Grant Thornton International

Grant Thornton International Ltd

Type	Global network of independent member firms
Industry	Professional services
Founded	1980
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Key people	Ed Nusbaum, CEO Grant Thornton International Ltd
Products	Assurance services Tax advisory Specialist advisory services Privately held business services
Revenue	$4.6 billion USD (2015)
Number of employees	42,204 (2015)
Website	www.grantthornton.global

Grant Thornton office building

Grant Thornton is the world's sixth largest professional services network^[1] of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to privately held businesses, public interest entities, and public sector entities. Grant Thornton International Ltd is a not-for-profit, non-practising, international umbrella membership entity organised as a private company limited by guarantee. Grant Thornton International Ltd is incorporated in London, United Kingdom, and has no share capital.

According to Grant Thornton International Ltd, member firms within the global organisation operate in over 130 countries. Combined global revenues from member firms in 2015 were US$4.6 billion. There are over 2,500 member firm partners and total member firm personnel of over 42,000.^[2]

Early history

The earliest origins of the name date back to 1904, when the UK firm of Thornton, Webb & Co was formed. Through a series of name changes this firm merged in 1959 with another UK firm, Baker & Co, which traced its origins to 1868, to form the firm Thornton Baker. In 1975 Thornton Baker merged with Kidston, Jackson, McBain, a UK firm which traced its origins to the Glaswegian accountant, Robert McCowan, who set up in practice in 1844, and was a founder of the Institute of Accountants and Actuaries in Glasgow in 1853.

In the US, 26-year-old Alexander Richardson Grant founded Alexander Grant & Co in Chicago in 1924. Grant had been a senior accountant with Ernst & Ernst (now EY). Alexander Grant was committed to providing services to mid-sized companies.

When Grant died in 1938, Alexander Grant & Co survived the change in leadership and continued to grow nationally. In 1969, Alexander Grant & Co joined with firms from Australia, Canada, and the United States to establish the organisation of Alexander Grant Tansley Witt. This organisation operated successfully for 10 years.

In 1980 Alexander Grant & Co and Thornton Baker, firms with similar qualities, clients, personnel numbers and values, joined with 49 other firms to form a global organisation, Grant Thornton. In 1986, Alexander Grant & Co and Thornton Baker changed their names to Grant Thornton, reflecting their mutual affiliation and strategic alignment.^[3]

Recent significant mergers

Bradenham Manor in Buckinghamshire, England, owned by Grant Thornton as a training facility.

• In 1987 Grant Thornton merged with Carter Chaloner & Kearns
• Grant Thornton UK merged with RSM Robson Rhodes in July 2007^[4]
• Grant Thornton Russia merged with Rosexpertiza in January 2012^[5]
• Grant Thornton China merged with Ascenda CPA in January 2012^[6]
• In May 2012 Grant Thornton Australia merged with several former BDO offices in Melbourne and Sydney.
• In July 2013, Grant Thornton Johannesburg merged with the local PKF member firm.^[7]

Although many of the firms now carry the Grant Thornton name, they are not all members of one international partnership. Each member firm^[8] is a separate national entity, and governs itself and manages its administrative matters independently on a local basis. This is similar to other professional services networks.

Member firms

Grant Thornton's UK headquarters in Euston, London.

Grant Thornton member firms service international work through their local International Business Centres—located in 40 major commercial centres throughout the world.

Grant Thornton International Ltd carries out an annual global research project: the International Business Report,^[9] which surveys the views and expectations of over 11,500 privately held businesses across 40 economies.

Accusations of negligence and incompetence

Grant Thornton Moldova has been accused of incompetence after being the auditor for three of Moldova’s banks involved in the Moldovan bank fraud scandal. The theft was discovered in November 2014 at Unibank, Banca de Economii and Banca Sociala, which Grant Thornton Moldova audited in 2011 and 2013 along with KPMG. Stephane Bride, one of the managing partners of Grant Thornton in Moldova, was appointed as the Moldovan Minister of Economy after the scandal broke out. Allegedly, the money was embezzled and spirited out of the country in complex financial transactions, some through UK companies. The authorities had to rescue the three banks with a bailout equivalent to half the annual budget. None of these allegations have been proven and Grant Thornton Moldova did qualify the audit reports for these banks. ^[10]

See also

• Grant Thornton LLP
• Accounting networks and associations
• Professional services networks

References