managing Partner for more than seven years. That period gave him direct experience in business development, client acquisition, and firm leadership, skills that would later become central to his role at Mazars.
In 2019, he became Managing Partner of Mazars in Nigeria, and following the global combination that created Forvis Mazars, he assumed leadership of the Nigerian firm in 2024. His responsibilities now extend beyond audit execution to strategic direction, talent development, governance, and the firm’s positioning within the international Forvis Mazars network.
Ojike holds a B.Sc. in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, an MBA from the University of Manchester, and is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). He is also a Fellow of ICAN and CITN and has attended the Leading Professional Services Firm Program at Harvard Business School.
9. Abiodun Ariyibi (SIAO Partners)
Abiodun Ariyibi’s career is a study in technical depth and institutional leadership. Long before becoming Managing Partner of SIAO Partners, he had built a reputation across audit, forensic accounting, taxation, corporate restructuring, and regulatory advisory work.
SIAO Partners audited two companies in the 2025 review, but the firm’s influence extends beyond the number of corporate mandates it secured. It remains one of Nigeria’s established indigenous professional services firms, with a significant presence in audit, tax, and advisory services.
Ariyibi began his professional career at Olusola Faleye & Co. before joining PKF Nigeria, where he rose to become a Partner. Those years exposed him to large audit engagements, financial reporting, and advisory assignments across multiple sectors of the economy.
In 2009, he joined SIAO Partners as Partner and Head of Audit and Assurance, taking responsibility for audit engagements across banking, manufacturing, and public sector institutions. His technical expertise and leadership within the audit practice eventually led to his appointment as Managing Partner in 2022.
His work also extends into public-sector and regulatory engagements. He serves as an Asset Management Partner with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and is a Sponsored Individual of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), roles that reflect significant trust within Nigeria’s financial regulatory ecosystem.
Ariyibi holds a B.Sc. in Economics from Ambrose Alli University and an Executive MBA from the Federal University of Technology, Akure. More than 25 years into his career, he represents a generation of audit leaders whose influence comes not only from client portfolios but from their role in strengthening governance, forensic accountability, and financial oversight.
8. Orji Okpechi (Grant Thornton Nigeria)
Orji Okpechi’s path to becoming Principal Partner of Grant Thornton Nigeria did not follow a straight line through public accounting alone. His career has moved through accounting practice, corporate finance leadership, entrepreneurship, and international development consulting, giving him one of the most diverse professional backgrounds among the executives in this ranking.
Grant Thornton Nigeria audited three companies in the 2025 review, maintaining a foothold among Nigeria’s established audit and advisory firms.
Okpechi’s career began in accounting and finance roles in Owerri, including positions with the Smallholders Oil Palm Project and Lemmy Akakem Construction Company. He later joined Spiropoulos, Adiele, Okpara & Co., where he progressed from Audit Semi Senior to Manager and eventually Partner, developing expertise across audit, tax, and consulting services.
A significant turning point came with his move into corporate leadership at ABC Transport, where he served as Chief Accountant, Assistant General Manager, and Deputy General Manager (Accounts). Managing financial reporting, budgeting, funding, and strategic finance gave him operational insight that complemented his audit background.
He returned fully to professional practice with Grant Thornton Nigeria, becoming Senior Partner in 2013 and later Principal Partner in 2020, with responsibility for advisory services and broader firm leadership.
Beyond traditional audit work, Okpechi has led major assignments for the World Bank, USAID, and Federal and State Governments in Nigeria, as well as forensic investigations, due diligence reviews, tax consulting engagements, and corporate advisory projects.
He is a certified Insolvency Practitioner (BRIPAN), a Certified Forensic Accountant of Nigeria, and has served as an expert witness before judicial panels. He also leads Grant Thornton Academy Nigeria, reflecting a strong commitment to professional development and capacity building.
7. Oluwole Ogundeji (Baker Tilly Nigeria)
Few careers in Nigeria’s audit profession illustrate the value of institutional continuity as clearly as that of Oluwole Ogundeji. More than three decades after beginning his career, he remains deeply associated with the firm that would eventually become Baker Tilly Nigeria, where he now serves as Senior Partner and National Business Leader for Audit and Assurance.
