Accounting giants to rebrand consulting arms after Andersen scandal

LONDON - Two of the world's biggest accountancy firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Deloitte & Touche, are talking to branding agencies about how to distance their consulting businesses from their audit arms following the Enron/Andersen scandal.

Andersen is facing the break-up of its global business and the demise of its global brand following revelations that its staff shredded important documents while auditing utilities giant Enron.

Accenture, formerly known as Andersen Consulting, split from its parent and rebranded in November 2000, thereby escaping the current scandal.

Now, Andersen's 'Big Five' rivals are rethinking the traditional professional services business model, and grappling with the branding issues that a break-up would cause.

A spokeswoman for PwC's consulting division said the marketing team was seeking advice from branding agencies in the run-up to its proposed public stock offering later this year.

David Higgins, marketing communications director for Deloitte Consulting across Europe confirmed the company was seeking a global branding agency network to protect its "centralised message".

Deloitte & Touche has also announced plans to spin-off its consulting arm, but has not revealed whether this will be through selling the business or a flotation.

A key issue both brands face is to what degree they should distance themselves from their parent brands.

Higgins said the "degree of separation" from the parent brand will have a direct impact on the brand values and identity of Deloitte & Touche's consulting arm.

KPMG Consulting also revealed earlier this month it will change its name and is in talks with branding consultants.

Industry sources predict that the other accountancy firms will follow suit in a bid to preserve their reputations and take advantage of the lucrative consulting market.

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