Big Four bosses join Brown on China visit
Connolly, Otty and Griffith-Jones join PM's China delegation
The heads of three of the largest accounting firms have joined prime minister
Gordon Brown’s delegation visiting China.
Deloitte chief executive John Connolly, Ernst & Young chairman Mark Otty
and KPMG senior partner John Griffith-Jones were invited by Brown to take the
trip and promote their business expertise to China’s politicians and businesses.
PricewaterhouseCoopers chairman Kieran Poynter was also invited but declined
because of a prior engagement.
It is not unusual for large manufacturers to be invited on such delegations,
but inviting the UK’s leading accountants along suggests that Brown is eager to
promote the financial expertise the UK can offer China and other emerging
markets.
Brown and the Big Four leaders will be moving on to India to hold similar
discussions with Indian authorities.
Providing services to emerging markets has been earmarked as a key revenue
driver by the giant firms, who see growth in these markets as vital to
increasing their own profits.
Further reading:
Read
Accountancy Age editor Gavin Hinks’ thoughts on the visit
Otty sets out a global vision for Ernst &
Young
