Company Research(Source from Hoover and Wikipedia)

September 24, 2013

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Introduction 3

Service and Industry 6

Controversies 7

References 10

Alvarez & Marsal

Executive Summary

PricewaterhouseCoopers commonly referred to as PwC, is one of the Big Four professional services firms along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and KPMG.

PwC is a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and is the world's largest professional services firm and the largest of the Big Four accountancy firms by 2012 revenue. PwC employs 18,000 people and has offices in 776 cities across 159 countries providing assurance (including financial and regulatory reporting), tax, and advisory service. In FY 2012, PwC earned a record of $31.2 billion USD in revenue, ranking the first among the Big Four.

As of 2012 PwC United States is the fifth-largest privately owned organization in the United States.

INTROCDUCTION

Name and Branding

The PricewaterhouseCoopers name was formed by the combination of the names of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand, following their merger in 1998, bypassing then-leader Andersen. On 20 September 2010, PricewaterhouseCoopers rebranded as PwC, although the legal name of the firm remained PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Early History

Price Waterhouse

In 1850, Samuel Price, an accountant, founded an accounting firm in London.

In 1865, Price took on partner Edwin Waterhouse. The firm and the industry grew rapidly, thanks to the growth of stock exchanges that required uniform financial statements from listees. By the late 1800s Price Waterhouse (PW) had become the world's best-known accounting firm.

PW opened their first US offices in the 1890s, and in 1902 United States Steel chose the firm as its auditor. PW benefited from tough audit requirements instituted after the 1929 stock market crash.

In 1935, the firm was given the prestigious job of...