Are the Information Technology and management specialists at Andersen Consulting finally about to break away from their bean-counting neighbors at parent firm Arthur Andersen? Plans for a huge shake-up in the worldwide structure of Andersen Consulting have been seen as a massive snub to the accountants. The insult was all the more obvious because it was masterminded by managing partner George Shaheed who failed to get the job as chief executive of Andersen Worldwide – umbrella group for the organization – after the accountants blocked his appointment. At the heart of the dispute is the fact that the slimmer-staffed Andersen Consulting now generates most revenue, yet under an agreement it has to share the money with Arthur Andersen partners. Shaheed told Andersen Worldwide action chief executive Robert Grafton of the shake-up plans not over a cozy lunch, but in a 20-minute videoconferencing call – and then only purely as a courtesy. Andersen Worldwide dismissed talk of any break between the two sides but, with so much money at stake, anything is possible. Under the new Andersen Consulting plan, the organization is to be split into global market units.
