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Bob Moritz

a man in a field with binoculars

PwC Plans to Poach Unhappy Senior Managers From EY

While the pundits are talking about how the EY split could completely change the accounting industry as we know it and inspire other firms to split once they see the truckloads of cash pulling up to EY partners’ houses, one industry vet is perched at the periphery with a stack of offer letters just waiting […]

#TBT: That Time When PwC Global Chairman Bob Moritz Took a Pic with Bebe Rexha

The photo below was taken during the PwC Impact Conference at Walt Disney World, a three-day event where interns have to sit through some mind-numbingly boring sessions and are made to sing “Don’t Stop Believing” before they hit the swimming pool and hang out at Magic Kingdom. This particular year, 2019, the interns were treated […]

TIL: Bob Moritz Was Reappointed PwC Global Chairman … In February

Seriously, I had no idea until tonight when I saw the news release, dated Feb. 24, 2020, posted on PwC’s global website. This never hit our inbox and I can’t find anything else written about this online. Nothing. Poor Bob. They couldn’t even squeeze out a brief mention on PwC US’s website? You know, the […]

PwC Global Chairman Bob Moritz’s Work-From-Home Setup: An iPad, Laptop, No Monitors, Notepads Galore

BoMo took to IG yesterday to show PwCers his work-from-home battlestation, and to be honest, it’s more befitting of a first-year making $55,000 than the global chairman of the second-largest accounting firm in the world. In fact, every person who has recently posted their WFH setup on Reddit has a snazzier workspace than BoMo. To […]

Who’s #AuditorProud?

So here's a thing that is happening tomorrow: Use #AuditorProud & #PwC on Thursday to share your pride in the #accounting profession! pic.twitter.com/kp6M4TwozG — Bob Moritz (@Bob_Moritz) December 8, 2015 This whole thing is being spearheaded by the Center for Audit Quality who put out a fact sheet for anyone who's not familiar with how […]

Bob Moritz Has Your Back, Millennials

PwC chairman and senior partner Bob Moritz spoke at the Detroit Economic Club yesterday and his message was simple: stop hating on Millennials. Sure, some of them might appear to be shiftless narcissists wielding selfie sticks while texting and driving, but maybe it's because you've been judging them from a distance: “If you engage your […]

Here’s the PwC Partner Class of 2015

Well, this is exciting. The list of new PwC partners fell into our lap earlier today and now we're sharing it with you. They all officially join the partnership on July 1, the firm's New Year's Day. There are 201 partners in the 2015 class, one of the largest ever. The firm named 180 last […]

Bob Moritz Ready to Rock the Mic

Looking forward to engaging with my #PwC colleagues in Philly today at our Town Hall meeting at 2 pm EDT! #pwcphilly — Bob Moritz (@Bob_Moritz) May 14, 2015 Also, there seems to be a welcome committee of sorts: Excited to be with the great people of @PhilaPwC for our national "town hall" with @Bob_Moritz #pwcphilly […]

PwC Chairman Bob Moritz Says Heat Stroke Is Good for Your Career

Whelp, better get the trophies, as this is without a doubt the worst anecdote ever: Heat-tested in Texas. Here’s a great story about the importance of being agile and learning all you can from the opportunities you’re presented with. Early in her career, one of my partners at PwC was assigned to our Houston office. […]

PwC’s Bob Moritz Is Feeling Generous, Gives Us This Selfie

Has anyone seen that picture of Bill Gates going around Facebook that says he'll give a bunch of money to every dipshit who shares it? Yeah, it's fake. It's actually based on a piece of paper he held up for his Reddit AMA and of course the Internet jumped all over that and Photoshopped different […]

Caption Contest Tuesday: It’s Beginning to Look Like BoMo Has Lost His Mojo

First, BoMo was totally dissed at this year's Oscars after being dissed by Michelle Obama IRL last year. That's fine, though, maybe he was busy and had stuff to do that night. But now, not even interns want to hang out with him. Could these two look any more disinterested? I'll kick this off: "Cool […]

Bob Moritz Will Not Be Buying Elections Until Politicians Can Play Nice

As Francine McKenna pointed out, this was an oddly public way for BoMo to express his disappointment in Congress: When “New Day” Anchor Chris Cuomo asked PricewaterhouseCoopers Chairman Robert Moritz if his company and other CEOs will withhold donations to lawmakers who do not fix the stalemate over the government shutdown and debt ceiling, he […]

The Most Interesting Part of This Interview with PwC’s Bob Moritz Is When He Built Trust By Getting His Ass Kicked

