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Deloitte, Touche, Tohmatsu

The name of this world-known auditing company - Deloitte, Touche, Tohmatsu - owes its existence to its founders who, from the very start of their careers, realized the importance of world-wide practice. The history of the company can be traced through their names; Deloitte, Touche, Tohmatsu.

Deloitte

       William Welch Deloitte was one of the fathers of accountancy. He came from a rich French family who had to leave France during the Revolution. He began learning business at the age of 15 working as an assistant to the Official Assignee at the Bankruptcy Court in the City of London. At that time accountancy profession grew from its early days in the business of sorting out the affairs of bankrupts. At the age of 25 Deloitte opened his own office opposite the Bankruptcy Court in London. He was the first independent auditor in Britain. He made his name with the industry of the day – the railways. In 1849 he discovered frauds on the Great North Railway and invented a system of accounts to protect investors from mismanagement of their funds. His reputation as a professional accountant was rather high. Some years later he became president of the newly created Institute of Chartered Accountants in Britain. In 1893 he opened offices in the United States and began to audit different businesses.

Touche

George Touche came from Scotland, and when he qualified as an accountant in Edinburgh, there was no e at the end of his name. It was Touch and was pronounced in the same way as the Scottish loch. But since it was often mispronounced he decided to change it later.

       In 1883 he graduated from Edinburgh University and set off to the south to seek his fortune. Investment trust business was experiencing a boom, and that gave him a chance for making a career in this field. He took up saving businesses, from financial disasters which were very gre3quent in those days because investment trust business was quite new. George Touch had a lot of clients and had to work very hard. Soon he earned a very good reputation for a true flair for his business and honesty. In 1899 he started his own business 'George A.Touch and Co'. In 1900, he and John Niven set up the firm of Touch, Niven and Co in New York. Many large companies of both in the US and Britain became his clients. His company enjoyed high reputation and popularity among businessmen.

Tohmatsu

       The Japanese company of Tohmatsu owes its origin to Admiral Nobuzo Tohmatsu. He started his career as a naval attaché at the London Embassy. At that time he was also an instructor at the Naval Academy. Many of his students were talented people taking interest in economics. Tohmatsu took an interest for accounting. He qualified as a certified public accountant at the age of 57. After that he became president of the Japanese Institute of CPAs. At that time Japanese government wanted to establish national audit firms. Tohmatsu, together with one his student decided to respond to the challenge. So in 1968, Tohmatsu and Co was incorporated. From the very beginning this company was internationally focused. It was not surprising, that it merged with another globally focused company Deloitte Touch.

Today Deloitte Touch Tohmatsu is one if the largest auditing companies of the world. It provides their clients with efficient consultative services wherever they are.