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Tag: Partner “Retirement”

There Are Some Cranky McGladrey Mofos in Minneapolis

Last week McGladrey announced the promotion of 21 lucky ducks to the big kids’ table. Mining the comments, you would find some indication that even with the 21 newbies, the number of partners is probably a net negative due to “laid off and departing partners.”

We received a tip recently that seems to echo these thoughts, telling us that a number of managers and partners have left the Minneapolis office, including a “head partner.”

We asked around and discovered through another source that this “head partner” was a gentleman by the name of Will Roche, a veteran of the firm:

I am not saying but just saying no one in is happy in Minneapolis. Will Roche was forced out after 34 years

And through another non-McG source we were able to confirm that Mr. Roche is no longer with the firm. So! Maybe it’s a simple case of out with the old, in with the new at Mickey G’s? If that’s the case, is C.E. Andrews next? Dude is pushing 60. Discuss below.

Chairman of PwC India Steps Down, Wants Time to ‘Look at Other Things’

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for pwclogo.thumbnail.jpgThis is the latest development in the Satyscam that P. Dubs hasn’t been able to wish away.
Ramesh Rajan still had a ways to go in his current four year term as the India Chair which might suggest that someone told Ram that his services were no longer needed:

Rajan, who was at the helm of affairs when the Satyam scam broke early this year, had about one-and-a-half years remaining of his four-year tenure as the chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers India network of entities (PwC India). When contacted, he refused to divulge exact reasons behind his sudden exit, and said he wanted time to “look at other things” within the firm and “allow someone else to take charge of the operations.”

Gosh, that’s a little mysterio. Apparently he was having such a good time that he wanted someone else to experience the fun? Okay then. The new lucky duck is Gautam Banerjee, and he is coming over from Singapore pronto to take the wheel.
We’re confident he’ll do a bang-up job but we’ll take this opportunity to remind him that he’s still got some auditors in jail and a lot of pissed investors that want PwC to pony up. Probably should get crackin’.
Satyam effect? Chairman of PwC India steps down [Times of India]

(UPDATE 2) KPMG Atlanta Shake-up Makes Us Wonder

pool boy.jpgLeadership changes are inevitable in any business but the reasons can be a mystery. Dismal performance? Drugs? A pool boy? All of the above??
Tim Flynn (taking a break from his caddying duties) and John Veihmeyer sent a very upbeat email to the Atlanta office yesterday announcing the new office managing partner there.

Atlanta Office Leadership
A Message from Tim Flynn and John Veihmeyer | October 13, 2009
We are pleased to announce the appointment of [redacted] as managing
partner (OMP) for Atlanta, succeeding [redacted] who has moved into a
client facing role reflecting our commitment to focusing our most
experienced Partners directly on the marketplace.
We want to first thank [redacted] for his many contributions to the Atlanta office and for his leadership roles as lead area managing partner and Southeast area managing partner for Audit. In his new role, [redacted] will be focused on developing new market opportunities, serving some of our largest audit clients and assisting national and local leadership with client care and major proposals.
[Redacted] brings more than 27 years of experience to his new role. He is currently the Global Chairman of Industrial Markets and the National Sector Leader for Energy & Natural Resources, based in Houston. [Redacted] has spent the majority of his career serving energy clients, including Duke Energy, Chevron, Schlumberger, and Spectra Energy.
A well-recognized industry speaker and thought leader, [redacted] was a speaker at the 2006 World Economic Forum meeting in São Paulo. He is also a frequent guest on CNBC’s Squawk Box discussing energy issues and is a regular contributor to energy trade magazines. Since 2003, [redacted] has hosted KPMG’s Annual Global Energy Conference, which is attended by 500-600 energy executives each year.
Please join us in wishing both [redacted] and [redacted] success in their new roles, and in thanking [redacted] for his many contributions as leader of the Atlanta office.
Tim Flynn
Chairman
John Veihmeyer
CEO & Deputy Chairman

Ohhhhh, Squawk Box. That’s a feather in your cap.
Our source told us that: “‘Moved into a client facing role’ means you’ve been demoted in KPMG speak.” We asked around and it’s not clear just what the hell that means but we’ll run with it.
If you’ve got some more information on the shake up at the Radio Station Hotlanta, let us know or discuss in the comments.
UPDATE, 2:45 PM: We’ve received some tips confirming a new Dallas managing partner and have also heard there will be some shifting around of leadership in the New York office but we don’t have many details, so please share.
UPDATE, Thursday 2:49: According to another source, Southeast AMPs for the Tax and Advisory Practices are also being transitioned into client-facing roles.

BDO ‘Invites’ Partners to Retire in the UK

BDO-small.jpgBDO in the UK has “‘invited’ 24 partners to take retirement and is in the process of settling the details over the withdrawal of equity”, according to Accountancy Age. And by “invited”, we’re pretty sure BDO means, “pack your shit”.
According to Simon Michaels, the head honcho in the UK, the “withdrawal of equity” would not be an “unmanageable situation to deal with” which is sorta like saying “it’ll hurt for a little while but as soon as my ownership is bigger, I’ll be over it.”
This whole sitch across the pond compelled us to call a BDO rep here in the States to find out what might be going down for the American partners. We were told that there were no plans for dismissal of partners in U.S. and in fact, partners will likely to continue to be added to the firm. This jogged our hazy memory about our speculation that BDO was adding some partners last month in order to spread out some liability.
So it appears that since BDO International Global Coordination isn’t on the hook for the half a billion in liability from the Banco Espirito case, they can’t afford to keep all their partners. BDO in States, on the other hand, needs to spread out the love on the liability. Don’t you love it when everything makes sense?
Reality bites for BDO Stoy Hayward [Accountancy Age]