It's intriguing that when interviewed by the New York Times, PwC's Bob Moritz (a.k.a. BoMo a.k.a. Adrienne's man crush) chose to highlight the fact that he learned all about diversity when he spent time in Japan and got his ass kicked. Unless you're having a particularly slow day, you can pretty much skip this interview […]

Get to Know Your New PwC Overlords

As we told you last week, PwC Assurance Leader Tim Ryan (the nicest guy at PwC, we're told) was taking a new role at the firm as the Markets, Strategy, and Stakeholders Leader. Or PWCMSSL, if you like. Today, PwC formally announced TR's new position as well as a few others with some hearty words from […]

At Least PwC Doesn’t Have to Worry About Improving the Supervision of Its Auditors Anymore

Last week the PCAOB dropped Part II of PwC's 2008 and 2009 inspection reports. This was only the second time a Big 4 firm's Part II had been released since the audit profession was blessed with government regulation. It was like a fire rainbow or an unassisted triple play. Rare! Exciting-ish! We pored over the […]

Here Are Some Possible Outcomes of the Papal Conclave If a Big 4 Firm Counted the Votes

As you may have heard, some guys in funny hats are trying to find a new leader to ride around in a funny car. No, it's not Barnum & Bailey's clown troupe; of course I'm talking about the College of Cardinals and their quest for a new Pope.  It's quite the serious affair, as a billion or […]

PwC’s Little Stunt with the Best Picture Envelope Could Have Gone Horribly, Horribly Wrong

When Jack Nicholson jaunted on stage last night to present the best picture Oscar, I think we all expected him to be shitfaced. And he did not disappoint. What we didn't expect was Jack to hand off to Michelle Obama who said some things about how we like movies, yada, yada yada while some military-looking […]

PwC Partners Aren’t Sick of Bob Moritz

They actually like him quite a bit, it seems. You see, while BoMo bros out in Davos, the firm has announced that he has been re-elected as Chairman and Senior Partner of the U.S. firm. He'll get another four years in his role, unless of course he succeeds Dennis Nally in three years and the firm is forced to […]

A PwC Jack-o-lantern? A PwC Jack-o-lantern

It isn't easy to show love for your accounting firm during the Halloween season. No one is going to appreciate your Bill Deloitte and George Touche costumes and most parents would NEVER allow their eat anything that says "KPMG Kandy" on it. Fortunately, an enterprising PwC employee has shared a creation with us and extended a challenge to […]

Reminder to PwC Partners: The Firm Won’t Be Considering Your Deadbeat Relatives for a Job

As fall approaches, Big 4 recruiting for next year's crop of capital market servants will shift into high gear. This means lots of handshakes at catered events where students will make small talk, laugh awkwardly, and feign listening in order to land that all-important first job. There's a lot of preparation involved for these students […]

Here’s Your PwC Town Hall Open Thread

This thing is starting technically at 1:00 San Jose time but I have to go to…wait for it…hair and makeup, meet with handlers and whatnot, strip search, etc. etc. And since we typically don’t have *official* advance notice of these things, we’ve never done an open thread but this will serve as place where you can sound off while things are happening.


I’ll be tweeting from behind scenes, but if that’s not your thing, feel free to get pumped up for my little chat with Bob Moritz by watching this:

I have also heard that Bob’s entrance music is “More Important Than Michael Jordan” but these things can change at a moment’s notice.

Who Has Questions for PwC’s Bob Moritz?

Good morning and welcome back, capital market servitudes. If you’re a PwC employee, you may or may not have heard some rumors that I might be making an appearance at the firm’s townhall meeting this week to chat up Chairman and Senior Partner Bob Moritz. Well, I’m happy to report that, despite a number (read: LOTS) of detractors and an intensive background check, I am being given 20 minutes with BoMo to ask him whatever I want. The problem is, I’m out of ideas.


Of course, that’s where you all can help. If you have questions that you’d like me to pose to Roberto, then please leave them below in the comments and we’ll add them to our current list of inquiries. Maybe you’re a PwC employee who wants to know where all the holiday cheer is. Maybe you’re wondering what Bob’s job entails when he’s not writing painful letters to auditing regulators. Maybe you’re a KPMG partner who is patiently waiting to HEAR BACK ABOUT A JOB. Whatever’s keeping you up at night, just let us know and we’ll squeeze in as many questions as time will allow.

This may be your one and only chance, so don’t let this slide. Go.

