Grant Thornton acquires Arthur Andersen's Tulsa office

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jun 19, 2002 by Matt Maile

Global accounting firm Grant Thornton, an established business in the Oklahoma City market, said Tuesday it will expand its reach in the state with the purchase of the Tulsa office of competitor Arthur Andersen. In a deal announced Tuesday, the Chicago-based accounting firm said the two partners and 34 staff of Arthur Andersen's office in Tulsa would join Grant Thornton.

The deal would lift the number of Grant Thornton personnel in the state to 89. "These professionals joining us have served many of Oklahoma's fastest-growing companies statewide, and Tulsa expands our already solid Oklahoma client base," said Tom R. Gray III, managing partner with Grant Thornton, in a statement. The purchase is the latest of several involving Arthur Andersen offices nationwide, after accusations that the company failed in its oversight of bankrupt energy trader Enron led to a flight of clients from Arthur Andersen. Arthur Andersen LLP was dealt another blow this month when a Houston jury convicted the accounting firm of obstruction of justice in the U.S. government's investigation of the Enron failure. The government provided testimony that Arthur Andersen employees had destroyed Enron-related documents in the days after Enron's troubles emerged publicly. Following the court ruling, Arthur Andersen on Saturday told federal regulators that it would stop auditing public companies by Aug. 31. The troubles have led to layoffs and to sales of Arthur Anderson offices nationwide that have shrunk the company from 26,000 employees last year to only about 10,000 employees now. Gray commented on the Arthur Andersen troubles by saying the problems were the result of mistakes by a few Arthur Andersen managers and not the actions of the company's many other professionals. "It's a tragedy that so many top professionals have paid the price for the actions of a relative few," Gray said. Grant Thornton's acquisition of the Tulsa office of Arthur Andersen is part of efforts by Grant Thornton to acquire additional offices nationwide. The company said it is in talks about possible additional acquisitions "that fit into Grant Thornton's strategy." The company has already acquired Arthur Andersen offices in Charlotte, N.C., Columbia, S.C., Greensboro, Ky., Milwaukee, Orlando, Fla., and Albuquerque, N.M., and additional Andersen middle-market partners in New York, Houston, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Tampa, Fla., totaling 43 partners and 387 employees. Grant Thornton officials were not immediately available for comment Tuesday on the impact the Tulsa acquisition will have on the company's operations in Oklahoma. Grant Thornton has 50 offices in the United States and more than 650 offices in 109 countries through Grant Thornton International. The move by Grant Thornton this week to acquire Arthur Andersen offices in Oklahoma follows a similar move in late May by another accounting firm, Ernst & Young. Ernst & Young acquired Arthur Andersen's Oklahoma City business, which employed 50 personnel and four partners, in a deal that closed May 24.