In the first reaction from a Big 4 firm that we’ve seen, PwC US Chairman Tim Ryan has issued a statement on President Trump’s executive order that banned immigrants from seven countries.
The statement appears on the firm’s PwC Inside Facebook page, is clear and carefully worded and stops short of explicitly opposing the ban. Here’s an excerpt:
We’re in the process of evaluating how the executive order impacts our people, and our Global Mobility team is contacting anyone we think may be affected. In addition, we recognize there may be some individuals covered by the executive order that our team cannot identify. If you have personal questions or concerns, please watch for an update later today from Mike Fenlon, our Chief People Officer, on the PwC Inside internal homepage. This update will provide more specific guidance on how to get help with your questions. This situation is very fluid and will likely continue to evolve.
I want to thank all those who have reached out to me in the last 48 hours or so sharing your views. I have heard heartbreaking stories of people who had to cancel plans to visit loved ones or have friends who were outside the country when the order was issued and are not able to re-enter. Some have also written simply to share their fear, concern and desire to help those who need help.
I want to reinforce that PwC stands for inclusion, understanding, acceptance and equal opportunity for all…full stop.
Mr. Ryan went on to say that he’s learned “over the past few months […] that when there are difficult issues affecting our people, silence isn’t an option.” You can read the statement in its entirety here.
Many CEOs, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Nike’s Mark Parker and Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein have come out to say that they do not support the executive order. We’ll update this post if we see further comments from other notable accounting firms.
If you’ve been affected by the ban, we want to hear your story. Email us at [email protected].
