Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (also branded as Deloitte) is one of the largest professional services firm in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG.

According to the firm's website as of 2008, Deloitte has approximately 165,000 professionals at work in 140 countries, delivering audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is a Swiss Verein, a membership organization under the Swiss Civil Code whereby each member firm is a separate and independent legal entity. Its global headquarters are located in New York City, New York. European headquarters are located in London.

Early history

In 1845 William Welch Deloitte opened an office in Basinghall Street in London: he was the first person to be appointed an independent auditor of a public company.Deloitte history He went on to open an office in New York in 1880.

In 1895 Charles Waldo Haskins and Eijah Watt Sells formed Haskins & Sells in New York.

In 1898 George Touche established an office in London and then in 1900 joined John Ballantine Niven in establishing the firm of Touche Niven in the Johnston Building at 30 Broad Street in New York. At the time, there were fewer than 500 CPAs practicing in the United States, but the new era of income taxes was soon to generate enormous demand for accounting professionals.

1930s

On April 1, 1933, Colonel Arthur Hazelton Carter, President of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and Managing Partner of Haskins & Sells, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking and Currency. Carter helped convince Congress that independent audits should be mandatory for public traded corporations.

1940s

The 1950s

In 1952 Deloitte merged with Haskins & Sells to form Deloitte, Haskins & Sells.

The 1960s

In 1968 Nobuzo Tohmatsu formed Tohmatsu Awoki & Co, a firm based in Japan that was to become part of the Touche Ross network in 1975.

The 1970s

In 1972 Robert Trueblood, Chairman of Touche Ross, led the committee responsible for recommending the establishment of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. He led the expansion of Touche Ross in that era.

The 1980s

In 1982, David Moxley and W. Grant Gregory became the leaders at Touche Ross. In 1985, Edward A. Kangas, a management consultant, was appointed managing partner of Touche Ross. In 1984, J. Michael Cook became managing partner of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells.