Abacus Legacy

25 Years of Transforming Business
www.abacus-global.com
Senior Executive Leadership
Asad Ali Khan
Founder & President of Abacus
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 | PAGE 07
DAWN
DEDICATION
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE:
Clients of Abacus with whom the Company has had the opportunity and pleasure to work with
on some of the biggest and most challenging projects;
CHAPTER 2 | PAGE 12
THE ASCENT
CHAPTER 3 | PAGE 15
DEFINING VISION
CHAPTER 4 | PAGE 19
NEW VISTAS
People and key stakeholders of Abacus whose hard work and commitment
has made the Company what it is today;
Strategic Partners of Abacus whose synergistic collaboration has allowed Abacus
to reach new heights of success;
Abacus is forever indebted to all three, and Abacus Legacy Book is a token of its appreciation.
CHAPTER 5 | PAGE 22
CHALLENGE AND TRIUMPH
CHAPTER 6 | PAGE 25
REBIRTH AND METAMORPHOSIS
CHAPTER 7 | PAGE 31
RELENTLESS REINVENTION
PAGE 34
ABACUS TODAY
PAGE 42
THE OLD MAN OF ABACUS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This Legacy Book could not have been compiled without
the guidance, wisdom and patience of Asad Ali Khan, President and Founder of Abacus,
who personally took time out to sit with the team and elaborate on his experiences;
the supervision and editorship of Alliya Haidar, Executive Director,
whose longstanding association with Abacus added depth to the content;
and Bilal Ahmed Khan, Communication Executive,
who had the unique privilege of compiling the history of Abacus in one place.
Page 07 | Chapter 1
reat things often start off small – the story of
Abacus may be summarized in this one line.
For a small startup firm to become the region’s
leading professional services company in
consulting, outsourcing and technology
through nothing but dedication and hard work is a
commendable achievement. To do it in persistently adverse
economic conditions, in a country located in a war torn region
is rather remarkable. And then to become a market leader in
all its respective fields in a mere 25 years is nothing short of
miraculous. Abacus did all of this…and more.
Asad Ali Khan relaxing after a hard day’s work (1988)
The first office of Abacus was a quaint little place (1987)
Late 80s was the time when Pakistan was under a dictatorial
rule. The Soviet-Afghan war was at its peak and its spillover
impact on security as well as the economy was becoming just
too hard to ignore. It was a time when Management
Consulting as a professional service was viewed very
differently; consultants were primarily recognized as agents
who would help secure a loan from the banks at a
‘commission’. Business decisions were taken on whims; every
other person was jumping on the textile-boom bandwagon
inspired by a certain neighbor or a relative who had struck it
rich. Business acumen was getting rusty and outdated as
practices were becoming run of the mill. Planning was a word
that had long lost its meaning.
"Mr. Khan knew that one
day he would have his own
company and it would be
called Abacus"
Mr. and Mrs. Khan on a foriegn visit (1990)
11 –E -1, Gulberg 3, Lahore:
The first address of Abacus (1987)
Qasim Ali Khan with Air Marshall Zafar Chaudhry and Mushtaq Chaudhry at a staff dinner (1990)
It was in these conditions that Asad Ali Khan, the Founder
and President of Abacus, decided to move back to Pakistan so
that his family, especially the children, could feel more
connected to their motherland and roots. The decision to
forsake an established life for personal and patriotic reasons
was labeled nothing short of ‘madness’ by his aides and
friends. Indeed, the idea to leave a settled life and job in the
Middle East, a secure and certain future for him and his family
and the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in
the business world did seem like it had a number of negative
tradeoffs. But Mr. Khan, a graduate in commerce (Honours)
from Hailey College of Commerce and a Fellow Member of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, saw in this
challenge, an opportunity which few people could see at the
time. He saw the vacuum that existed in business management
and planning; he saw the resilience and tenacity of the
Pakistani people that had resulted in economic growth even
under the most difficult circumstances; he saw an imminent
return of democracy in Pakistan and an end to the cold war.
And above all he saw an opportunity to implement his
longtime dream of creating a leading management consulting
firm that could support and transform businesses in an ever
changing environment and strengthen Pakistan’s economy.
The decision had been taken. It was now time to execute it.
The name of the company had also been decided long ago.
While still a student, on his way to Australia, Mr. Khan made
a two-day stopover at Hong Kong, a well-known shoppers’
paradise. In order to encash his travelers’ cheques he headed
for a bank at the airport. There the woman at the counter was
making quick calculations using only a rectangular frame with
beads sliding on wires. Upon inquiring, Mr. Khan discovered
that this simple looking device could be used to find solutions
to the most intricate mathematical problems in a matter of
seconds. With his childhood memories of its simplicity,
effectiveness and results, Mr. Khan knew that one day he
would have his own company and it would be called Abacus.
Mr. Khan sent his family back to Pakistan in September of
1986 to return himself the following year. In the meanwhile, as
per his instructions, his ever supportive wife Zahida Asad
Khan looked for a suitable place for a small office and found a
beautifully constructed quaint little house near Zafar Ali Road
at 11-E, Gulberg III, Lahore. Thus began the implementation
of Mr. Khan’s labour of love.
The house was rented and furnished, and Abacus was
incorporated on May 18, 1987. Business development
commenced the very same day. Soon an office boy was hired to
run small errands and make coffee for the boss, a task
previously performed by his thoughtful wife as she dropped by
on her way. A telex machine, the time’s most commonly used
device for international communication was installed in the
office. Mr. Khan knew that keeping in touch with the world
and staying abreast with the latest global developments would
be crucial for Abacus’ evolution. He also continued his
extensive travels to Europe and the Middle East - to conclude
his pre-Abacus projects, attend global conferences and
seminars and of course promote the newly formed Abacus.
As expected, the business in the early days was slow. But Mr.
Khan had not expected the wait to be so disquieting as the
interim period between assignments stretched to months. Mr.
Khan had now permanently relocated to Pakistan; burnt all
his boats. There was no choice but to persevere and to make
this young venture work. Day after day a determined young
Mr. Khan would come to office sharp at 9 and follow a routine
that was, on the face of it, convenient enough: sip a few cups of
black coffee, read newspapers, meet friends, take phone calls
from far-off associates, then go home early around 4 o’ clock,
spend time with the family and play cricket with the kids. The
prospects for Abacus were beginning to appear bleak.
"He rolled up his sleeves
and embarked upon the
assignment himself"
The consulting landscape in Pakistan was quite unorganized at
the time. It was dominated by accountancy firms and brief-case
consultants. The accountants thought that they had a solution
for every problem. The concept of industry experience or
specialization was non-existent. For instance, HR domain was
eclipsed by administration functions with no recognition of
talent development, performance evaluation or succession
planning. However, Mr. Khan continued to hold a firm belief
that the current situation was untenable and the change was
inevitable. Abacus launched into holding periodical training
workshops for key leaders across industries to create awareness
about global transformation in terms of best practices and
processes and an attempt to influence the behavior of
individuals. But these efforts were not expected to bring about
any quick dividends.
Page 09 | Chapter 1
An old saying suggests that when you really want something, the
whole universe conspires to help you achieve it. As fate would
have it, things took a turn for the better when Mr. Khan was on
a tour to Europe where he met an old Lebanese associate at the
Charles de Gaulle Airport. The person was Mr. Yazbek,
Regional Head of ITT Sheraton Corporation, who told him
that Sheraton was planning on opening a 5-star hotel in Lahore,
and an economic feasibility for the project was required. Mr.
Yazbek remarked that there was “no one better to do this
project” than Mr. Khan due to the number of similar studies he
had conducted earlier for Karachi, Riyadh, Baghdad, Basra and
Bahrain for Horwath & Horwath (now Horwath, Hotel
Tourism and Leisure) – the global leaders in hospitality
consulting. The discussion became serious and before they
parted that day, contact details and assurances had been
exchanged.
Asad Ali Khan with Australian High Commissioner and his wife (1994)
Mr. and Mrs. Khan at an international conference in the US (1991)
"When he was done with the
proposal, Mr. Khan knew he
had created a work of art"
On his return to Lahore, Mr. Khan held discussions with the
local sponsor, Khalifa Saifullah, and signed the contract. The
project involved extensive writing and report generation, so a
stenographer-cum-typist was employed and a latest model
Remington typewriter was purchased for the office. Utilizing
his own experience and working to his own immaculate quality
standards, he rolled up his sleeves and embarked upon the
assignment himself. The project involved heavy research,
analysis and presentations to stakeholders, and was completed
over a period of four months in 1988. The first project of
Abacus had been successfully delivered.
The first Abacus Annual Dinner (1990)
Asad Ali Khan conducted a series of awareness workshops (1990)
At public gatherings, people would inquire from Mr. Khan
about what Abacus did, and he would patiently explain to them
about corporate finance, financial management, business
planning and HR services, and the advantages to gain from
them by business entities. Having spent the better part of his
career abroad, he stayed fully abreast with the latest
technological advancements and developments in the business
world. Being a fan and avid reader of the legendary Peter
Ducker, Mr. Khan also appreciated the value and importance of
HR to the success of entrepreneurship. The only problem was
that people confused HR with ‘Human Rights’. The
unfortunate question of the consultant’s ‘cut’ or ‘commission’
also surfaced from time to time, much to his frustration. Hence
a significant amount of time had to be spent educating clients
on potential value addition through consulting and trying to
change mindsets In many respects, therefore, Abacus may be
credited for pioneering HR consulting in Pakistan, if not
management consulting in its entirety.
secretary was in an unnerved state. According to her some
Americans had come to the office earlier that morning, asked
for him, and in his absence took the liberty of roaming around
the office in various directions and then simply walking out
without saying a word as to who they were and why and
wherefrom they had come. Mr. Khan was left flabbergasted. He
admonished the secretary and assuming that they were next
door Americans who had come there by mistake, decided to
leave the matter at that.
They say that it is only in the darkest of moments that glory is
found; for if there was no darkness, the true value of light could
never have been realized, nor the desire for it understood.
Tenders for projects kept appearing in newspapers and Mr.
Khan kept submitting proposals without fail. Replies and
answers came from time to time and people responded after
seeing the name ‘Asad Ali Khan’ printed on the cover page, but
the lack of track record for the company clearly counted against
him.
"An American voice on the
phone said, “Mr. Khan,
congr atulations, you have
won the contr act!”
One fine morning in 1989, Mr. Khan came across another
tender. It was an assignment that entailed professional
consulting and outsourcing services for a project and work that
was very much his expertise. The party was Ebasco.Aepes.Iteco
(a joint venture of USA companies) working on
USAID-WAPDA Power Distribution Program in Lahore.
Sleeves were rolled up yet again and track of time was
intentionally lost for another time. When he was done with the
proposal, Mr. Khan knew he had created a work of art. As he
took a step back to admire his work, he wondered if there was a
competitor who could develop a remotely comparable technical
proposal. At the same time, however, he also knew that Abacus
possessed no track record at the time and this could pose a
serious disadvantage. Nonetheless, Mr. Khan was open and
transparent and clearly stated in the proposal that whilst
Abacus virtually had no track record but he himself brought a
considerable experience and expertise to the table. And the
proposal was submitted.
Around lunch he received a call - an American voice on the
phone said, “Mr. Khan, congratulations, you have won the
contract!” “Which contract?” a puzzled Asad Ali Khan
inquired. It was then that they mentioned their name, Ebasco
(subsequently acquired by Raytheon), and referred to the same
proposal he had submitted many months ago. The American
asked for contract signing that very afternoon. Mr. Khan rushed
to their office around 3pm, read the terms and conditions over
a cup of coffee, and signed the first large-scale project for Abacus
which was to last for several years.
This was a God-sent opportunity which had been seized and
converted into a significant breakthrough. Mr. Khan knew
there and then that Abacus had arrived.
Gradually, Abacus began to penetrate deeper and win a series of
consulting engagements both in the public and private sectors.
These developments witnessed a sudden surge in capacity
building within Abacus to attain enablement of service delivery.
Hence the resource pool grew to a significant level, along with
the strengthening of internal processes and support services.
Time passed and he nearly forgot about that particular
opportunity. A few months later as he walked in to his office
uncharacteristically at around 10am, he noticed that his
Page 11 | Chapter 1
Chapter: 2
ate eighties and early nineties was the time when
the world was witnessing some massive changes on
the technological and business front. It was a time
of technological advancement, corporate
restructuring, mergers and acquisitions; the world
had started its journey to become a global village. The ‘Big
Eight’ of the audit and consulting world became the ‘Big Six’ in
1989 when Ernst & Whinney merged with Arthur Young to
form Ernst & Young; and Deloitte, Haskins & Sells merged
with Touche Ross to form Deloitte & Touche. In 1990
Coopers & Lybrand (in some major countries) merged with
Deloitte Haskins & Sells to become Coopers & Lybrand
Deloitte which in 1992 was renamed Coopers & Lybrand. In
1991 the World Wide Web had become successfully
operational inside CERN through the efforts of Sir Tim
Berners-Lee, and in 1993 Riku Pihkonen of Nokia had sent
the world’s first SMS between two cell phones. Information
Technology, or Technological Engineering as it was known
back then, was beginning to make a difference in the world; to
what extent it would do so, nobody could dare imagine. This
continuing paradigm shift on the global theater was destined
to have an indelible impact on the evolution of Abacus.
THE ASCENT
Everyone Wants to Live on Top of the Mountain,
But All the Happiness And Growth
Occurs While You're Climbing it.
Andy Rooney
"Abacus embarked upon a
mission that would
facilitate direct interface
with industry leaders"
In pursuit of knowledge on the ongoing global transformation
and its dissemination among Pakistan’s business circles,
Abacus embarked upon a mission that would facilitate direct
interface with the industry leaders. Mr. Khan made frequent
visits to attend international conferences and seminars on the
subject. One such stop was the Woldorf Astoria, a 47-story
luxury hotel in Manhattan, New York. It was here on October
10, 1990 that Mr. Khan met with Paul Batchelor at the World
Congress of Management Consultants. Paul was chairing a
concurrent session on China, and at that time was serving as
Head of Consulting in Europe, and Chairman of the
worldwide consulting business of Coopers & Lybrand. He was
pleasantly surprised to learn that Mr. Khan had also worked
Page 12 | Chapter 2
with Coopers & Lybrand (C&L) for over five years in the
Sydney Office. Upon conclusion of the Congress, both men
met for a cup of tea in the Coffee Shop of Woldorf-Astoria,
exchanged pleasantries and discussed the possibility of
collaboration for Pakistan. Paul requested that it would be
helpful if Mr. Khan could meet with his colleagues in London
on his way back to Pakistan.
back to London without saying a single word on the outcome
of his visit.
Some months later, Mr. Khan received a telephonic call from
Christopher Lowe announcing the decision to admit Abacus
as an associate member of Coopers & Lybrand international
network, and to join hands for consulting work in Pakistan. A
worldwide formal announcement was made in October 1991:
Abacus had gone global.
"A worldwide formal
announcement was made in
October 1991; Abacus had
gone global"
Mr. Khan transited through London and held extensive talks
with Christopher Lowe, Partner and Head of South Asia; and
Alan Barlow, Partner Consulting Group. It was then mutually
agreed to take forward the dialogue with the understanding
that C&L would commission a due diligence exercise of
Abacus as a first step.
Coopers & Lybrand was founded in 1898 and had expanded
rapidly to become one of the world’s largest accounting and
consulting firms with offices around the world. C&L, ranking
3rd among the global ‘Big Six’ firms in 1990, was interested in
expanding into Pakistan for consulting opportunities and
Abacus seemed to provide the perfect platform.
