The Tale of Andersen and the Name That Wouldn’t Die

“Ah, come here, kids, and let me tell you a story. It’s a story about a name—an old, stubborn name that just wouldn’t stay down, no matter what happened to it. It’s got lawsuits, scandals, and even a little corporate revenge. So get Grandpa Steve two fingers of bourbon, pull up a chair, and listen close.

“A long, long time ago — way back in 1913 — there was a man named Arthur Andersen. He was a sharp guy, built himself an accounting firm with a good reputation. His company grew and grew, until one day in the 1950s, some smart folks at the company said, ‘Hey, we’re pretty good with numbers, but what if we started telling businesses what to do instead of just counting their beans?’ That, kids, was the birth of a thing called consulting.

"Now, fast forward to 1989, and Arthur Andersen had gotten so big that its consulting division was like a moody teenager — tired of taking orders from its accounting parents. So they split into two units: the accountants stayed Arthur Andersen, and the consultants became Andersen Consulting. But, of course, they still had to share the same last name, like two brothers forced to wear matching sweaters at Christmas.

"This arrangement worked... for a while. But by 1998, Andersen Consulting and its CEO George Shaheen had had enough. They were making a ton of money, and they didn’t want boring old accountants bossing them around. So they did what any good sibling would do — they sued!

"Well, in the year 2000, they won the suit… mostly. The judge said, ‘Alright, Andersen Consulting, you can leave — but you can’t take the family name with you.’ So what did they do? They grabbed a dictionary, decided none of the million words in the English language met their needs, made up the name Accenture, and marched off into the sunset, newly independent and publicly traded. Meanwhile, the accountants, feeling a little bitter, tried to freshen up their own brand and just started calling themselves 'Andersen.'

"But, oh boy, kids, the accountants should have been more worried about their own troubles. See, some of their biggest clients, like a little company called Enron, were playing some very nasty financial tricks, and Andersen got caught helping to sweep the mess under the rug. And when that all came crashing down in 2002, so did Andersen. A century-old accounting empire turned to dust overnight.

"But you can't keep a good brand down. Some of the old Andersen folks weren’t ready to let it all go, so they set up a new firm called WTAS. Boring name, right? But they kept at it, and in 2014, they bought back the rights to the Andersen name and — bam! —rebranded as Andersen Tax. Just like that, the name was back from the grave.

"A few years later, in 2019, they decided to keep things simple and just went by Andersen. Just plain old Andersen — again.

"And now, kids, in the year 2025, guess what? Andersen Global has gone and launched Andersen Consulting all over again! And who did they hire to lead it? Well, none other than now-octogenarian George Shaheen — the very same guy who fought to break away from Andersen decades ago! In fact, the name and George may be the only two things that the Andersen Consulting of 1989 and 2025 have in common. As CEO of Andersen Consulting, George will, of course, be competing against his former firm Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting.

"So, what’s the lesson here? Well, names are funny things. Companies rise and fall, fortunes are won and lost, but a good name? A good name never dies. And sometimes, if you wait long enough, even the name you sued out of existence just might come knocking at your door again.

Now, who wants cookies?"