Multidisciplinary practices are probably an inevitable development. Clients want “onestop shopping,” at a professional firm where they can go for all their needs, and where the partner responsible for their work can keep them briefed on new services that might be worth using. New services offered currently include the following:

• Legal services

• Actuarial services

• Engineering services

• Investment services

• Risk assessment services

• Ethics and integrity services These new services, particularly in the area of legal services, have raised a high degree of controversy among existing accounting partners. Trevor, an older partner, and Dhana, a new and younger partner, were deep in discussion about the problems and benefits the new organization would bring.

“Trev, I don’t really see what your problem is. We’re going to be more helpful to our clients—that’s the bottom line, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so, D, but all these new services bring their own professionals. Are lawyers or engineers going to set aside their codes of conduct to live by ours? Whom do they report to—I don’t have enough legal expertise or engineering expertise to supervise them, so how can I ensure they live up to our accounting standards of service and quality? Aren’t I going to be holding myself out as their supervisor on false pretenses? If anything goes wrong, won’t we be sued?

“Another thing, D, as the proportion of our operations from these new services grows, won’t the entire firm take on a client focus just like any other business? As professional accountants, we are supposed to be serving the public—that’s what keeps us from fudging the figures and our audit reports to benefit current management and current shareholders. Do you think that all these new professionals will buy into a ‘public’ focus rather than a ‘client’

focus where the bottom line drives decisions?

How would we go about keeping them on the straight and narrow, even if we got them on it in the first place?”

“Trev, you sure do have a lot of worries.

How close are you to retirement? Well, I just had a call from our CEO, Hajjad. He wants me to think about taking over our Ethics and Integrity practice. Say—you don’t have anything I could read up on in that area, do you?”

Question:-

1. What are your answers to the questions raised in the case?