Who Are the Most Influential People in Accounting? (2011)

Accounting Today released its Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting (free registration required) late yesterday and it seems to be a tad more interesting than in years past. Sure, there are plenty of predictable names and faces in the list but any list that has Dave Albrecht, Paul Caron, and Grover Norquist is okay by me.

That said, it’s still in alphabetical order which may not appropriately present who the influenciest influencers are. I mean does sticking a man with a last name that starts with “N” and ends in “quist” somewhere in the middle of the pack (only a few spots in front of the POTUS) truly show how influential he is? It’s just a question.

ANYWAY, here are some notables that you’ll probably recognize:


Dave Albrecht – Associate Professor at Concordia College, The Summa
C.E. Andrews – President, RSM McGladrey
Paul Caron – TaxProf Blog
Stephen Chipman – CEO, Grant Thornton
James Doty – Chairman, PCAOB
Joe Echevarria – CEO, Deloitte
Michelle Golden – President, Golden Practices
Tom Hood – CEO, Executive Director Maryland Association of CPAs
Hans Hoogervorst – Chairman, IASB
Robert Moritz – Chairman and Senior Partner, PwC
Caleb Newquist – Founding Editor, Going Concern
Grover Norquist – President and Founder, Americans for Tax Reform
Barack Obama – President of the United States
Barry Salzberg – CEO, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Mary Schapiro – Chair, SEC
Doug Shulman – IRS Commissioner
Jim Turley – Global Chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young
John Veihmeyer – Chairman and CEO, KPMG
Jack Weisbaum – CEO, BDO

I cherry-picked this list obviously because it’s a bit of a pain to re-type all of them, so don’t hold that against me. Still how two Swedes and two Barrys got mashed together is kind of odd. And on a more personal note, I’d really feel awful if I was the one who took Dennis Nally’s spot. Go check out the full list and discuss at your leisure.

Top 100 Influential People in Accounting [AT]

PwC Announces New Categories for Distinguished, Typical, Downright Piss Poor Performance

As you may have noticed, PwC has really gone on the offensive when it comes to making changes to their compensation structure. We broke all the details for you earlier this year and one reader even shared a little spreadsheet analysis for anyone who’s into that sort of thing. More recently, we reported the (unconfirmed) details of the new Senior Associate Milestone Award which includes a getaway to the Terreana Resof is swell but there are few new details that we were recently made aware of that we’ll share with you today. First off, performance categories have changed. A tipster passed along the new buckets that you’ll be fighting to get into in FY12 and who will and will not be eligible for bonus comp:

– New performance categories are “top performer,” “outstanding performer,” “high performer,” “needs improvement,” and “unsatisfactory”

– Bonus eligble for high performer or greater. Bonus levels set by Line of Service. Line of Service will provide specific details about the business performance measures, as well as target bonus ranges for staff level and ratings.

So TP/OP/HP is what you’re all shooting for if bonuses are of interest to you. Conventional wisdom would indicate that most of you will probably fall into the unexceptional “high performer” bucket and that still gets you in the money so it’s really just the rubes that are “Needs Improvement” and “Unsatisfactory” that will be bitching about how cruel and unfair life is.

It wasn’t all business, however, Bob Moritz shared his gratitude for all your ass-busting in the past year, the ass-busting going on as we speak and the ass-busting to come:

Your role in our success
Thanks to all your efforts to deliver quality, value and the PwC Experience to our clients and stakeholders, we had a very strong FY11 and we’re off to a very positive FY12. On behalf of all the partners, I want to thank you for your role in our firm’s success.

I recorded a short video to express my appreciation and talk about the continued investments we are making in you and your career success. We began making changes back in May, including introducing new career milestone awards and increasing transparency around compensation, all designed to demonstrate the value of your career at PwC — both financially and developmentally.

Now we are bringing even more clarity to the compensation conversation with enhancements to the Annual Performance Bonus Plan. These include greater predictability in your year-end bonus opportunity and quarterly updates about how your line of service is performing against its annual business targets. Watch my video and visit the Rewards and Recognition microsite to learn more. You will hear more specifics from your line of service in the coming weeks.

These changes are all based on what you’ve said is important to you. And we will continue to listen. Keep in mind, however, that the full value of your PwC career comes directly from what you put into it. The more you take ownership of your career….solicit feedback to improve your performance….utilize your success plan to take advantage of the many opportunities here to enhance your skills and develop your talents, the greater your ability to achieve your goals and grow your career with PwC.

Ultimately, the better you are, the better we do, and the greater our ability to continue to invest in you. Thanks again for your role in our success!

So, P. Dubbersteins – do you feel that there’s “more clarity to the compensation conversation”? It’s definitely clear that most people will still get bonuses, so that’s a good thing but it remains to be seen what actually comes out of all these changes. Discuss.

