Ernst & Young acquires actuarial consulting firm Quindiem
As an initial step in their growth and expansion strategy across Africa, global professional services firm EY have acquired actuarial services company Quindiem Consulting. The acquisition involves the addition of 17 professionals to EY’s actuarial consulting practice in the region.
Founded in 2001, Quindiem is one of the leading actuarial consulting firms in South Africa. The extensive range of services provided by the firm includes consulting on both life and non-life insurance, quantitative analysis, financial inclusion, regulation and supervision areas. The firm additionally specialises in projects surrounding capital modelling, product development, market analysis and business advisory, asset portfolio modelling, valuation of executive share options, credit impairment calculations and a number of other services. In other domains, the firm also works in and supports efforts for HIV/AIDS prevention.
The areas of operation for the firm include South Africa and a number of other locations across Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria and Ghana. This is the extensive market that Big Four accounting and advisory firm EY has attempted to tap into through the acquisition of Quindiem for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition, which will come into effect on the 11th of June, will see EY add 17 new professionals to its actuarial team, bringing the total team-size up to 30 professionals and making EY’s actuarial practice one of the largest across Africa. The move comes amid a growing need for financial services in South Africa, and is a part of EY’s strategy to expand and meet this need.
Across Europe and Africa, a number of new compliance and governance regulations are being imposed on the financial services and insurance industries, including the likes of the European Union’s Solvency 2 directive. Moreover, within South Africa, a number of firms are entering into Black Economic Empowerment transactions to boost diversity in the market, particularly in the mining and construction industries. Most of these transactions require complex rearrangements of ownership, which calls for actuarial expertise.
EY has grown significantly in tandem with this expansion in demand. Last year, the firm saw a mammoth 20% growth in Africa, with a presence in 30 different countries. According to Mark Otty, the head of EY for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revealed that the firm is operating with the objective of reaching a steady annual growth rate of 13%, and add another 20,000 professionals to its staff in the region.
Commenting on the acquisition, the CEO of EY in South Africa, Ajen Sita said, “The accumulated wealth of experience and skills offered by Quindiem across diverse aspects of the industry complements our existing actuarial skill set and will allow us to broaden our cur-rent service offerings to our clients, therefore strengthening our market presence across Africa.”
Meanwhile, Founding Principal at Quindiem, Alex Thomson, who will now act as Actuarial Leader at EY South Africa said, “This exciting development will offer significant career and knowledge –building opportunities for our people from Quindiem, as they will become part of a global organisation. In addition, Quindiem’s extensive expertise and experience of operating in Africa, complements the firm’s Africa footprint.”
