Andersen's RI unit merges with Ernst & Young
Andersen's RI unit merges with Ernst & Young
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian unit of troubled accounting giant Arthur
Andersen, called Prasetio Utomo-Andersen Indonesia, has finally
merged its operation on Thursday with the Indonesian affiliate of
Ernst & Young.
The merger was held to combine the strengths of both companies
as well as to provide certainty for Arthur Andersen's clients
following the Enron scandal in the United States, which dragged
the reputation of the accounting firm worldwide through the mud.
"(Through the merger) we will bring the strengths of both
firms together to be stronger than the sum of our parts," said a
statement released to the press on Thursday, following the merger
announcement.
The merger followed months of talks, during which the troubled
firm also approached PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Deloitte
Touche Tohmatsu (DTT).
Ernst & Young was finally available for merger with the Arthur
Andersen unit.
After the merger, the new firm will be known as Ernst and
Young Prasetio, Sarwoko, Utomo and Sandjaja.
John Prasetio, formerly from Andersen, will be the firm's
chairman. Simon Halim from Ernst and Young will retain his
position as the chief executive officer of the new firm.
The move by the Indonesian unit of Andersen followed similar
actions by other Andersen affiliates worldwide, which had been
seeking mergers with other firms, as the reputation of Andersen's
headquarters in Washington was ruined following its involvement
in the Enron scandal.
U.S.-based Andersen, which audited Enron's financial reports,
was convicted last week by a jury for the obstruction of a
government inquiry into the firm which announced its bankruptcy
late last year amid reports of irregularities in its financial
reports.
Andersen affiliates in Singapore, New Zealand and Australia
have signed deals to merge their operations with Ernst and Young.
Associated Press reported that Andersen headquarters in
Washington had lost more than 100 public audit clients so far
this year, following the Enron scandal.