Here’s PwC’s New Comp Structure in Its Entirety (And Thoughts on Salary Multiple)

Last Friday we broke the news of the “exciting changes” to PwC’s new compensation structure. We now have obtained the document in its entirety (on Page 2 of this post) for those interested in perusing and any P. Dubbers who are unable to navigate their own email or internal websites.

The news has generated a healthy discussion with mixed reviews so far but one reader wanted to focus on the salary multiple specifically

Caleb – I think something that has been glossed over by everyone is the expectations PwC has set around salaries throughout your career.  While the attached excerpt [after the jump] shows that the firm wants you to think you will make 2X your starting salary as an average manager and 1.5X your salary as an average senior, it just doesn’t add up. 

No one is making that multiple, and most don’t think they will get there when we get raises on July 1.  Even the partners in our office said 1.5X for seniors and 2X for managers is an unreasonable salary expectation; they are also a little pissed that BoMo set such absurd expectations.  From what I heard about the associate and senior webcast yesterday, a lot of the questions were some form of “why are you a lying piece of shit about compensation?”  I haven’t had a chance to listen to the webcast yet, but I assume the answers to the questions were some sort of non-answer.

The firm has had a hard time keeping seniors around, so my best guess is they were trying to get senior expectations up to get them to stick around.  I guess they didn’t count on accountants to check those figures and do the math to make sure everything was accurate.

Well, P. Dubs new managers and SAs – do the numbers add up? Tell us in the comments.

PwCTotalRewards2011

Comp Watch ’11: PwC Rolling Out ‘Exciting Changes’ to Compensation Structure

This just in:

Hey Caleb,

I’m surprised no PwC’er has posted this yet. Earlier this week, Bob Mortiz hinted into “exciting changes” as to compensation structure and transparency, with details to be provided this upcoming Monday on a webcast. It might be worth posting this on your website to get some reactions from fellow PwC’ers about what this means, or to facilitate blind speculation, which is always fun.

If this communiqué from BoMo is, in fact, a few days old, we are a little disappointed it took so long to reach our inbox. Regardless, we’re grateful for the tip now and let’s get on to the important matter of speculating about what ‘exciting changes’ entails, shall we? The possibilities are endless but we’ll try to kick things off:

A. Option to receive entire compensation package (including health benefits) in Omaha Steaks.

B. Spot bonuses given to employees with abnormally high utilization who manage to not die.

C. Elevator speeches will have bearing on employees’ merit increases.

D. Outstanding individual efforts will be rewarded with the choice between a serenade from Steve Beguhn or a special appearance by the DC-area piano player for your next fiesta.

E. Various competitive poaching payouts: KPMG Partner: $10,000; All other KPMG employees: $5; Ernst & Young Banking Partners: A punch in the face; Deloitte partner: $20,000; Deloitte partner with a full head of hair: $100,000 (hey, they’re hard to come by).

F. Your ideas.

SEC Officially Falls Victim to PwC’s Competitive Poaching Strategy

~ Tell Kayla I’m sorry for butchering her last name for over two hours. It’s fixed now.

PwC has announced the appointment of Kayla Gillan, formerly SEC Chair Mary Schapiro’s Deputy Chief of Staff, as the firm’s head of the newly created Regulatory Relations Group. This confirms a report by Bloomberg from last week.

Ms Gillan is no lightweight as she is a founding member of the PCAOB, served as general counsel for CalPERS and Chief Administrative Officer for Risk Metrics. The ecstatic Bob Moritz: “[PwC is] extremely fortunate to gain the experience, insights and future contributions of such a highly accomplished professional, one whose career has been dedicated to serving investors and other market participants,” BoMo said, adding, “Kayla Gillan is an example of making the investment to drive this transformation.”

It’s been a busy spring for PwC landing and announcing new appointments of partners and principals starting back in February and continuing through the spring.

[via PwC]

Leaders From the Big 4 Rang the Closing Bell Today

That is, they clapped while someone rang a bell, along with some other people. Try to contain your excitement.

It doesn’t appear to be too awkward. Not sure how Steve Howe got squeezed way over there but the Lehman thing probably doesn’t help. Thoughts on pretty much anything – trash talk amongst Barry and Bob, did John Veihmeyer need lifts?; did they all read Going Concern today? – are welcome at this time.

Official New PwC Logo Launch Day: What Are You Doing with Your Old Business Cards?

