Professional Services Monitor: Today

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We’ve posted a new, somewhat superfluous, list to our Auditor Market Share Lists.  We look at 30 companies with long-distance audit relationships.  That is, the auditor’s office noted on the audit opinion is some distance from the company’s registered headquarters address.

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Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers separately announce their purchases of business units BearingPoint in North America.

Deloitte will “acquire substantially all of the assets” of BearingPoint’s Public Services practice.

Deloitte today announced that it has signed an asset purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of the North American Public Services practice of BearingPoint out of bankruptcy for total consideration of $350 million in cash and the assumption of certain BearingPoint liabilities. BearingPoint is a global management and technology consulting company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 18, 2009. The agreement is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court, which may consider competing bids, and there can be no assurance that the purchase will be consummated.

PwC announced its own acquisition of BearingPoint’s North American Commercial Services practice.

he United States firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with BearingPoint, Inc. to acquire portions of BearingPoint’s North American Commercial Services practice, which includes its financial services segment. At the same time, PwC Advisory Co., Ltd. (PwC Japan), a PricewaterhouseCoopers firm operating in Japan, has reached an agreement in principle to acquire and integrate with BearingPoint’s entire Japan practice consulting business, which has a leading position in the business consulting market.

In the United States, the proposed transaction will integrate selected contracts and assets of BearingPoint into PwC’s Advisory practice, while bringing to the firm client service professionals with significant business and consulting expertise in industries including energy, utilities, insurance, pharmaceuticals and life sciences.

In Japan, the strength of BearingPoint’s business means that this transaction will create a combined team of over 1,500 professionals which will be one of the largest advisory practices in the Japanese market.

The Washington Post reported that PwC will pay $25 million for the unit.

In BearingPoint’s Fy2007 Annual Report, Public Services and Commercial Services comprise two of BearingPoints three principal North American units, with Financial Services being the third.  Public Services generate $263 million in gross profit in Fy2007, and Commercial Services $82 million.

In GM’s 2008 10-K, filed this morning, Deloitte’s audit opinion contained a “going concern” clause:

The accompanying consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2008, have been prepared assuming that the Corporation will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Corporation’s recurring losses from operations, stockholders’ deficit, and inability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet its obligations and sustain its operations raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans concerning these matters are also discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Furthermore, Deloitte’s 404 opinion on internal controls states that GM did not maintain effective internal controls due to a “material weakness related to ineffective controls over the period-end financial reporting…”
GM Auditors Raise Warning On Bankruptcy Risk : NPR

Although GM has warned for weeks that its cash-flow position was being eroded, Thursday’s announcement in an annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows the full gravity of the situation as auto sales plummet to their lowest levels in more than a quarter century and revenue continues to drop sharply.

GM has already taken $13.4 billion in government loans, but the company has been unable to cut costs fast enough to stop the bleeding. Executives say they need another $16 billion to survive.