Earlier this week, Grant Thornton CEO Stephen Chipman sent an email out to the troops, letting everyone know what’s been going at GT has been over the last 6 months or so. Turns out, quite a bit has been going on! Never mind the blogging for a second, we’re talking about the offices that have been closed or sold around the country. Namely Albuquerque, Honolulu, Madison and Greensboro.

SC gets to all those and he does mention the sale of the “Manufacturing Transaction Services practice, based in Detroit” which, we’re pretty sure, is the Supply Chain Advisory practice they sold to KPMG. The email doesn’t really tell you anything that we haven’t already but it is in some nice Chipman prose, if that’s your fancy.

But for good measure, we also learn that the firm has “transitioned out of our regional community hospital practice in Wichita,” which is news to us.

BKD picked up GT’s community hospital practice and everything should be finito by August 31st. But that’s the last of ’em! The only other news is that August, apparently, is going to be an exciting month for Grant Thornton because that’s when SC & Co. are going to communicate the “full details of [the firm’s] new strategy.” We have no idea what means but it’s sure to make August considerably more exciting than normal.

As many of you know, Grant Thornton’s Senior Leadership Team has been deeply engaged in the process of refining the strategic direction of our firm. Our strategy unleashes our potential as a global provider of distinctive client service and includes focusing on our “chosen” markets—those markets that offer the greatest opportunities for the growth of our business and the development of our people.

During experienceAugust, when we come together as one firm, I will be communicating to you the full details of this new strategy. Today, I want to personally share with you the news that, as part of implementing the strategy and better positioning us for growth in our chosen markets, the firm’s senior leaders have made the difficult decision to transition from a few locations and practices.

The firm will be closing and transitioning offices located in Albuquerque, Greensboro, Honolulu and Madison. Additionally, we have transitioned out of our regional community hospital practice in Wichita and our Manufacturing Transaction Services practice, based in Detroit. We expect all six of these transitions to be completed by August 31, 2010.

Beyond these, I want to assure you that the firm has no additional planned office or practice transitions. Below, I share with you details about each of these changes. Additionally, I will be providing you with more information during the August 10 all-employee video conference.

Transition plans for affected offices
In Albuquerque, Grant Thornton has signed a letter of intent for Moss Adams LLP to acquire our practice. Moss Adams LLP is the eleventh-largest accounting and consulting firm in the U.S., and its Albuquerque office is the largest accounting practice in the state of New Mexico.

Our Greensboro office will consolidate into our firm’s Raleigh and Charlotte offices, where we will continue to serve our Carolinas-based clients.

In Honolulu, two former Grant Thornton partners—Patrick Oki and Lawrence Chew—have purchased the office. Patrick and Lawrence will be the partners in their newly-formed firm, PKF Pacific Hawaii LLP. PKF Pacific Hawaii will assume Grant Thornton’s office space, transition existing employees in Honolulu and continue to provide audit, tax, and advisory services in Hawaii.

Our Madison office will merge with our Milwaukee office, where—in conjunction with our Appleton office—we will continue to serve the greater Wisconsin marketplace.

Transition plans for affected practices
In Detroit, we completed a transaction for KPMG to acquire our Manufacturing Transaction Services practice, a provider of a highly specialized niche service offering to the automotive sector. We continue to have a growing and successful Detroit office and we remain fully committed to providing audit, tax, and advisory services to the automotive industry.

In Wichita, we completed a transaction for BKD to acquire our regional community hospital practice.. We are fully committed to our practice in Wichita and are excited about the opportunities for growth under our new managing partner, Lori Davis.

Honoring our colleagues
The decision to transition these locations and practices was not an easy one. We determined our course only after lengthy deliberation, and with the greatest consideration for the best interests of our business, clients and our people. To those of you who sit in the affected offices, and who are leaving the firm as a result of these transitions, it has been a privilege and honor to work with you. On behalf of the entire firm, I want to express to you my heartfelt gratitude for your service and wish you the greatest success going forward. Your contributions to Grant Thornton have been enormous, and your offices and practices will stand as proud parts of the firm’s history.

Investing for growth
As we look ahead to executing on our strategy, this realignment of our resources and geographies will better position us for growth and will help us to build greater market share in our chosen markets. It enhances our ability to focus on the development of our people and providing our clients with an exceptional and distinctive client experience. I look forward to sharing more details—and my excitement— about the new growth strategy next month, when unleashing our potential will launch in tandem with our new fiscal year.

In closing, I want to thank you for all that you do to make a difference at Grant Thornton. I am confident that August is the start of one of the most exciting times at our firm to date, and I look forward to beginning this new chapter together.

Stephen