Arthur Andersen
South Florida Alumni

History continued...

 

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

 

 

This site was developed and is maintained by former employees of Arthur Andersen's South Florida practice.  It is not an official site of Arthur Andersen LLP or Andersen Worldwide.

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