Organization OUR FIRM Arthur Andersen & Co. is an international account Our ing firm with 49 offices in the United States and 54 offices in 33 other countries throughout the world. The firm was established in Chicago, Illinois, in 1913 and has operated since its inception as a single worldwide partnership. total number of personnel approximates 14,000 and we serve more than 50,000 clients. Net fees of $386 million for the fiscal year ended August 31, 1975 place us among the world's largest accounting firms. The firm's professional organization consists of partners, managers and staff personnel. The partners, of which there are over 940 in active practice, are the owners of the firm and assume the primary responsibility of directing the services we provide to our clients. The partners are assisted by managers and staff, who have the responsibility for the day-to-day conduct of our work. While the major work of our firm is related to the annual independent examination of and issuance of an opinion on the financial statements of our clients, we also provide our clients with significant systems and consulting services and tax assistance. A more complete description of the nature of our services and other general information about our firm, including the financial results for the fiscal year ended August 31, 1975, are contained in our third annual report, which has been included at the end of this section. One-Firm Concept Arthur Andersen & Co. is unique in being a worldwide single partnership in which all partners are general partners and participate in profits of the worldwide operation regardless of their location, area of specialization or job activity. Although each office is responsible for complete services to the clients in its area, the firm operates on an integrated basis under a one-firm concept rather than as an amalgamation of offices. While this onefirm concept, on the surface, may not appear important, it has far-reaching effects on the personality of the firm. It has an important impact on our training programs and is largely responsible for the high quality of our client service and the leadership role we have taken in our profession. Moreover, this concept makes it possible for us to have selected from the firm the top talent and competence within the government industry area, irrespective of present office assignment, for our D. C. government project team. Quality Control To maintain our high standards of quality, the firm makes a significant investment in the extensive training and development of our personnel at all levels from beginning staff members to, and including, partners. The programs and techniques we use in training our personnel are frequently reviewed by our larger clients and adapted for use within their organizations. In 1975, Arthur Andersen & Co. conducted more than 400 sessions of worldwide and regional schools and seminars constituting over 125,000 man-days of instruction. This training involved over 12,000 of our professional personnel for periods of two days to several weeks. Our direct investment in training professional personnel was approximately $30 million (U. S.). The scope of our training is so extensive that we purchased in 1971 the entire properties of a private college near Chicago, Illinois, to serve as our firm's training center. A photograph of the Center for Professional Development serves as the cover for the attached 1975 Annual Report. |