KPMG Consulting, one of the world's biggest consultancy firms, has renamed itself BearingPoint in a move designed to distance itself from its former accountancy-firm parent.
David Ng Chung-wai, managing director of the Hong Kong office, said the rebranding exercise reflected market pressure for a clear separation between auditing and consulting services following the collapse of United States energy giant Enron early this year.
'Gone are the days when accounting firms could offer both auditing and consulting services to the same clients. Nowadays, many clients demand to have an independent firm that has no relationship with their auditors,' Mr Ng said.
The new name adopted last week is also aimed at creating a unified identity for the firm following its merger with the consulting unit of collapsed accounting firm Arthur Andersen, which was recently completed. BearingPoint also includes the German business consulting services unit of KPMG.
'The collapse of Enron has put the issue of conflicts of interest of auditors and their consulting arms under the spotlight,' Mr Ng said.
'The rebranding will cut our last link with our former parent KPMG, and would thus help to assure the confidence of our clients.'