Deloitte Haskins & Sells

Deloitte Haskins & Sells
Name	Deloitte Haskins & Sells
Type	Professional services firm (historical)
Industry	Accounting
Fate	Merged into Deloitte & Touche (now Deloitte)
Founded	19th century predecessor firms
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom; New York, United States (historical offices)
Key people	William Welch Deloitte, Walter Haskins, Frederick Haskins, George Touche
Products	Audit, Tax, Consulting, Advisory (historical)

Deloitte Haskins & Sells was a major international accounting and professional services firm that operated in the 20th century and became part of a global network through a high-profile merger. The firm evolved from legacy practices associated with William Welch Deloitte and contemporaries such as George Touche, and competed with firms including Arthur Andersen, Price Waterhouse, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and Peat Marwick. Its history intersected with landmark events involving institutions like London Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and regulatory developments such as the Sarbanes–Oxley Act.

History

Deloitte Haskins & Sells traced roots to 19th-century entrepreneurs including William Welch Deloitte and partners who established firms that served clients on Threadneedle Street, Wall Street, Fleet Street, and in Canary Wharf. During the 20th century the firm expanded through mergers and affiliations with firms linked to names such as Haskins, Sells, Touche, and Coopers & Lybrand predecessors, competing with Arthur Young, Baker Tilly, Grant Thornton, and RSM International. Key historical moments involved engagements with major corporations like General Electric, Royal Dutch Shell, IBM, Siemens, and Ford Motor Company and interactions with regulators including Financial Accounting Standards Board, Securities and Exchange Commission, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Services and Practice Areas

Deloitte Haskins & Sells provided audit and assurance, tax, consulting, and advisory services to clients such as British Petroleum, HSBC, Citigroup, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. Its audit practice addressed financial reporting under standards of International Accounting Standards Committee and later International Accounting Standards Board pronouncements, while tax teams engaged with regimes in jurisdictions including United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Germany, and France. Consulting practices worked on engagements involving SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, Microsoft, AT&T, and General Motors, advising on mergers involving firms like Vodafone, GlaxoSmithKline, and BP.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

The firm's governance combined partner-managed leadership with regional networks spanning Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Africa. Notable leaders and senior partners had connections to figures such as Sir Geoffrey Howe, Lord Turner, Baroness Hogg, Sir John Major, and executives from Enron-era corporate boards and banking institutions like HSBC Holdings plc and Deutsche Bank. The partnership model mirrored structures used by Arthur Andersen LLP, PricewaterhouseCoopers', and Ernst & Young Global Limited, with committees interacting with bodies like the International Federation of Accountants and national institutes including American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Mergers and Global Integration

Deloitte Haskins & Sells became prominent in cross-border consolidation and participated in the merger that formed a larger global network alongside firms linked to Touche Ross and other legacy networks, paralleling consolidations such as Price Waterhouse-Coopers and Ernst & Whinney. The integration process involved coordination across legal entities in jurisdictions governed by Companies Act 1948, Securities Act of 1933, and regulatory frameworks influenced by European Union directives. Strategic transactions connected the firm to multinational corporate clients like ExxonMobil, Toyota, Samsung, Nestlé, and Siemens AG while navigating competition with McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group in advisory markets.

Notable Engagements and Controversies

Throughout its existence predecessors and affiliates of Deloitte Haskins & Sells advised on major corporate transactions such as listings on the New York Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange, audits of conglomerates like Enron, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers, and audits and advisory work for financial institutions including Barclays, Credit Suisse, UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Controversies in the accounting industry—ranging from audit independence debates involving Arthur Andersen to regulatory responses epitomized by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act—shaped public discourse around firms of this type. High-profile legal and political inquiries that touched the profession included investigations by the United States Senate and commissions like the Parker Review and roles in litigation with corporations such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Northern Rock.

Legacy and Impact on Accounting Profession

The legacy of Deloitte Haskins & Sells is reflected in the global footprint of its successor network and in the development of audit, tax, and advisory standards that influenced organizations like the International Accounting Standards Board, Financial Accounting Standards Board, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and professional bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Its integration into a larger multinational firm contributed to trends in globalization, consolidation, and diversification of services that also involve competitors like KPMG International Cooperative and BDO International. The firm's history informs scholarship on corporate governance studied at institutions like London School of Economics, Harvard Business School, University of Oxford, Columbia Business School, and Wharton School.

Category:Accounting firms