By Trista Vincent

(October 22 – 15:00 ET) – When
two of the biggest accounting firms
on the planet merged last year,
they faced a big challenge:
merging their corporate cultures.
Celebrating their first
anniversary, PwC chair, David
Smith and CEO, Tom O’Neill
discussed the challenges they
faced at University of Toronto’s
Rotman School of Management
yesterday.

“Although the merger meant
greater access to capital and
client base, it also meant
addressing the key problem of
merging two cultures,” said O’Neill
who stressed the importance of
keeping employees informed
throughout the merger process.
“Two key elements in effective
communication are frequency, and
honesty,” he said, underlining
the necessity of being truthful
with employees in building and
maintaining a shared value
system.

Other challenges will be posed
by e-commerce, they said,
observing that new technology
means increased competition in the
marketplace, as well as increased
competition for talent. “If
you want the best employees, you
have to recognise that they want
to build their careers around
their lives and not vice-versa,”
observed Smith. “If we want to
keep them, we have to create a
culture” that enables them to do
that, he said.

The day-long seminar, “Leading
Organizations into the New Century:
The Psychology of Leadership,”
focused on integrative thinking
strategies and communicating
change in the ever-changing work
environs of the 20th century. Other
guest lecturers included
billionaire Linux dealer, Robert
Young, Red Hat Inc.’s chairman and
CEO, Motorola president,
Micheline Bouchard, and BMO
chief, Anthony Comper.