Grant Thornton
Encyclopedia
Grant Thornton LLP encompasses the U.S. operations of Grant Thornton International
, the largest accounting organizations outside of the Big Four
(Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
, Ernst & Young
, KPMG
, and PwC
). The member firms of Grant Thornton International comprise a global network of 27,000 employees and 2,207 partners in more than 110 countries. Composite revenues of Grant Thornton International member firms in 2007 were $3.5 billion. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm and the organization’s largest, operating out of 50 offices with more than 5,000 employees and 499 partners. U.S. revenue growth has doubled over the past four years — exceeding $1 billion in 2007.
Grant Thornton LLP has three service lines: audit, tax, and advisory services. Specific advisory services and areas of expertise include: Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, mergers and acquisitions advice, tax
, management consulting, and business valuations. Target industries include construction
, consumer products, financial services, government contracting, public sector and quasi governmental organizations, health care, not-for-profit, and technology.
Grant had been a senior accountant with Ernst & Ernst (now Ernst & Young), but left to pursue his plan for public accounting.
When Grant died in 1938, he was just 40 years old. Despite this unexpected loss, Alexander Grant & Co. survived the change in leadership and continued to grow nationally under the guidance of new chief executive officers. The 1950s and early 1960s were a time of both explosive growth and centralization for the firm. The national office in Chicago was established and net revenue exceeded $5 million in 1961.
During the mid-1960s, the firm’s leadership decided to expand internationally. With Wallace E. Olson at the helm, in 1969, Alexander Grant & Co. joined with firms from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom to establish the firm of Alexander Grant Tansley Witt. This organization operated successfully for 10 years.
In 1980, Grant joined with 49 other international accounting firms to form Grant Thornton International. Alexander Grant & Co. became the nation's ninth largest accounting firm in 1985, behind that era's "Big Eight
" firms, following its merger with Denver-based Fox & Co.
In 1986, the firm changed its name to Grant Thornton
, reflecting its affiliation with the United Kingdom firm Thornton Baker, which also changed its name to Grant Thornton.
's effect on the accounting profession, Grant Thornton LLP issued its five point plan to restore public trust. In addition to limiting the services that an auditor could provide to a company, Grant Thornton asked that:
Grant Thornton believed that while the accounting profession should accept a principles-based versus rules-based approach to accounting that a principles-based approach in adhering to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation should also occur.
Grant Thornton also has an office dedicated to serving the Federal Government: their Global Public Sector (GPS). One service provided also includes documenting internal controls to ensure federal compliance with The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Circular A-123 Appendix A.
rules to require reasons for all company dismissals of auditors, for all auditor resignations and for all instances in which the auditor chooses not to stand for reappointment. Grant Thornton LLP also asked SEC to require open communications between predecessor and successor audit firms to prevent inconsistencies and sensitive areas from being overlooked.
accounting rules need to change as investor transparency has been seriously compromised under the current rules. Current rules permit assets (and the related financing liabilities) to be kept off the books, as long as the transaction stays within the bright lines of the rules. A principles-based standard that moves leasing assets and liability onto the balance sheet is more direct and more reality-based.
Grant Thornton International
Grant Thornton International is a global profesional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and specialist advisory services to privately held businesses, public interest entities, and public sector entities...
, the largest accounting organizations outside of the Big Four
Big Four auditors
The Big Four are the four largest international professional services networks in accountancy and professional services, which handle the vast majority of audits for publicly traded companies as well as many private companies, creating an oligopoly in auditing large companies...
(Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited , commonly referred to as Deloitte, is one of the Big Four accountancy firms along with PricewaterhouseCoopers , Ernst & Young, and KPMG....
, Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
, KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
, and PwC
PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
). The member firms of Grant Thornton International comprise a global network of 27,000 employees and 2,207 partners in more than 110 countries. Composite revenues of Grant Thornton International member firms in 2007 were $3.5 billion. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm and the organization’s largest, operating out of 50 offices with more than 5,000 employees and 499 partners. U.S. revenue growth has doubled over the past four years — exceeding $1 billion in 2007.
Grant Thornton LLP has three service lines: audit, tax, and advisory services. Specific advisory services and areas of expertise include: Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, mergers and acquisitions advice, tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
, management consulting, and business valuations. Target industries include construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, consumer products, financial services, government contracting, public sector and quasi governmental organizations, health care, not-for-profit, and technology.
History
In 1924, 26-year-old Alexander Richardson Grant founded Alexander Grant & Co. in Chicago.Grant had been a senior accountant with Ernst & Ernst (now Ernst & Young), but left to pursue his plan for public accounting.
When Grant died in 1938, he was just 40 years old. Despite this unexpected loss, Alexander Grant & Co. survived the change in leadership and continued to grow nationally under the guidance of new chief executive officers. The 1950s and early 1960s were a time of both explosive growth and centralization for the firm. The national office in Chicago was established and net revenue exceeded $5 million in 1961.
During the mid-1960s, the firm’s leadership decided to expand internationally. With Wallace E. Olson at the helm, in 1969, Alexander Grant & Co. joined with firms from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom to establish the firm of Alexander Grant Tansley Witt. This organization operated successfully for 10 years.
