Bello & Associates, a medium-sized audit firm in Abuja, recently restructured its operations. The firm grouped its staff into audit teams based on the type of client industry served — banking, manufacturing, and oil & gas. Which basis of departmentalisation has the firm adopted?

Customer or market departmentalisation involves grouping activities based on the type of customer or market served. Grouping audit teams by client industry — banking, manufacturing, oil & gas — reflects a focus on the type of client, which is customer/market departmentalisation. Functional departmentalisation groups by business function (e.g., audit, tax, advisory); product departmentalisation groups by product line; and geographic departmentalisation groups by location.