Grant Thornton history

In 1929, mass panic and subsequent heavy selling led to the sudden, catastrophic collapse of United States stock prices on what became known as “Black Tuesday,” heralding the start of the worldwide Great Depression.

In 1934, the Securities Exchange Act passed, which established the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Despite the untimely passing of Grant in 1938, Alexander Grant & Co. continued to grow nationally under the guidance of several dynamic and innovative chief executive officers.

Lou Kessler joined the firm in 1946 to head the profession’s first independent review department.

In 1955, Jack Goedert and Joe Sullivan became co-executive partners.

Meanwhile in 1959 in the United Kingdom, two regional accounting firms, Thornton & Thornton of Oxford and Baker & Co. of Leicester and Northampton, merged to form Thornton Baker.

In 1961, the company established its national office in Chicago and earned net revenue of more than $5 million.

In 1969, Alexander Grant & Co. merged with companies from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom to form an organization called Alexander Grant Tansley Witt.

Marilyn Nemec was named the first female partner in 1973.

Net revenue exceeded $50 million in 1974.

In 1979 the accounting firm began an annual study that ranked the 50 states according to their "manufacturing climates." Based on polls of state manufacturing associations, Grant rated the states according to 18 factors such as taxes, qualified workforce, and state disbursements for highways.

Grant Thornton International was established in 1980 as a new international accounting firm, a union of leading national firms in the world’s more important trading countries.

Growth, Unrest, and Change: 1985-90

Alexander Grant & Co. and Thornton Baker changed names to Grant Thornton in 1986.

McDonnell was a 30-year Grant Thornton employee and had been the youngest ever U.K. national managing partner when he acquired that post in 1989.

That same year, a new executive partner, Robert E. Nason, was appointed to "help Grant consolidate gains that have been made after [the] scandal four years ago," said Lee Berton on February 14, 1990, for the Wall Street Journal.

The firm became a limited liability partnership in 1995.

In 1997, after international trade barriers were lowered, Grant Thornton established international business centers in four major United States cities.

The centers helped "small to mid-sized companies to develop business relationships in emerging markets around the world," said Caitlin Kelly for Accounting Today in January 1998.

In 1999, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP approached Grant Thornton with merger talks, but eventually the two companies decided not to merge.

In June 2000 Grant Thornton pulled out of a different kind of merger.

In March 2001 the firm's executive committee asked CEO Domenick Esposito to resign because of disagreements about the direction of the firm.

In 2004, Women at Grant Thornton was established to enhance the recruitment, retention and advancement of women into leadership positions, and the firm’s Phoenix office opened.

Working Mother magazine named Grant Thornton for the first time in 2006 as one of the 100 Best Companies for its commitment to progressive workplace programs, including child care, flexibility, advancement and paid family leave.

Net revenue exceeded $1 billion in 2007.

Stephen M. Chipman was named chief executive officer in 2009.

2010 Dodd-Frank Act enacted broad reforms for the United States financial services industry.

In 2011, Grant Thornton acquired experienced audit, tax and advisory professionals from LECG, Huron Consulting, and CCR in Boston.

The firm announced record net revenue of $1.212 billion in 2012.

In 2013, Grant Thornton acquired MarketSphere’s Oracle Solutions business unit.

In June 2014, Grant Thornton announced J. Michael McGuire as the firm's chief executive officer.

As of 2019, Grant Thornton was the sixth largest accounting firm in the United States and had 59 offices with more than 550 partners and 7,000 employees. Its revenue for fiscal year 2018 was $1.7 billion.

In August 2019, Brad Preber assumed CEO duties of the firm.

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