Good Management

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal has an account of what reporter David Reilly calls the "near-death experience" of KPMG as the firm faced accusations of selling illegal tax shelters. How Chairman Timothy Flynn led the firm, it appears successfully, through the legal and business fallout shows a good manager at work. Among other tidbits:

To calm partners, he personally reached out to hundreds of them, often singling out younger ones. Michael R. Gervasio, a young tax partner in Chicago, says he was impressed as much by Mr. Flynn's persistence as by what he said. Mr. Flynn phoned eight times over two days before finally connecting with Mr. Gervasio at home at 10 one night. 'We really want you to stay,' Mr. Gervasio recalls being told. He did.

How a Chastened KPMG Got By Tax-Shelter Crisis [WSJ - $]