In 1980, Grant joined with 49 other international accounting firms to form Grant Thornton International. Alexander Grant & Co. became the nation's ninth largest accounting firm in 1985, behind that era's "Big Eight
Big Four auditors
The Big Four are the four largest international professional services networks in accountancy and professional services, which handle the vast majority of audits for publicly traded companies as well as many private companies, creating an oligopoly in auditing large companies...
" firms, following its merger with Denver-based Fox & Co.
In 1986, the firm changed its name to Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton LLP encompasses the U.S. operations of Grant Thornton International, the largest accounting organizations outside of the Big Four . The member firms of Grant Thornton International comprise a global network of 27,000 employees and 2,207 partners in more than 110 countries...
, reflecting its affiliation with the United Kingdom firm Thornton Baker, which also changed its name to Grant Thornton.
Thought leadership
Over the past few years, some of the accounting and financial issues that Grant Thornton LLP has spoken out on have included:Five point plan
In response to the Enron scandalEnron scandal
The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas, and the dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world...
's effect on the accounting profession, Grant Thornton LLP issued its five point plan to restore public trust. In addition to limiting the services that an auditor could provide to a company, Grant Thornton asked that:
- audit committees ensure that the auditor’s primary responsibility is to the shareholders and that the auditor’s relationship with management is clearly subordinate to such responsibility;
- the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must amend its rules for proxy disclosures of auditor’s fees;
- a principles-based approach should be adopted for all standards-setting areas: accounting, auditing and independence;
- the AICPA should coordinate a review of the audit methodologies of the major accounting firms.
Documenting of internal controls
Grant Thornton LLP refused to accept engagements to document their public audit clients’ internal controls (including documenting existing controls), or perform evaluations of existing controls that management uses to support their conclusions regarding the effective design of those controls.Grant Thornton believed that while the accounting profession should accept a principles-based versus rules-based approach to accounting that a principles-based approach in adhering to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation should also occur.
Grant Thornton also has an office dedicated to serving the Federal Government: their Global Public Sector (GPS). One service provided also includes documenting internal controls to ensure federal compliance with The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Circular A-123 Appendix A.
Stock option expensing
Grant Thornton was the first accounting firm to support expensing of stock options when they published a comment letter supporting FASB’s conclusions on Share-Based Payment.404 rollback
There was pressure to exempt companies under $700 million in revenues from complying with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley. Grant Thornton LLP argued for a level playing field. Although smaller companies were more burdened by implementation costs, the additional oversight would keep them attractive to investors through equal transparency.8-K rule revision
In 2006, Grant Thornton LLP urged the SEC to revise 8-KForm 8-K
Form 8-K is a very broad form used to notify investors of any material event that is important to shareholders or the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. This is one of the most common types of forms filed with the SEC...
rules to require reasons for all company dismissals of auditors, for all auditor resignations and for all instances in which the auditor chooses not to stand for reappointment. Grant Thornton LLP also asked SEC to require open communications between predecessor and successor audit firms to prevent inconsistencies and sensitive areas from being overlooked.
Lease accounting
Grant Thornton takes a position that leaseLease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
accounting rules need to change as investor transparency has been seriously compromised under the current rules. Current rules permit assets (and the related financing liabilities) to be kept off the books, as long as the transaction stays within the bright lines of the rules. A principles-based standard that moves leasing assets and liability onto the balance sheet is more direct and more reality-based.
Grant Thornton LLP Awards
- PINK Magazine’s 2007 top companies for women – Making up this year’s Elite Eight companies for women are American Express Co.American ExpressAmerican Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
, Heller Ehrman LLP, Kelly ServicesKelly ServicesKelly Services, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Troy, Michigan, offering services that include temporary staffing services, outsourcing, vendor on-site and full-time placement.Kelly operates in 37 countries and territories...
, Aflac Inc.AflacAflac Incorporated is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States, founded in 1955 and based in Columbus, Georgia. In the United States, Aflac underwrites a wide range of insurance policies, but is perhaps more known for its payroll deduction insurance coverage, which pays...
, FedEx Services, Grant Thornton LLP, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and Wachovia CorpWachoviaWachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets...
. - Working Mothers 100 Best Companies – In making family-friendly policies the norm, including flextime, childcare and telecommutingTelecommutingTelecommuting or telework is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links...
, Working Mother magazine recognizes Grant Thornton for creating a corporate culture that encourages the retention and advancement of women.
- BusinessWeekBusinessWeekBloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
s 50 Best Places to Launch a Career – In 2007, ranked No. 34 on a list that identifies top employers for recent college graduates. Grant Thornton was joined by three other national accounting firms on the list, and in Chicago, Grant Thornton was ranked as the third best place to launch a career. - “Companies That Care” 2007 Honor Roll – This distinction recognizes organizations that demonstrate an outstanding and measurable commitment to their communities, both within the workplace and beyond.
- “Best Places to Work” – Grant Thornton local offices named by their local media outlets as best places to work:
- Philadelphia
- Edison, NJEdison, New JerseyEdison Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township...
- WichitaWichita, KansasWichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
- Atlanta
- Honolulu
- Irvine, CA
- Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- Albuquerque
- PortlandPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
- Tampa BayTampa Bay AreaThe Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
- Oklahoma CityOklahoma cityOklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
External links
- Grant Thornton LLP – official website
- Grant Thornton LLP Thinking – thought leadership
- Grant Thornton International – official website