Accountancy firm Arthur Andersen & Co is due to break its wall of silence today on the bitter feud developing between itself and its sister firm Andersen Consulting, which is trying to split the organisation in two. In December, Andersen Consulting filed with the International Chamber of Commerce, demanding arbitration to settle its allegations of breach of contract and dirty tricks which have caused irreconcilable differences between the rival halves of Andersen Worldwide. The claim was months in the making, and Arthur Andersen, which has always opposed a split, is expected to launch delaying tactics designed to give itself more time than the statutory 30 days in which to muster its defence. The accountancy division will also, claims the Daily Telegraph, put forward a memorandum from 1989 requiring any departing partners to pay 150% of current revenues (approximately $9bn), abandon the Andersen name and hand over all technology previously developed by the partnership.
