Professional Services Monitor: Today

BearingPoint Inc., the consulting firm spun-off from KPMG in 2001, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

BearingPoint Inc. said it filed for bankruptcy-court protection after reaching a deal with its lenders as part of a debt-reduction effort.

The McLean, Va., management and technology consulting firm said its operations based outside the U.S. aren’t included in the filing and won’t be affected.

BearingPoint had been reporting weakened results for some time, and in late 2007 named a new chief executive in hopes of turning around its fortunes.

Wednesday, BearingPoint’s stock was trading around 30 cents on the over-the-counter bulletin board. The stock traded at a split-adjusted $60 on Sept. 3, accounting for a 1-for-50 reverse split in December before careening to a split-adjusted $1.50 in November amid concerns about the company’s viability.

We’ve posted two new lists to our Auditor Market Share Lists.  First, we look at the 10 largest private companies from Forbes’ Top Private Companies list.  Second, we look at the change in PricewaterhouseCooper’s Japanese market share, following the turmoil with its Japanese affiliate firms, through the firm’s share in 2008 vs. 2009 of the Financial Times Japanese 500 list.

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Last week, BDO Seidman announced a new advertising campaign, “People Who Know, Know BDO,” the firm’s first national campaign.  

“In recent years, BDO Seidman has enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth. It is our intention to build on that success, even in a down economy, by using advertising to further differentiate our brand and proactively market our core services beyond our ongoing public relations and direct marketing initiatives,” said Jack Weisbaum, CEO of BDO Seidman. “Our research shows that CEOs, CFOs, tax directors and corporate boards that are familiar with our firm think very highly of us. This program will help introduce the firm to a larger segment of this target audience.”

The ad campaign will include not only business print media, but also cable news channels such as CNN, Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC and Headline News. Examples of BDO’s TV, print and online ads can be found at Seiter & Miller Advertising’s website, the firm’s ad agency.

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Over the weekend, while watching one of my favorite channels, The History Channel, I noticed an ad from RSM McGladrey for the first time.  I cannot find any information on RSM, but given the amount of time I spend watching History Channel programs, I feel confident that the ad is new.  This particular RSM ad showed two businessmen looking in upon a conference room full of important looking people.  One asks the other, “Who are those people?”  He answers, “They’re consultants, from RSM McGladrey.”  Businessman #1 replies, “Consultants?  In this economy?”  Businessman #2 answers, “Yes, that’s why they’re here.”

In thousands of CFO interviews we have conducted following auditor changes, part of our Quarterly Competitive Summary, only once has a CFO mentioned firm advertising as a decision-making factor in choosing a new audit firm.  Our research has shown that a firm’s presence in business publications does serve a role in brand reinforcement.  Do TV ads for a non-consumer product have the depth and focus to be an effective brand tool for a professional services firm?