Operating a business in the OHADA zone (17 French-speaking African countries) requires periodic audits to comply with SYSCOHADA Revised (mandatory accounting framework since 2018), local IT regulations (ARTP in Senegal, ARTCI in Côte d'Ivoire, CDP for personal data protection), and tax obligations (DGID, etc.). This guide explains what an OHADA audit actually involves.
Types of OHADA audit
- SYSCOHADA accounting audit: review of financial statements, internal controls, year-end procedures
- Operational audit: process efficiency, organizational design, KPI alignment
- IT audit: infrastructure, application controls, change management, business continuity
- Cybersecurity audit: vulnerability assessment, ARTP/ARTCI compliance, CDP data protection
- Legal audit: contracts, OHADA Acts Uniformes compliance, governance documents
- Tax audit: DGID compliance, transfer pricing, OHADA tax principles
Cabinet Carrée methodology (4 phases)
Phase 1 — Scoping (1 week): risk assessment, audit plan, stakeholder alignment
Phase 2 — Fieldwork (2-4 weeks): testing, sampling, interviews, document review
Phase 3 — Analysis & reporting (1-2 weeks): findings synthesis, recommendations, executive summary
Phase 4 — Restitution (1 week): findings presentation to management & board, action plan
Typical costs in 2026
- Standard SYSCOHADA audit (PME, < 1B FCFA revenue): 2-5M FCFA
- Comprehensive audit (revenue > 1B FCFA): 5-12M FCFA
- IT/Cybersecurity audit: 3-15M FCFA depending on scope
- Combined audit (multi-domain): 8-25M FCFA
Sector-specific considerations
- Banking & finance: BCEAO regulatory framework + IFRS conversion + SYSCOHADA
- Telecom: ARTP compliance, network audits, customer data protection
- BTP: project accounting, work-in-progress valuation, multi-site consolidation
- Agribusiness: inventory valuation, seasonal accounting, regulatory traceability
- Healthcare: patient data protection (CDP), facility certifications, billing compliance
Need an audit for your West African operation?
Cabinet Carrée conducts audits across 8 OHADA countries with senior teams operationally based in Dakar, Abidjan and Yaoundé. Typical engagement: 4-8 weeks.
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