Just in case you forgot gang, today is the official launch date for PwC’s new brand and logo. Despite the fact that everyone knew about this weeks ago, early October seems like the perfect time to remind people of how lovely it is to play Pong amongst the fall foliage, .

The other significant event of this day also reminds us of trees but not in a good way. You’ll remember that Bob Moritz stated in his FAQ (that don’t address color or shapes) that today would mark the day that new stationary would be put into use. This means that metric asstons of old PwC stationary, business cards, pens, tchotchkes, undies and so forth would be rendered completely useless.


This is especially awkward since P. Dubs just got done slapping themselves on the back for getting greener faster than a Whole Foods employee at sustainable living festival.

It’s entirely possible that the firm has undertaken various ideas to stem the amount of waste such as:

1) Encouraging everyone to use letterhead en masse running up to the logo launch
2) Having yard sales at offices nationwide to cut losses
3) They’re talking to the Met about a major donation to a future “Historical Corporate Crap” exhibition.

OR maybe they’re just having a giant weenie roast followed by s’mores for dessert (which we admit, would be pretty fun). If you’re engaging in a ritual of some sort and feel compelled to document the event, do get it touch with us and enjoy your fresh business cards.

Earlier:
Just in Case You Didn’t Think the PwC Rebranding Was Actually Happening

Bob Moritz Is Happy To Address Your FAQs on PwC’s New Logo That Don’t Concern Colors or Shapes

Okay people. By now some of you might be sick of hearing about PwC’s new logo that incorporates the beauty of autumn and your first Atari (look it up, young people). However, based on what we’re seeing in the traffic patterns, many are not, so we’ll truck on with Extreme Makeover: PwC Edition.

As we mentioned earlier this week, at least one person felt compelled to share their feelings on the switcheroo with PwC’s U.S. Chairman Bob Moritz. Whether that particular employee got their questions/concerns addressed is currently unknown, however Bob did address many popular questions in an email to the rank and file.

In his email, Roberto said that he’s perfectly okay with the feedback, even the negative stuff. But he implores that you don’t get hung up on the colors or building blocks because, well, it really has no bearing on anything and it’s silly to get caught up on something like appearances.

By now you’ve likely checked out the new PwC brand. Not surprisingly, I’ve gotten strong feedback from around the firm. Many love it. Some don’t. Few are neutral. With a firm of 30,000 smart people, there are going to be lots of opinions…and that’s okay. I ask that you don’t get caught up in the colors and logo; these changes to our visual identity are simply what we think reflects the evolution that has taken place within our firm as we continue to build a relationship-based, value-driven culture. The most important thing is that each of us understands what we’re doing and why, and can articulate what our brand means to our clients and to one another. And, it’s in line with what we’re doing around the network to create a more consistent brand worldwide. You’re going to hear more about the changes starting October 4, so stay tuned. In the meantime, click on FAQs below to read my responses to some of the feedback I’ve received.

Brand Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Are we changing our name, and when do I use pwc instead of PwC?
A: First, our name is still PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. That’s what we’ll use on formal and legal documents, and it will accompany the new brand in an appropriate manner in external materials. What we will call ourselves in day to day communications, though, is PwC. That’s really just acknowledging what people typically call us, and it’s easier for everybody than typing out our full name. In writing, we will still use PwC (uppercase “P,” lowercase “w,” and uppercase “C.”)

Just jumping in here: PwC appears to be assimilating to the idea that capitalization is irrelevant in this day and age of texts, IM so on and so forth.

Q: What is the timing of the change to the new brand?
A: Although we have kept the details under wraps to help us maximize the impact in the market, this transition has been in the planning stages for some time — and is part of our overall network strategy. The transition began gradually with the PwC network’s global website (pwc.com), which changed on September 20. On October 4, the official brand launch date, there will be a number of highly visible changes here in the US, from building signs to new stationery. Beyond that, though, we expect the transition to take time. Network firms will have the option to change at their own pace. In the US, we are moving faster because we see it as an opportunity to engage in dialogues with our clients and the market about the very real changes we are making in how we build relationships and create value. The changes to our logo, colors, look and feel are symbols of the broader changes being made to the firm and the global network.

In terms of visible changes, we will have most of our building signs replaced by the end of this calendar year. We have been working with our EAs and TAs, Document Production, and Graphic Design to tackle the thousands of printed and electronic documents that will need to be converted, looking first to those with the greatest impact on our interaction with our clients. This process will take time, and we’ll need everyone’s patience and support as we make the changes.

