Surprise upset

After the initial hiccups, the takeover of Ratan S Mama’s (RSM) audit business by PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC) was sealed. But the integration of the two outfits continues to be tumultuous. For instance, the election to the post of PWC’s Senior Partner initially ended in a tie, although Deepak Kapoor was tipped to be the winner. Of the 98 votes cast then, 49 each favoured Ramesh Ranjan and Kapoor. The re-poll was a bigger surprise, because Ramesh Ranjan won by five votes.

The soft spoken Ranjan is highly regarded and handles some of PWC’s most prestigious clients in the Assurance and Audit practice. Sources say that there may be several important movements in and out of PWC before things settle down. For starters, two partners from New York will be posted in India. Of these, Bob Wright is already in Mumbai. There is also talk of some senior PWC partners exploring greener pastures with other big audit firms.