Yesterday, McGladrey announced they would become RSM. It was an inevitable move for a firm that has had a brand identity crisis over the years.
McGladrey LLP today announced it will adopt RSM as a common brand name, uniting with fellow firms of its global network RSM International to further strengthen the organization's position as the leading global provider of audit, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market.
"Our clients are an essential part of the global economy, and a unified global brand reinforces our focus on being the first-choice advisor to middle market business leaders by providing consistent global services, regardless of borders," said McGladrey Managing Partner and CEO Joe Adams. "Over the years, McGladrey has evolved with our clients, developing a strong suite of services to support their expansion into the global market and to help them address changes in regulations and the global business environment, enabling them to move forward with confidence."
We've heard all of this before. A unified global brand! The same quality! Our clients call us by these letters anyway!
PwC. EY. DHG. Take your pick. The story is the same. Oddly, KPMG was the firm that was ahead of the trend.
What's fascinating about this is that accounting firms need to differentiate themselves, yet, they can't help but copy each other. They talk the same (e.g. integrity! client service! diversity!) They do the same things (e.g. audit, tax, consulting). The career opportunities are the same. Oh yes, you can go on about "the people" but these people are the same people, too.
New and growing firms would be smart to brand themselves in a completely different way. Whether that's through design, niche services or clients, or a website that simply doesn't suck, it doesn't matter. The accounting profession is desperate for some originality (aside from shirtless men) and we won't get it from the alphabet soup of firms at the top.