Q: Will we get new business cards?
Yes, all partners and staff (and that includes client service staff, IFS staff and EAs/TAs) will receive business cards, which will provide each of you with a great resource to help you connect with others, build on the relationships you have and help the firm deliver value. More to come on when and how to order business cards following our October 4 launch date.

Whether this affects the pace of greenness at PwC isn’t entirely clear.

Q: With the economy just climbing out of a recession, why are we spending money on this change now?
A: Timing was clearly a consideration. We have set ambitious goals for our network of firms–and we are counting on our brand to work harder for us as we distinguish ourselves from our competitors. There will never be a better time to begin the transition to our new brand, and by starting now, we will be well-positioned as the economy improves.

There will be some costs associated with the change. In the US, they will include the cost of building signage and consumable items such as stationery, business cards and printed materials. Overall, this spend is minimal in relation to our size and is certainly not significant to our annual operating budget. If we treat the brand re-launch as an important opportunity to engage with our clients and each other–to discuss how together we will improve relationships and create value–the money we spend on the launch will be paid back many times over.

Anything not covered above can be asked below but if you must, further comments, questions, concerns about the colors and/or geometry of the logo will not be dismissed.

Good Times at PwC: Supporting the iPhone and The Return of Christmaskuh

As you know, it’s been rebrand-orama in land of P. Dubs recently. With all that going on, you may have been distracted from the fact that there are more important, less controversial decisions being made. For example, employees will be celebrating the birth of Christ/The Festival of Lights/whatever it is you do by enjoying an open bar and finally making awkward sexual advances on co-workers.

From the mail bag, some communicado from Bob Moritz:

Holiday celebrations were clearly a casualty of the challenging economy. Many of you told us that while it was the right decision given the economic environment—especially when we repurposed our holiday spending to give back to our communities—you missed getting together with colleagues to celebrate during the December holiday season. While we will continue to focus on charitable giving, we’re pleased to see a return to office holiday celebrations this year. Look for more from your market leaders on events happening locally.


Additionally, PwC has finally caved to moxie of Steve Jobs:

Many of you are already using iPhones or have been holding off purchasing one because the firm doesn’t support them. I’m pleased to announce that, later this fall, we’ll be offering iPhones from AT&T, and at least one Android model from each of our approved cellular carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile), as part of PwC’s smartphone and cellular program.

How’s that for good news? Express your glee (that means break out in song) below.

BREAKING: At Least One PwC Employee Isn’t Sold on the Rebranding

It’s been just over a week since we broke the story on PwC’s rebranding. Now that everyone else has caught up to the story, we’ll share with you some fresh news on the makeover.

Since today marks the first day of u’re warming up to the new team colors. Then again, you may share the feelings of one P. Dubs employee that took the time to email Bob Moritz to chime in on the new look. Apparently (not really sure how these things happen) the email is making the rounds at PwC and it just so happened to find its way into our mail bag:

To be perfectly honest, I’m not a fan of the new branding. In your email you wrote “…we are altering what we believe is an outdated visual identity to better express the kind of vibrant and relationship-based firm we have evolved into.” I find it ironic that you referred to our former visual identity as outdated when our new brand looks like a throwback – a 70s color scheme meets an IT startup.

I completely agree with the comments on the website where the brand is repeatedly referred to as child-like and unprofessional. I feel like the explanation for the symbol is also very complex. The *connectedthinking brand was simple and easy to understand. With the new symbol, everything has a meaning, from the colors to the solid blocks to the transparent blocks. A symbol should be fairly self explanatory – this one requires too much explanation.

I love the fact that the company has been focusing more on changing behaviors and placing a greater emphasis on building relationships. However, I fail to see where a new brand would affect this. Colors and symbols don’t represent PwC, the staff does. In one of the online discussions it was pointed out that following a salary freeze one year and layoffs the following year, it almost seems foolish to spend so much money to “reinvent” ourselves. To quote a wise PwC employee, “A new brand isn’t going to win business, motivated people will.” I find it hard to believe that this new, colorful symbol will be the motivation that people need to help expand our business and improve relationships with clients. A better way to motivate the staff would be more incentives – bonuses, rewards, raises – positive reinforcement. Pavlov was definitely on to something with the concept. Interactive gallery stations complete with iPads to show off the brand? Activities revolving around the launch of this new brand? Is this really the best method of spending funds?

Also disturbing to me is the environmental impact this could have. I can’t imagine that this won’t set back the Firm-wide goal of reducing our carbon footprint. Letterhead, business cards, report covers, envelopes (to name a few paper products) all need to be reprinted. It seems like an incredible waste to discard everything we already have in favor of this new brand (we received an email letting us know that after October 4th we are not to use any of the old paper products). I hope we are at least planting a bunch of trees to help compensate Mother Nature for the amount of paper that will be wasted with this change.

