It's business as usual for AA

We launched a new strategy at the beginning of our financial year last year and a new brand identity in January this year. This strategy enables us to provide a broad array of services on a fully integrated basis to our clients. The brand identity positions us as a full-service professional services firm providing advice to clients on the challenges of the new economy.

Following the arbitration announcement, which gives us ownership of the Andersen brand name, we will have the freedom to develop on all fronts.

We will pursue our strategy actively in all areas of our business; our business consulting practice in particular will now be able to develop fast and effectively as a major player in the market.

Globally the business consulting practice is number 10 in the Management Consultancy International global league table, with revenues of $1.4bn for financial year 1999, an increase of 36% on the previous year. We have achieved double digit growth every year for the past 10 years and have posted 15% growth this year to date.

We plan to continue to focus on helping clients improve their businesses, manage risks, and rise to the challenges of the new economy. Our focus on helping clients navigate the new economy, find sources of value in their organisations and manage risks is unwavering.

There will be absolutely no interruption of client service during the transition period. The separation from Andersen Consulting does not have any impact on our firm’s ability to continue to provide clients with the highest-quality professional services nor does it impact our ability to afford excellent growth opportunities to our people.

Given the realisation that, in one form or another, both firms would go our separate ways, we had already put in place a business strategy that enables Arthur Andersen to provide a broad array of services on a fully integrated basis to our clients. Arthur Andersen had not served the market together with Andersen Consulting for a number of years.

Arthur Andersen will take action to enforce the arbitrator’s decision relating to the Andersen name and the intellectual property developed over the years by the member firms of Andersen Worldwide.

The focus of the firm in the coming weeks and months will be to assure that all partners and employees are concentrating on providing the highest-quality client service and to facilitate the leadership selection process.

• As worldwide managing partner of Arthur Andersen for the last three years, Jim Wadia was heavily involved in the arbitration process. He resigned last week. This is an edited version of the firm’s post-arbitration statements.