Haskins & Sells

Haskins & Sells
Name	Haskins & Sells
Fate	Merged into Deloitte Haskins & Sells
Successor	Deloitte
Founded	1895
Founder	Charles Waldo Haskins; Elijah Watts Sells
Defunct	1970s
Industry	Accounting

Haskins & Sells

Haskins & Sells was an American accounting firm founded in 1895 by Charles Waldo Haskins and Elijah Watts Sells. It became one of the leading accounting partnerships in the United States, providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to corporations, financial institutions, and government entities, and later merged into a global network leading to the formation of Deloitte Haskins & Sells. The firm operated during eras shaped by figures and institutions such as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Andrew Mellon, and regulatory developments involving the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

History

Haskins & Sells was established in New York City in 1895 amid the rise of professional firms alongside contemporaries like Arthur Young & Co., Price Waterhouse, Ernst & Young, and Touche Ross. Early growth intersected with major corporate developments exemplified by clients and events tied to J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Standard Oil, and the consolidation trends that produced firms such as National City Bank. Through the Progressive Era and the Great Depression, the firm adapted to changes spearheaded by policymakers including Theodore Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover, and to legislative reforms influenced by the Federal Reserve Act and institutions like the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the mid-20th century Haskins & Sells expanded services as multinational commerce involving IBM, General Electric, United States Steel Corporation, and AT&T increased demand for international audit and advisory work. The post‑World War II environment, with economic planning tied to Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the Marshall Plan, shaped the firm’s cross-border engagements until consolidation pressures and globalization led to strategic mergers in the 1970s.

Services and Practice Areas

Haskins & Sells offered audit and assurance, tax planning, and consulting for corporations such as ExxonMobil, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, General Motors, and financial institutions like Citigroup and Bank of America. The firm provided forensic and investigative accounting for litigation involving entities like Lehman Brothers and worked on public offerings regulated under the Securities Act of 1933 for clients modeled on AT&T and General Electric. Its tax practice navigated statutes including the Revenue Act of 1913 and later amendments under Internal Revenue Service guidance, advising clients such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, DuPont, and multinational corporations operating in markets influenced by treaties like the Bretton Woods Agreement. Consulting engagements extended to infrastructure projects linked to agencies such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and corporations in energy sectors like Exxon and Shell.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

The partnership model of Haskins & Sells echoed governance structures seen in Arthur Andersen, Coopers & Lybrand, and KPMG. Founders Charles Waldo Haskins and Elijah Watts Sells established a partnership that promoted senior partners comparable to leaders at Edward R. Murrow-era institutions and later executives who collaborated with boards of directors including chairs from J.P. Morgan & Co., Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs. Leadership transitions occurred alongside professional organizations such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and academic links to schools like Columbia University, Harvard University, and New York University. The firm’s structure featured regional offices reflecting financial centers including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, London, and affiliations with firms in Toronto, Sydney, and Tokyo.

Mergers and Succession (including merger into Deloitte)

Consolidation in the accounting industry saw Haskins & Sells enter strategic alliances and ultimately a formal merger that created Deloitte Haskins & Sells, aligning with global networks such as Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. This succession mirrored contemporaneous combinations like Price Waterhouse-Coopers and Ernst & Young consolidations. The merger integrated practices and client lists involving corporate names like Unilever, Siemens, Nestlé, and multinational banks including HSBC and Barclays, situating the new entity within the landscape shaped by regulatory regimes overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission and professional oversight bodies such as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Notable Engagements and Controversies

Haskins & Sells conducted audits and advisory roles in high-profile corporate transactions and restructuring during periods that included events connected to The Great Depression, World War II, and later corporate crises reminiscent of Enron and WorldCom scandals that reshaped audit expectations. The firm navigated controversies around independence and auditor-client relationships raised in debates involving entities like Arthur Andersen and regulatory responses from the Securities and Exchange Commission and congressional committees such as the United States House Committee on Financial Services. Engagements included work for major industrial conglomerates, financial institutions, and public utilities comparable to General Motors, Chrysler Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company.

Legacy and Influence on Accounting Profession

Haskins & Sells influenced professional standards through participation in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants committees and in shaping auditing practices alongside firms like Arthur Young and Peat Marwick International. Its alumni filled leadership roles at corporations such as General Electric, IBM, and Citigroup, and at academic and regulatory institutions including Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm’s legacy persists in the global firm Deloitte, in professional norms that later informed legislation like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and in educational ties to accounting programs at Columbia University and New York University that trained generations of Certified Public Accountants.

Category:Accounting firms