It’s disappointing to feel like we have taken two steps forward and three steps back. I realize that it is what it is, but I felt that I should voice my opinion from down here on the totem pole.

It’s been suggested that October 4th will be the great PwC Shredding Day that will no doubt involve a convoy of Shred-it trucks out 300 Madison (and offices nationwide for that matter) along with employees dropping their old business cards into every fish bowl they can find.

So mark it on your calendars and definitely document the shredding in action or perhaps a bonfire (done safely and in full accordance with the law) and send us the pictures.

PwC Needs a Few Good Accounants…Average Accountants Will Do Fine Too

We had little intention of hitting the Big 4 Superfecta today but sometimes that’s how the workpapers shred, amiright?

Back in April, Ernst & Young put its people on a mission to find friends, enemies, jilted lovers, basically anyone that you’ve ever met, and refer them to E&Y.

Well now PricewaterhouseCoopers is getting on this action, as a source tells us that assurance and advisory needs bodies ASAP and Bob Moritz is encouraging you to get out there and start tricking telling people that they should join the 24/7 disco dance party that is the P. Dubs experience. And just in case your pure unadulterated love for PwC isn’t enough, TPTB are bumping up the referral bonuses:

Bring a friend to the firm

I want you to know that your leadership team recognizes how this phenomena is affecting many of you, and we’re working on ways to help better distribute that workload. One way is by increasing our efforts around talent acquisition, both in terms of getting it done faster and finding new and improved ways of sourcing talent. By increasing our staffing levels, we hope to lighten up the pressure you’re feeling and better spread the work around. We already know one of the best ways to attract new talent is to tap into your personal and professional networks, and we want to make it worth your while. That’s why we’re increasing our employee referral bonuses for client service positions between now and September 30th.

Click here to go to our career site, see our open positions and read more about how our enhanced referral bonus program works. We also want to increase the level of excitement, fun and passion around the firm. You’ll be hearing from me soon about some interesting ideas we plan to implement, as well as from your market leaders and/or functional and vertical leaders about local Pulse results and ways we plan to address them.

Whoa! “Increase the level of excitement, fun and passion around the firm”? Any ideas on what this could possibly be? We’ll get things rolling:

A) Hug a new partner day.

B) Sending the interns on wild goose chases.

C) Brainstorming sessions on how to poach some partners from E&Y.

D) Two words: Undies only.

E) Your ideas…

Summing Up the Feeling Inside the Big 4

“There are increasing job opportunities in the marketplace and anxiety on the inside.”

~ Bob Moritz, in the Wall St. Journal.

Compensation Watch ’10: PwC Puts a Number Out There

Multiple sources have told us that Bob Moritz has put a number out there for comp adjustments during the firm’s webcast today :

Sitting in the Bobby Mo Firmwide Townhall Webcast. Raises: 5% to 8%.

But don’t start high-fiving just yet:

PwC expected to be 5% to 8% raises this year, but still a “quarter to go” per Moritz on today’s townhall webcast.

Early reports also are that internal firm services (IFS) will be getting 3-5%.

Thoughts? Your move, KPErnstDeloitteMG.

Compensation Watch ’10: PwC Moving Up Adjustment Date?

There’s been some whispering about PwC moving up its compensation and adjustment time frame from September to July and that’s got people curious.


At first glance this makes sense because the firm has a June 30 fiscal year-end. PLUS! Since Bob Moritz has already made it abundantly clear that there will be raises for 2010 we figure everyone would be excited to hear that the bumps would be coming a little earlier this year.

However, since everyone likes to jump to conclusions over the slightest little change, we’ll indulge. There have already been whispers of layoffs at PwC here and there but nothing that we’ve been able to confirm so people are probably antsy. And if the adjustment date is moved up we’re sure people are worried that means layoffs will be happening sooner rather than later. We can’t read anyone’s mind but we’re thinking this should be in the ballpark…

But if you’re anxiety is well founded, tell us why or get in touch.

UPDATE, a shade before 1 pm: One of our sources inside PwC shared their thoughts with us:

I think the overall feeling was positive…it will probably make some people happy (depending on the %) and hopefully limit the higher performers from going out into the market, however, it may also help some people look for jobs sooner (i.e. they don’t have to wait until September now, if the raises are low). Most people still have a lot of questions, including the estimate of the increase for each band of the rating system, what the bonus pool is going to look like, and although that is not being paid until September, whether we will know what the bonus amounts are in July.

