PwC sets sights on growth path – Company forging ahead with regional integration

Seven PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) firms in the Caribbean are forging ahead with the integration process that will enable them to serve the region under one network.

According to Marcus Hatch, Territory Senior Partner for PwC East Caribbean, this integration is not about losing jobs, but rather, it is about growth, increasing opportunities and increasing employment. The process is also focused on expanding the company’s scale and possibilities in a difficult environment, he highlighted.

From left to right: Darren Johnston, CEO of PwC Caribbean,
and Marcus Hatch, Territory Senior Partner for PwC East
Caribbean, outlining the progress of PwC regional
integration at PwC headquarters in Barbados.

Darren Johnston, CEO of PWC Caribbean, which is the official name for the new regional network, explained the progress: “We have been hard at work for the past two years, moving from concept to design stage and finally to the implementation stage, and I would say we are about half-way through this last stage.

“A lot of what we have accomplished has taken place out of sight, below the waterline, and it involves getting the right people in the right leadership roles, setting new policies and procedures and making sure we have the right technology platform,” he revealed.

Johnston, who was in Barbados recently for the first of many employee town hall meetings taking place at PwC firms across the region, noted that PwC is aiming to complete all substantive aspects of the integration process by June 30, 2014.

“The business model is much more than a refinement of the cooperative working style that has existed for years between PwC firms. We are going way beyond cooperation and moving to complete alignment. Our people will face the market united behind a desire to help our clients succeed. The PwC’s regional integrator is not some new fad or restructuring exercise, but a response to the changing business environment here in the Caribbean and globally.

“The world is rapidly changing, becoming more complex, and the demands on our clients and on our firms are becoming ever greater. This makes a clear case for PwC to build a stronger service capability across the Caribbean. Our clients will need the kind of organisation we are building,” he said.

Johnston added that PwC’s Advisory and Corporate Services across the network went live with their new operating model on July 1, 2013. Tax will transition to the new model on January 1, 2014 and Assurance will do the same by July 1, 2014.

Hatch emphasised that the new PwC will benefit not only clients but also employees and the communities in which PwC Caribbean operates. These include the Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, East Caribbean (Barbados and BVI), Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the Turks & Caicos.

“Our people will have greater opportunities to boost their professional careers through new experiences whether it is the chance to work on new and interesting assignments, increased mobility or through more teaming with colleagues across the region.”

“The integration process will in no way diminish the firm’s commitment to local clients, our ability to serve local clients will be that much stronger because we will be tapping into the skills and expertise of 1 200 people right here in the region. Every aspect of our business will be stronger and thus better placed to help our clients grow their business and succeed,” he maintained.

The Territory Senior Partner added that PwC will become even better positioned to maintain its competitive lead in each of its regional markets, “I believe that what we are doing will be tremendously important for years to come,” he said. (NB)