Date: 2024-11-22 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00022601
THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS )PwC)
The global structure of PwC ... nothing more than a large international network of quite small firms
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS )PwC)
The global structure of PwC ... nothing more than a large international network of quite small firms
From the PwC website: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/about/corporate-governance/network-structure.html
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
It must be more than 20 years ago that PwC reorganized in order to limit its partners' liability as a result of some lapse in professional conduct.
I was trained in London as a Chartered Accountant by Cooper Brothers & Co which became a part of the international accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand around 1964. I left the firm and left London and the UK in 1966 and have pursued an international career since then domiciled in the USA.
I am aware that the partners in various big international firms became exposed to bigger and bigger potential liabilities as their client companies became larger and larger and especially more complex. Some changes were essential in order to maintain the viability of the accounting profession.
My impression is that rather few people understand that the big accounting firms are essentially informal networks of firms, with near zero linked responsibility for good professional nehavior. From the partners' perspective, this change was essential ... but from the clients' perspective it may not be particularly good.
I know from some experiences that I have had with big name accounting firms over the years ... some of their remote offices have standards that are anything but uniform and best practice.
I am concerned that the profession of accountancy and audit is now more a business than anything else ... and that can be a problem.
Peter Burgess
From the PwC website
PwC is the brand under which the member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL) operate and provide professional services. Together, these firms form the PwC network. ‘PwC’ is often used to refer either to individual firms within the PwC network or to several or all of them collectively.
In many parts of the world, accounting firms are required by law to be locally owned and independent. Although regulatory attitudes on this issue are changing, PwC member firms do not and cannot currently operate as a corporate multinational. The PwC network is not a global partnership, a single firm, or a multinational corporation.
For these reasons, the PwC network consists of firms which are separate legal entities. The firms that make up the network are committed to working together to provide quality service offerings for clients throughout the world. Firms in the PwC network are members in, or have other connections to, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL), an English private company limited by guarantee. PwCIL does not practise accountancy or provide services to clients. Rather its purpose is to facilitate coordination between member firms in the PwC network. Focusing on key areas such as strategy, brand, and risk and quality, the Network Leadership Team and Board of PwCIL develop and implement policies and initiatives to achieve a common and coordinated approach among individual firms where appropriate. Member firms of PwCIL can use the PwC name and the resources and methodologies of the PwC network are made available to them. In addition, member firms may request the resources of other member firms and/or secure the provision of professional services by other member firms and/or other entities. In return, member firms agree to abide by certain common policies and to maintain the standards of the PwC network as put forward by PwCIL.
The PwC network is not one international partnership and PwC member firms are not otherwise legal partners with each other. Many of the member firms have legally registered names which contain “PricewaterhouseCoopers”, however there is no ownership by PwCIL. A member firm cannot act as agent of PwCIL or any other member firm, cannot obligate PwCIL or any other member firm, and is liable only for its own acts or omissions and not those of PwCIL or any other member firm. Similarly, PwCIL cannot act as an agent of any member firm, cannot obligate any member firm, and is liable only for its own acts or omissions.