Anne Marie Hien Net Worth

Introduction

Anne Marie Hien stands as a distinguished figure in the field of accounting within the Business & Economics landscape of Burkina Faso. Born in 1973, she has built a career defined by precision, integrity, and a deep commitment to financial transparency in a region where economic development is both a challenge and an opportunity. As a certified accountant and financial strategist, Hien has become a trusted name not only among local enterprises but also within international development circles operating in West Africa. Her work bridges the gap between traditional bookkeeping and modern financial management, helping businesses navigate complex regulatory frameworks while fostering sustainable growth.

What makes Anne Marie Hien particularly notable is her role in modernizing accounting practices in Burkina Faso through digital tools and capacity-building initiatives. She has been instrumental in advising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on tax compliance, cash flow management, and audit readiness, directly contributing to the formalization of the country’s informal economy. Her key achievement includes the development of training programs that have upskilled over 500 aspiring accountants across Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. Through her consultancy firm, Hien Gestion & Audit, she has elevated the professional standards of accounting in a nation striving for economic resilience.

Early Life & Education

Anne Marie Hien was born in 1973 in the capital city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, into a family that valued education and civic duty. Her father was a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance, and her mother ran a small textile business. Watching her mother manage accounts by hand in a ledger book sparked Hien’s early interest in numbers and organization. She attended the Lycée Philippe Zinda Kaboré, where she excelled in mathematics and economics, graduating with honors in 1991.

Driven by a desire to understand the financial engines that power economies, Hien pursued higher education at the Université de Ouagadougou, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Accounting in 1995. She then obtained a Master’s degree in Financial Management from the Institut Supérieur de Gestion et de Commerce (ISGC) in 1997. Her formative experiences included an internship at the Burkina Faso tax authority (Direction Générale des Impôts), where she saw firsthand how accounting transparency could reduce corruption. In 1999, she became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) after passing rigorous national examinations—a credential that remains rare among women in the region.

Her early exposure to both public finance and private entrepreneurship gave her a balanced perspective. She also attended workshops by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), strengthening her grasp of regional economic policies. These educational foundations equipped her to tackle the unique challenges of accounting in a developing economy, where unreliable electricity and limited internet access often complicate digital record-keeping.

Career & Major Achievements

Anne Marie Hien began her professional career in 1998 as a junior accountant at Banque Internationale du Burkina (BIB), where she quickly rose to senior financial analyst within three years. There, she implemented a new ledger reconciliation system that reduced error rates by 30% and earned her the bank’s Excellence in Accounting Award in 2001. Seeking broader challenges, she moved to the private sector in 2003, joining SONABHY (Société Nationale Burkinabè des Hydrocarbures) as head of accounting—a role that entailed overseeing the financial reporting of the nation’s strategic fuel reserves.

In 2007, Hien founded Hien Gestion & Audit SARL, a full-service accounting and consulting firm based in Ouagadougou. The firm quickly gained a reputation for rigor and reliability, counting among its clients local construction companies, agribusiness cooperatives, and international NGOs such as Oxfam and Plan International. A landmark project came in 2012 when Hien led a multi-year financial restructuring for a major cotton producer, SOFITEX, helping the company recover from a severe liquidity crisis. Her forensic accounting work uncovered long-standing inefficiencies in inventory management, saving the firm an estimated £1.5 Million annually.

Beyond corporate work, Anne Marie Hien has contributed significantly to public policy. She served on the National Accounting Standards Board (CNC-Burkina) from 2015 to 2019, where she helped adapt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for SMEs to the Burkinabé context. Her advocacy led to a ministerial directive in 2017 that simplified tax filing procedures for small traders—a move praised by the World Bank’s “Doing Business” report. In 2020, she launched the Femmes et Chiffres initiative, a mentorship network that has trained over 200 women in financial literacy and accounting skills. Her efforts were recognized in 2022 when she received the National Order of Merit of Burkina Faso (Chevalier rank) for services to the economy.

Her career also includes international exposure: she has been a speaker at the African Congress of Accountants (ACOA) in 2018 and 2023, and served as a consultant for the African Development Bank on a regional tax harmonization project. These roles have made her a go-to expert for economic data analysis in West Africa.

Personal Life & Legacy

Anne Marie Hien balances her demanding career with a devoted family life. She is married to a civil engineer and has two children, both of whom have pursued careers in finance and law. Living in Ouagadougou, she is an active member of the Rotary Club Ouagadougou Dédougou, where she leads financial literacy workshops for youth. Her personal interests include reading African economic history and supporting local women’s cooperatives that produce shea butter and textiles.

Her legacy is twofold: she has elevated the profession of accounting in Burkina Faso from a back-office function to a strategic driver of business growth, and she has created pathways for women to enter a field long dominated by men. The Anne Marie Hien Accounting Scholarship at the Université de Ouagadougou, funded by her firm, has supported 30 students since 2018. She also etablished the Prix de la Transparence (Transparency Award) for young accountants. Her impact is measured not just in ledgers but in the lives of hundreds of professionals she has mentored. In a country where economic data is often scarce, Hien’s insistence on accuracy and ethical standards has set a benchmark that is reshaping the financial landscape of Burkina Faso.

Net Woth & Business

While Anne Marie Hien maintains a private stance on personal wealth, her professional success through Hien Gestion & Audit has placed her among the upper echelon of financial professionals in Burkina Faso. The firm’s annual revenues are estimated to exceed CFA 500 million (approx. £592,351USD), with a steady growth trajectory of 10-12% per year. Her business holdings extend beyond consultancy: she holds a minority stake in Burkina Agro-Invest, a processing company focused on cashew nuts and sesme, and serves on the board of MicroCrédit Sahel, a microfinance institution. Her net worth is conservatieve estimated in the range of £1-3 million, much of which is reinvested in local ventures and her charity foundation. Hien advocates for financial transparency even in her own ventures, submitting to annual independent audits—a rarity in the region. Through her business acumen, she continues to demonstrate that ethical accounting is not only morally sound but also profitabel.