Baker Tilly Nigeria audited five companies in the 2025 review, making it one of the more prominent mid-tier firms by number of corporate clients. Its engagements span manufacturing, oil and gas, banking, finance, stockbroking, and services, reflecting a broad industry presence.
Ogundeji began his professional journey in 1991 with the dissolved firm of Z. O. Ososanya. When the practice was restructured, he remained with the organisation, building his career through years of technical work, client service, and leadership responsibilities. His admission into the partnership in 2004 marked the culmination of more than a decade of professional development within the firm.
Over the years, he has led audit engagements across some of Nigeria’s most important economic sectors, helping companies strengthen financial reporting systems, governance frameworks, and regulatory compliance processes. His reputation has been built less on public visibility and more on technical consistency and professional reliability.
As head of the firm’s audit and assurance practice, Ogundeji has played a central role in developing Baker Tilly Nigeria’s audit methodology, mentoring younger professionals, and maintaining the firm’s credibility in a highly competitive market.
He is a Fellow of ICAN and an Associate Member of BRIPAN, credentials that reflect both technical competence and expertise in business recovery and insolvency practice.
6. Olugbemiga Akibayo (BDO Professional Services)
Some careers are defined by movement across multiple firms; Olugbemiga Akibayo’s career has been defined by longevity within a single institution and the steady accumulation of professional trust. More than 37 years after joining BDO’s predecessor firm, he remains one of the senior figures in Nigeria’s audit profession, having witnessed the evolution of the country’s corporate reporting landscape from the mid-1980s to the present day.
BDO Professional Services audited five companies in the 2025 review of 128 major Nigerian companies, placing it among the notable mid-tier firms with a meaningful corporate audit presence.
Akibayo joined Coopers & Lybrand/BDO Oyediran Faleye Oke & Co. in 1985, shortly after graduating from the University of Lagos, where he studied Economics.
He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). His career reflects a quieter but equally significant model of professional leadership: one built through consistency, technical depth, and decades of institutional commitment.
5. Tajudeen A. Akande (PKF Professional Services)
For many Nigerian accountants, PKF Nigeria represents one of the country’s oldest indigenous professional services institutions. For Tajudeen A. Akande, it has been the platform on which he built a career spanning more than three decades and eventually became one of the most influential leaders among indigenous audit firms.
PKF Professional Services audited 10 companies in the 2025 review, making it the largest mid-tier audit firm by number of corporate clients outside the Big Four. Its portfolio spans financial services, industrial goods, insurance, and consumer businesses, reinforcing its position as a significant force in Nigeria’s audit market.
- Akande’s journey began in 1988 at Akintola Williams & Co., the firm that would later become part of Deloitte. Those early years provided rigorous training in audit methodology, financial reporting, and professional discipline. In 1993, he joined PKF Nigeria, a move that would define the rest of his career.
His academic and professional development reflects that international orientation. He earned a degree in Accounting from the University of Benin, later completed a Master’s in Finance at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, and attended executive programmes at Lagos Business School and Harvard Business School.
A Fellow of ICAN, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, and an Associate of CITN, Akande has become one of the most recognisable advocates for indigenous professional services excellence. His career demonstrates that competing with global firms requires not only technical competence but also institutional leadership and international connectivity.
4. Tola Adeyemi (KPMG Professional Services)
When Tola Adeyemi joined KPMG more than three decades ago, Nigeria’s financial sector looked very different from the one it does today. Banking consolidation had not yet transformed the industry, telecommunications was still emerging, and the scale of corporate governance regulation was far less complex. His career has evolved alongside those changes, placing him at the centre of some of the country’s most significant audit and advisory developments.
KPMG Professional Services audited 13 companies in the 2025 review, accounting for 10.16% of the companies analysed and reinforcing its position as one of the Big Four firms with a substantial corporate audit portfolio.
Adeyemi graduated with a first-class degree in Accounting from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and joined KPMG early in his professional career. He was admitted as a Partner in 2000, a milestone that marked his transition from technical specialist to firm leader.