(UPDATE) PwC Did Not Foresee the Sexting Phenomenon

We heard a rumor today that PwC is currently renegotiating their cell phone contract because, yes, they underestimated the amount of texting that would be done by employees on work phones. Foiled by Gen-Y again!

We realize it’s hard to believe that the numero uno Trainer would somehow not educate its people to avoid sending hundreds of sexually explicit messages to the person in the next row when they simply could have pull together some instructions on cubicle sex. This would have alleviated at least some of the problem.


Well it’s too late now, you randy fools. You’ve no doubt cost the firm millions in charges because you couldn’t compose yourselves.

On the other hand, who were the geniuses sitting around 300 Mad trying to figure out what the texting plan was right for P. Dubs? We know Bob Mortiz wasn’t in on it. Did they consider the fact that PwC employees might be a bunch of savages that would be spending every waking hour sending photos and dirty limericks to their spouses and FWBs?

We understand that firms are trying to save money these days but jesus, it’s common sense to spring for the unlimited texting plan.

UPDATE, Friday, Feb. 12th: We heard back from a source who shared this:

I think they give us something like 100 a month (not positive) which doesn’t affect me, but some people in my office laugh about how much they go over.

Let’s say it is 100 a month. Depending on your prowess, one sexting encounter could conceivably use up a whole month. Someone tell PwC Ops (or whoever is in charge of these things) to go for the unlimited plan.

PwC Achieves Dynasty Status on Training Magazine’s Top 125

Did you think that the Big 4 domination of all magazine lists was over? Jesus, were you wrong. Not only is PwC numero uno on Training Magazine’s Top 125, they’ve been in the top spot for three years running. Clearly this is solidifies the dynasty for P. Dubs.

Personally we don’t think it would be that hard to get on this particular list. You fly everyone to a relatively large city that has bars, casinos, and strip clubs near the hotel and you’ll get some positive feedback regardless of the boring topics discussed.

The magazine lists its criteria for measurement (and, shockingly, our criteria wasn’t mentioned) so we can understand how this index of companies was cooked up:

• Training tied to business objectives

• Demonstrable results

• Number of trainers

• Employee turnover and retention

• Leadership development

• Tuition assistance

• Training technology and infrastructure

• Certification

• Training budget and percentage of payroll

Because we know you’re wondering, only two other firms made it on to the list: KPMG at #5 and Grant Thornton at #103. So this begs the question: WTF E&Y and Deloitte? Completely SHUT OUT? Are your efforts being expended elsewhere? Deloitte’s diversity trainings don’t count? What about the Deloitte University plans; doesn’t that count for something? Sorry, E&Y; the donuts and secure bathrooms obviously don’t help you on this list.

Never mind those losers; back in Titletown, you had better believe P. Dubs put out a press release. Our favorite part being the last paragraph before the “About” section where it catalogs every list the firm has ever been on for the past decade and a half. We get the picture P. Dubs. You can make it on to lists. Good job. Please feel free to notify us directly for the next one.

Digitial Issue [Training Magazine]

PwC’s Moritz: ‘We Will Have Base Increases Next Year’

Thumbnail image for moritz_becks.jpgNow we’re talking! Nothing like calling your shot.

Moritz did his best Joe Namath today on PwC’s firm wide webcast today (is it over?) so all that speculation of P. Dubs phoning in 2010 can be put to rest. WRITE. IT. DOWN.

If you’ve got other thoughts or details on the web cast, get in touch and discuss in the comments.

Will PwC and KPMG Reconsider Canceling Their Holiday Parties?

mickflynnsanta.jpgDoubtful! But with the news of sugarplums dancing in some Big 4 heads, we got to wondering if any of the offices of KPMG and PwC might reconsider the firm-wide kibosh on the Holiday jamma-lamma-ding-dong.
Maybe this would be a coup d’état of the highest order but we’ve heard of offices going rogue in the past, so it’s worth mentioning.
Perhaps we’re expecting too much but it seems possible that partners in your local offices could rally the troops by pooling together some of their own cash and springing for cheese trays a few kegs of Beast.
Partners, you wouldn’t necessarily have to let anyone use the bathroom (especially the new associates, we know how they overdo it). You could set up Rent-A-Johns in the driveway.
Because as it stands right now, it appears that Bob Moritz will only be handing out fresh undies, and Tim Flynn will argue that the Phil Mickelson sponsorship is the gift that keeps on giving. That may fly with some but certainly not all. Discuss your hopes for an eleventh hour fiesta in the comments.