Audit and financial advisory services firm Kreston Zimbabwe says it is continually exploring growth opportunities through expanding its footprint and services to new markets.
Launched in 2014, the company has since opened an office in Zambia, and in addition to existing services in auditing, advisory and tax, it has already launched a trustee service and is looking to introduce more products into the future.
Kreston Zimbabwe's managing partner, Mr Modern Mutumwa, during the company's 10th anniversary celebrations last Friday, said while the 10-year journey had its challenges, the company always managed to support its clients and maintained its strategic vision for growth.
"From 2014, we started with one employee and just wanted to offer audit, accounting and tax. Usually, we were focusing on the mid-tier, the small to medium enterprises (SMEs), who were often neglected by the big firms.
"The support to SMEs was to ensure they have potential, but with other opportunities coming through in the consultancy market, we also began to recruit more people and partners to come on board.
"This is how we have been seeing the opportunities; fill it and see if we can cover it and bring staff to do it," he said in an interview.
Mr Mutumwa said over the next few years, the company plans to launch other services that fit into its strategic vision, and these mainly relate to business advisory and support lines.
"This will enable us to better serve our growing client base," he said.
Mr Mutumwa said Kreston Zimbabwe had over the past decade grown in terms of the number of clients in terms of service offerings in the market.
"In the local market, we have done well over the past decade, and that has been our focus.
"Outside the region, we have an office in Zambia; it is a very lucrative market because they use their own currency.
"This is opposed to Zimbabwe, where people are always inclined to the US dollar, and this really makes the business difficult," Mr Mutumwa noted.
He said in terms of growth prospects, the company had already started offering advisory and audit services to big clients.
"We have also launched a Trustee Services unit and we are going to support business individuals with the trustee services.
"We are also looking to launch other products in the market in the future, which we believe is going to increase our penetration into the market," revealed Mr Mutumwa.
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Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SecZim) chief executive Mr Anymore Taruvinga revealed during the celebrations that the registration of Kreston Trustee Services had brought the number of registered trustees to seven.
"Over the years we have witnessed the growth of Kreston Zimbabwe, and it had also been a critical player in supporting the commission's financial inclusion strategies, such as investor education," he said.
However, Mr Mutumwa said the operating environment has not been without its challenges, including navigating changing regulatory landscapes, adapting to technological advancements, and managing the complexities of a growing business.
"One of the key challenges the company faced is the need to continuously upskill its team to ensure they are equipped to provide the highest level of service to our clients to meet the requirements of the reporting framework posed by International Financial Reporting Standards and, from a Zimbabwean context, IAS 29: Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies and IAS 21: The Effects of Foreign Exchange Rates.
"To overcome this, we have invested heavily in training and development programmes, as well as fostering a culture of continuous learning within the firm," he said.
Guest speaker Mr Anesu Daka said audit firms should continually help in building public trust and confidence in the market during the celebrations.
