Arthur Andersen |
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The law was changed in 1969 to allow the national accounting firms to practice in Florida as long as the work was provided by Florida
licensed partners and employees. In 1969 the firm of Rittmann & Tollefson was dissolved and their partners and employees rejoined
Andersen. This was the beginning of Arthur Andersen’s Florida practice.
The Miami office grew along with the South Florida business community. In 1978, a Fort Lauderdale office was established and in 1990 a
West Palm Beach office was established. Andersen’s Florida offices operated from the beginning with three divisions: audit, tax and consulting.
The consulting practice was initially know as Administrative Services, later as Management Information Consulting Division and finally as
Andersen Consulting. In 1989, Andersen Consulting split from Arthur Andersen and then changed its name to Accenture. This practice was
primarily focused on large computer implementation projects. In the mid 1980s, Andersen’s audit and tax partners recognized that their small
and mid-size clients needed computer assistance and a separate group was established, which after several name changes, became known
as Business Consulting. By 2000, Andersen’s South Florida practice had established consulting practices in many specialized areas
including operations, computer implementation, internal audit, litigation, bankruptcy, real estate, hospitality and healthcare.
Andersen’s South Florida practice held a dominant position over that of the other international accounting firms. Its three practice units
were consistently among the most profitable within the firm (based on profit per professional). The South Florida practice had the largest share
of publicly-held clients and, because of its high quality service, it rarely lost a client.
A few of the long-time clients of the South Florida practice that remained clients until they were sold, or Andersen ceased business, were as follows:
Blockbuster Entertainment
AutoNation
IVAX Corporation
The Wackenhut Corporation
Southeast Toyota
KOS Pharmaceuticals
Republic Services
Sunglass Hut International
Steifel Laboratories
Watsco Corporation
In June 2002, Andersen was found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding documents relating to the audits of Enron Corporation. Andersen
was forced to surrender its licenses to practice and in June 2002 the South Florida practice was effectively ended. In May 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously reversed the conviction, however, it was too late for what had once been the most successful professional
services firm in the world with 85,000 personnel and over $10 billion in revenue.
During the period from 1967 through 2002 more than 2,000 individuals worked in Andersen’s South Florida practice. While at Andersen, they
were constantly challenged and improved their skills. When they left, it was to advance their careers. The network of Andersen alumni in
South Florida is still strong even though the firm ceased business in 2002. Many alumni are among the business elite in their local communities.
The managing partners of the South Florida practice, offices and divisions from inception through Andersen’s demise in 2002 were as follows:
South Florida Managing Partners
Don Tollefson (1969 to 1975)
Al Warrington IV (1975 to 1980)
Bill Pruitt (1980 to 1998)
Bob Lowe (1998 to 2002)
Fort Lauderdale Office Managing Partners
Carl Mueller
Bob Henninger
Phil Harlow
West Palm Beach Office Managing Partners
Howard Feldman
Mike Sullivan
Audit Practice
Bill Pruitt
Bob Henninger
Don Denkhaus
Denise Dickins
Tax Practice
Ivan Faggen
Pat Clayton
Richard Berkowitz
Bob Lowe
Cesar Clavero
Andersen Consulting
Don Anguish
Roy Schoen
Business Consulting
Pete Eckhoff – Technology
Byron Traynor – Operations
Jim Feltman – Bankruptcy and Litigation
Mike Stein – Real Estate and Hospitality
Office Administration
Ralph Johnson
Larry Harris