The woman running a R10 billion global accounting giant in South Africa

Shirley Machaba has been the CEO of PwC Southern Africa for half a decade and has been named one of the most celebrated leaders in South Africa.

Machaba became CEO in July 2019, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Machaba replaced Dion Shango who was elected as the group’s Africa CEO.

Shango said that PwC believes that Machaba had the leadership skills, experience and influence to lead PwC Southern Africa.

Machaba is a qualified chartered accountant (CA) and was a partner in PwC’s assurance services division for over 15 years before becoming CEO.

She also had over 25 years of internal and external audit, risk management, compliance and governance experience within both the private and public sectors upon taking the role.

Upon her appointment, Machaba said that South Africa was regularly ranked as one of the world’s best nations when it came to auditing and reporting standards.

However, this reputation was tarnished by a series of corporate scandals, with many auditors standing accused of failing to spot the potential for corporate failings or accounting scandals.

She aimed to ensure that PwC was supporting efforts to restore trust in the profession.

PwC recently returned R43 million to Eskom over what was commonly known as the Capital Scrubbing engagement.

Although PwC said that it participated in good faith in the bidding process for the award of the Capital Scrubbing engagement, the State Capture Commission found the contract to be irregular due to Eskom’s non-compliance with relevant procurement laws.

“We are pleased to have finally concluded this longstanding civil dispute. Going through this process afforded us the opportunity to reflect and learn some important lessons,” said PwC.

On top of restoring the reputation of the firm, PwC has performed well financially in recent times.

In 2024, PwC South Africa embarked on an exercise to quantify its societal impact to ensure that it was driving meaningful and positive change.

From July 2023 to June 2024, PwC estimated that its firm’s daily operations sustained roughly 19,700 jobs.

5,100 of which were direct PwC employees, while the other 14,600 jobs were sustained through the expenditure of salaries by PwC staff.

The estimated economic impact this had on low-, middle- and high-income households amounted to approximately R8.8 billion worth of income.

Total government tax revenue benefitted from an estimated R2.6 billion in contributions generated from direct and indirect taxes tied to PwC’s operational spending in South Africa.

“These estimates spotlight the significant role that PwC is playing in shaping South Africa’s economic environment,” said Machaba.

“It also highlights the interconnectedness between our operations and the country‘s economic metrics, which directly speaks to the pivotal role that big business plays in driving sustainable development and economic growth.”

PwC Africa’s revenue was up 6% in the 2024 financial year, reaching $544 million (about R10 billion).

A Top CEO

Machaba’s achievements have also not gone unnoticed by others, with Forbes naming her as one of the Top CEOs in Africa in its inaugural 2024 list.

The list is unranked and names the 25 most influential and impactful CEOs in South Africa, who have been described as leaders.

These leaders are described as being at the “forefront of driving innovation, achieving financial success, and contributing significantly to their industries and communities”

Machaba told Forbes that while she has a seat at the table, she leads with purpose and intentionally collaborates to ensure that she is inclusive.

Through initiatives like the Faranani Program, a Rural Women Training Initiative, Machaba also helped empower over 4,000 women, with 68% running profitable businesses that address unemployment and inequality.

PwC hailed Machaba for successfully helping to navigate the company during the global pandemic and the ongoing business, societal and cultural shifts that have followed.

“We are proud of Shirley’s achievement. It is not only remarkable to work with such a formidable leader, but to see her impact being recognised across the continent and globally,” said Shango.

“Providing quality leadership in today’s business landscape can be challenging, however, Shirley does this with compassion by bringing our humanity to the fore and by making our people realise their undeniable value.”

“In doing this, she has helped to positively impact our clients and stakeholders, and position the firm for future success.”

On top of the Southern Africa CEO position, Machaba services on the boards of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) and the Institute of Directors South Africa.