New York (Oct. 24, 2003) -- Seeking to stay a step ahead of ever-tightening rules governing the accounting profession, KPMG announced Thursday that it will sell its Dispute Advisory Services practice to forensic accounting powerhouse FTI Consulting.
This is the second major acquisition by FTI Consulting in the past week. On Oct. 10, FTI announced that it was acquiring Ten Eyck Associates as part of its strategy to create a national forensic accounting powerhouse.
KPMG agreed to sell the practice for approximately $89.1 million. The deal includes about 26 KPMG partners, 125 other billable professionals and support staff, who will join FTI. More than 300 professionals will remain in KPMG's Investigative and Integrity Advisory Services and Forensic Technology Services units.
"Certainly reform has impacted growth in this service area, and it makes sense for us to key on those services that have the greatest opportunity for growth over the long term. We believe this decision further underscores KPMG's leadership role in helping to restore credibility to the accounting profession," said Richard Girgenti, national partner in charge of KPMG's Forensic practice. "We're channeling resources to build an exceptional Forensic practice and provide the services that reflect client needs. Among our priorities is further integrating our Forensic capabilities in the audit practice."
-- WebCPA staff
