For over 170 years, the legacy firms that make up PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, a multinational professional service brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand, have been at the forefront of the accounting industry through every major economic era and inflection point. Today, the multinational professional services giant stands atop its field, the product of a long and winding path filled with mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and reinventions. With annualised revenues of USD 45 billion, over 295,000 employees, and operations spanning 157 countries, PwC is the largest professional services firm in the world by revenue and global reach. Its brand is recognised across the globe as a symbol of professionalism, quality, and trusted expertise.
PwC’s current stature as an industry titan is a result of years of hard work. The company had to overcome numerous challenges and disruptions through bold strategic moves and a relentless focus on transformation to remain competitive and relevant over the decades.
While PwC’s journey may seem distant from the landscape of Bangladeshi firms, there are invaluable lessons to be gleaned from its trajectory. By examining PwC’s strategic moves and operational adaptations, Bangladeshi firms can uncover insights to enhance their own growth and resilience in a dynamic market environment.
INCEPTION
PwC’s legacy firms can be traced back to 1849 when Samuel Lowell Price set up an accounting practice in London. A few years later in 1854, William Cooper founded a shipping firm that later moved into providing accounting services. In 1865, the Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery firm was established in Pennsylvania. These three separate entities grew substantially over the next century through a combination of regional expansions and smaller mergers, each becoming sizable accounting practices in their own right. However, it was the massive merger in 1998 between Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand that created the modern-day PwC as we know it.
In the most significant milestone, two of the then “Big 5” accounting firms – Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand – merged in July 1998 through a USD 11.9 billion deal to form the new company PricewaterhouseCoopers. The origins of Price Waterhouse date back to 1865 when it was formed from the merger of two accounting practices founded by Samuel Lowell Price and Edwin Waterhouse. Similarly, Coopers & Lybrand’s roots stretched back to the 19th century from the merging of firms Cooper Brothers and Lybrand, Ross Bros & Montgomery in 1957.
The 1998 merger created the largest professional services organisation in the world at the time, with combined revenues of over USD 13 billion and over 150,000 employees globally. PricewaterhouseCoopers also became the first of the major accounting firms to rebrand itself as a ‘professional services’ provider rather than simply an accounting firm. This reflected its strategic vision to become a more multidisciplinary consultancy spanning various service lines.
CULTURAL EMPHASIS
Beyond its business strategies, PwC places a strong emphasis on corporate culture and social responsibility. Its ‘one-firm’ ethos fosters collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity across its global network. Additionally, PwC is actively engaged in corporate social responsibility initiatives, supporting communities and promoting sustainable development. Bangladeshi firms can learn from PwC’s focus on culture and responsibility by nurturing a positive work environment and actively contributing to societal welfare. By fostering a culture of integrity, diversity, and social impact, Bangladeshi firms can enhance their brand reputation and build stronger connections with stakeholders.
BUILDING A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CONSULTING POWERHOUSE
In the years after the landmark merger, PwC aggressively built out its advisory capabilities beyond just audit and tax services. It acquired major consultancies like Safeway Management Consultants, Coopers & Lybrand Consultants, and Diamond Management and Technology Consultants.
PwC Consulting, as the advisory arm was called, soon grew to over 30,000 employees globally providing strategy, technology, and management consulting services. This explosive growth in the 1990s culminated in PwC becoming the largest professional services provider in the world. However, regulations in the early 2000s mandated the separation of consulting and audit functions. This led to the divestiture in 2002 of the entire PwC Consulting arm, which was renamed as a separate public company called BearingPoint.
With its management and IT consulting operations split off, PwC re-focused on its core offerings of audit, tax, deals (transactions), and risk advisory services. It reorganised its operations into a matrix of global lines of service combined with industry-specific capabilities to provide more specialised industry expertise to clients.
Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, the firm grew steadily both organically and through select strategic acquisitions meant to boost capabilities in areas like data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud technologies, blockchain and more. PwC also selectively rehired top talent from its former consulting arm as independent contractors on specific advisory projects.
Most recently in 2021, PwC announced a new strategic reorganisation into two main focus areas – trust services and consulting services. Under this model, the trust services division houses audit, tax and other compliance services core to building organisational trust and transparency and the consulting services division provides broad advisory services like deals, risk, ESG, cloud transformation and more to drive sustained outcomes for clients.
This strategic realignment aims to position PwC as the preeminent global advisor equipped to build trust and deliver sustained outcomes through consulting and implementation capabilities in emerging technologies. Even with its unparalleled size and scale today, PwC claims to operate under a ‘one-firm’ ethos with a strong culture and emphasis on factors like innovation, quality, diversity & inclusion, and corporate responsibility. It has consistently been ranked as one of the most prestigious employers and professional services brands worldwide.
IMPLICATIONS FOR BANGLADESH
While PwC’s journey may seem distant from the context of Bangladeshi firms, the lessons embedded in its growth trajectory are highly relevant. By studying PwC’s strategic moves, operational adaptations, and cultural values, Bangladeshi firms can glean insights to fuel their own growth and resilience. From laying strong foundations to embracing innovation and social responsibility, PwC’s legacy serves as a guiding light for Bangladeshi firms aspiring to thrive in an ever-changing business landscape. As Bangladeshi firms navigate the complexities of the global market, they can draw inspiration from PwC’s humble beginnings and relentless pursuit of excellence.
