History of PWC

History and milestones

PricewaterhouseCoopers (now PwC), formed in 1998 from a merger between Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand, has a history in client services that dates back to the nineteenth century. Both accounting firms originated in London during the mid 1800s. Today, PwC serves 26 industries. Their industry-focused services in the fields of assurance, tax, human resources, transactions, performance improvement and crisis management have helped resolve complex client and stakeholder issues worldwide. They also bring their expertise and talents to help educational institutions, the federal government, non-profits, and international relief agencies address their unique business issues.

Set out below are some key milestones in the history of both firms.

• 1849 – Samuel Lowell Price sets up in business in London.
• 1854 – William Cooper establishes his own practice in London, which seven years later becomes Cooper Brothers.
• 1865 – Price, Holyland and Waterhouse join forces in partnership 1874 Name changes to Price, Waterhouse & Co. 
• 1898 – Robert H. Montgomery, William M. Lybrand, Adam A. Ross Jr. and his brother T. Edward Ross form Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery.
• 1957 – Cooper Brothers & Co (UK), McDonald, Currie and Co (Canada) and Lybrand, Ross Bros & Montgomery (US) merge to form Coopers & Lybrand. 
• 1982 – Price Waterhouse World Firm formed. 
• 1990 – Coopers & Lybrand merges with Deloitte Haskins & Sells in a number of countries around the world. 
• 1998 – Worldwide merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand to create PricewaterhouseCoopers.
• 2002 – PricewaterhouseCoopers' partners approve sale of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting to IBM. 
• 2004 – PricewaterhouseCoopers implements the Connected Thinking methodology. 
• 2010 - PricewaterhouseCoopers formally shortened its brand name to PwC. "PricewaterhouseCoopers" remains the full name of the global organisation for legal purposes, and will be the name used by PwC firms to sign company audits.

Awards

PwC attracts top talent—including business students and experienced professionals—from around the world. The commitment to diversity, worklife flexibility, career coaching, and training makes this firm one of the best places to work, learn and excel. Here are some of the ways in which PwC has been awarded and recognized recently:

• Named one of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2005-2011".
• Ranked #1 on Training's "Top 125" list in 2008, 2009, and 2010; inducted into Training Top 10 Hall of Fame 2011.
• Received Gold Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award 2011: Best Use of Blended Learning
• PwC ranked #4 world's "Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises" in the 2010 Global MAKE study
• Ranked #2 on BusinessWeek's "Best Places to Intern" list in 2008.
• Ranked #3 on BusinessWeek's "Best Places to Launch a Career" list in 2008 and 2009.
• Received PR News Corporate Social Responsibility Awards in two categories in 2009: Diversity Communications and Human Rights.
• Received a 100% rating with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index in 2006-2011.
• Recipient of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's (ESGR) Seven Seals Award
• Recognized by G.I. Jobs as one of the 2012 Top Military Friendly Employers^®