Before becoming Senior Partner of KPMG in Nigeria and Chief Executive Officer of KPMG West Africa, he led the firm’s Audit and Assurance Services division, where he advised clients across financial services, energy, consumer markets, industrial sectors, telecommunications, and the public sector.
He also serves on both the KPMG West Africa Board and the KPMG Africa Board, contributing to regional policy and governance decisions.
Adeyemi has invested heavily in executive development throughout his career, attending leadership programmes at Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School, Wharton, and INSEAD. He is a Fellow of ICAN and CITN and a member of the Institute of Directors.
3. Yomi Olugbenro (Deloitte & Touche)
Unlike many audit leaders whose careers have been built primarily within assurance practice, Yomi Olugbenro has established his reputation through the intersection of tax policy, corporate strategy, and executive leadership.
Deloitte & Touche audited 17 companies in the 2025 review, giving it 13.28% of the 128-company sample and placing it third overall among Nigeria’s audit firms by number of corporate clients.
- Olugbenro is the Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte West Africa, where he oversees the firm’s operations across multiple countries and service lines.
- An alumnus of the University of Manchester, he is a Fellow of both ICAN and CITN and has spent decades advising corporations, investors, and policymakers on complex fiscal and regulatory issues.
One of the defining features of his career has been his engagement with public policy and professional institutions. He has served as Chair of the Board of the Tax & Fiscal Policy Faculty of ICAN, previously chaired the Indirect Tax Faculty of CITN, and has become a regular speaker at local and international conferences on taxation and fiscal reform.
2. Anthony Oputa (EY West Africa)
For Anthony Oputa, leadership at EY was not the result of a single promotion but a series of increasingly complex responsibilities that prepared him for one of the most senior roles in West Africa’s professional services industry.
EY audited 23 companies in the 2025 review, tying with PwC as the largest audit firm by number of corporate clients within the 128-company sample.
Oputa studied Accounting at the University of Jos and began his professional career at PwC in 1998, where he worked as a senior associate providing audit and advisory services to financial institutions. That foundation in assurance gave him technical credibility, but one of the most significant turning points in his career came when he moved into corporate finance.
In 2002, he joined Access Bank as Head of Corporate Finance, where he worked on loan syndications, project financing, and advisory transactions. The experience exposed him to the commercial realities of corporate decision-making from the client side, broadening his perspective beyond audit execution.
He later returned to the professional services sector and joined EY’s leadership team. In 2015, he became West Africa Financial Services Leader, focusing on strategy and business development across the region. By 2018, he had been appointed Chief Operating Officer for EY West Africa, overseeing finance, operations, and organisational performance across the cluster.
In 2020, Oputa became Regional Managing Partner for West Africa and Chief Executive Officer of EY West Africa, taking responsibility for the firm’s overall strategy, growth, and market leadership. Even while serving in that executive capacity, he has continued to hold assurance-related leadership roles, including responsibilities for capital markets and accounting advisory services across West Africa.
1. Sam Abu (PwC Nigeria)
Among Nigeria’s leading audit executives, Sam Abu’s career stands out for the breadth of its geographic, technical, and leadership experience. More than 23 years after joining PwC, he now leads not only the Nigerian firm but also the PwC West Market Area, placing him at the centre of one of the largest professional services networks operating in West Africa.
PwC audited 23 companies in the 2025 review, sharing the top position with EY and reinforcing its status as one of the most influential firms in Nigeria’s corporate reporting ecosystem.
Over time, he assumed a series of leadership positions within PwC, including West Market Area Assurance Leader and Financial Services Leader for Nigeria.
One of the most significant aspects of his leadership journey was his six-year tenure on the PwC Africa Governance Board, where he contributed to policy development, governance oversight, and strategic direction across the African network.
In July 2023, he became Country Senior Partner of PwC Nigeria and Regional Senior Partner for the West Market Area. In that dual role, he is responsible for the firm’s strategy, operations, talent development, governance, and client service across multiple markets.
Warning: Undefined variable $post_id in /var/www/nairametrics/wp-content/themes/nairametrics/comments.php on line 134
Warning: Undefined variable $post_id in /var/www/nairametrics/wp-content/themes/nairametrics/comments.php on line 134