
BDO Will Audit EY Consulting, or Whatever That Business is Gonna Be Called
The Wall Street Journal has written a pretty detailed account of comments EY Global Chairman and CEO Carmine Di Sibio made to WSJ’s CFO Network Summit earlier this week, scroll down to skip past a bunch of words and watch the clip. Of note, the split vote is now expected to happen in April. “I […]

EY Might Not Make Buckets of Money From This Split Thing After All
The Wall Street Journal has an article today suggesting that the EY audit/consulting split may not be the big money pay day EY is banking (heh) on. Why? Consulting is a competitive market and the economy isn’t looking so great these days, and EY’s separated consulting biz will not necessarily have the brand recognition in […]

Did the SEC’s Acting Chief Accountant Have EY in Mind When He Wrote This?
The Australian Financial Review reported today that EY had hoped to temporarily share the EY brand name between a new independent consulting firm and its existing auditing firm if a decision is made to split the two businesses into separate entities. But according to a statement this week from SEC acting chief accountant Paul Munter, […]

Why Is Aprio the Only Top 100 CPA Firm with a Non-Traditional Name?
There’s no easier way to put it: Most top accounting firms do it by the book. Even with the complication of buyouts and mergers, top 100 CPA firms have historically been named after founders. In fact, some states even require it—solidifying a tradition that many partners still prefer. That’s why when Habif, Arogeti & Wynne […]
Don’t Forget, McGladrey Will Be RSM on Monday
Earlier this year, McGladrey announced that they would be dropping the "McGladrey" from their name and adding "RSM." The new initials goes official on Monday across the globe so I imagine many partners will fling soon-to-be-obsolete letterhead in their hearths this weekend, watching with a mixture of pain and longing as the paper turns to […]
McGladrey Latest Accounting Firm to Say, “Screw It, Let’s Just Go By Our Initials”
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 […]
Look Out, Here Comes the Intern #SelfEY Parade
Consider yourselves warned: the interns are about to get released into the wild. Yes, it's that time of year again, EY's International Intern Leadership Conference kicks off next week at Disney World and EY is already trying to goad the impressionable youngsters into blowing up Twitter with #SelfEYs: My employer, #EY (#ErnstandYoung), sent an […]
The AICPA Has Nuked The CPA2Biz Brand in Favor of CPA.com
You will recall a few years back, the AICPA started offering the licensed AICPA members in good standing the opportunity to purchase their very own CPA.com email address — presumably because using [email protected] is too confusing and not CPA enough for some CPAs. Well the AICPA is now going all in on this CPA.com thing, […]
Extreme Big 4 Makeover: KPMG Edition
Yesterday we told you about Extreme Big 4 Makeover: PwC Edition. Today we’ve learned that KPMG is getting into the act, although the House of Klynveld had the sense to avoid changing their team colors to match the autumnal palette (Braddock says it reminds him of Pizza Hut).
But more on colors later. We feel that the motivation for the rebranding is likely twofold: 1) They got wind of PwC sexing themselves up and 2) They’re pissed about Dick Bové playing dumb and they’re trying to get the old girl’s attention.
Naturally, it makes the Masters Champ who, after coming of his video extravaganza on Phil Mickelson’s KPMG website, is appearing in this ad in Golf Magazine (or so we’re told, we don’t have a subscription):
In addition to His Leftness being included in the campaign (reminiscent of T. Dubs with Accenture) apparently the firm took out an ad in today’s Financial Times that rocks their new slogan, Cutting Through Complexity™:
KPMGCuttingThroughComplexityprintadvertising
Last but not least, the firm rolled out this internal Brand Book that tells you everything you don’t want to know about the rebranding including the firm’s commitment to it’s favorite hue, ” To bring our brand to life we have a refreshed visual identity and tone of voice which reinforces the essence of our brand. It builds on our current brand equity and the strong ownership we have of the color blue, while placing greater emphasis on the warmth of our wider color palette.”
One of sources already weighed in saying, “I’m so excited about the opportunities that will be generated by these HUGE changes I don’t know how I will contain myself.” We invite you to share your own thoughts on blue, Phil or whatever you think about KPMG’s new do.