Partners Want to Spin Off Andersen Unit

Partners of Andersen Consulting, the world’s largest business consulting group, have voted overwhelmingly in favor of breaking from parent company Andersen Worldwide. More than 1,000 partners voted to request an arbiter to resolve disputes with Andersen Worldwide and its accounting unit, Arthur Andersen. The move caps a bitter rift between the firm’s accounting and consulting partners. For the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, Andersen Consulting posted worldwide revenue of $6.1 billion, a 25% increase from the previous year. A succession of attempts to resolve the differences, including a meeting with George T. Shaheen, CEO of San Francisco-based Andersen Consulting; Arthur Andersen Manager Partner Jim Wadia; and Andersen Worldwide Chief Executive W. Robert Grafton, were unsuccessful, the consulting firm said.