Alan Barlow arrived in Lahore on January 31, 1991 to
undertake the due diligence study. His visit came at a time
when the border tensions between Pakistan and India were at
a high. The fact that Alan came to visit in such perilous times
is a testament to his courage and fearlessness. His resolve was
tested further when Lahore was jolted by an earthquake the
same night and Alan had to seek shelter under the bed in his
room at the top floor of Intercontinental Hotel and then run
down the staircase, through to the lobby, in his pajamas.
Alan spent several days discussing Abacus’ mission and
philosophy, reviewing project files, corporate documents and
financial statements, meeting with several clients and people
of good standing in the business community. And then he flew
Page 13 | Chapter 2
Chapter: 3
Christopher Lowe visiting Abacus Office in Lahore (1995)
Asad Ali Khan and Paul Batchelor met at Woldorf-Astoria, New York City (1990)
Defining Vision
“In business, three things are necessary: knowledge,
temper, and time.”
Owen Felltham
C&L International Partners Conference, Frankfurt (1994)
Abacus conducted a series of workshops across Pakistan (1992)
Page 15 | Chapter 3
Ismail Bhayat in action (1995)
Asad Ali Khan at an Abacus Workshop with State Minister of Finance Makhdoom Shahabuddin (1994)
n the 1990s, the style of running local businesses
in Pakistan bore little resemblance to the best
practices that were being exercised at the global
level, where relentless forces of change were
constantly at work altering the business
landscape. Technology changes of that time were
defying one’s imagination. A huge gap was visible
between local and international business standards.
However, it was only a matter of time before profound
changes began to occur across the industry and commerce
in Pakistan as well.
with rich experience and exposure to the best global
practices. Abacus spent a considerable amount of time in
identifying and recruiting the right leaders, understanding
their value as the true assets. To keep up with the space
constraints due to growing human resource, the adjacent
identical house that had recently been vacated by an
American firm was also acquired on rent. Once on board,
Mr. Khan encouraged the new team members to develop
go-to-market strategic plans. A very strict value system with
the highest form of integrity and ethical framework was
inculcated into Abacus culture right from the outset.
"No-one else in Pakistan
had yet dared tread such
risky paths"
"A very strict value system with
the highest form of integrity and
ethical fr amework was
inculcated into Abacus, right
from the outset"
Staying at the forefront of change was always going to be an
arduous challenge. If Abacus as a firm had to make a
substantial impact and play its part in local and global
transformation, it was certain that this could not be done
without first becoming a leading knowledge-based
professional services firm – the only route to bringing a
tangible and insightful change. Without this knowledge
and understanding of fast-changing landscape and business
environment, it would be practically impossible to capture
the key perspective, stimulate the thought-process and
debate about complex business issues facing prospective
clients with the aim of resolving them.
Abacus set out to re-align its organizational structure with
the global approach. At the time of its birth, there existed
only one practice area, Corporate Finance and Business
Consulting. In 1992, two new independent verticals were
created, namely, Human Resource Consulting and
Information Technology Consulting. It was a defining
moment in the business landscape of the country; no-one
else in Pakistan had yet dared tread such risky paths,
automatically elevating Abacus to the level of an industry
pioneer.
President Farooq Leghari at Abacus booth,UNIDO Exhibition (1995)
Abacus workshops were attended by senior government officials and industry leaders (1994)
Abacus was fully cognizant of the fact that investments
would be required to build a team of highly skilled leaders
However, the pick of the finest available minds at Abacus
was proving to be an expensive decision at this early
juncture in Abacus’ lifecycle, as changing the client mindset
regarding consulting was a rather slow process. Having the
key leaders in place did not imply an immediate
transformation of business culture in Pakistan. Many
people could not see the value in human capital
management and could not understand the logic behind
information technology beyond revamping their financial
and inventory systems. Lack of availability of off-the-shelf
ERP solutions in Pakistan at the time also made the
marketing task difficult. Abacus persisted and, in 1992,
moved on to set up an in-house IT laboratory to develop
bespoke integrated IT solutions across the supply chain.
It is through challenges and disappointments that one gains
the most clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and the
desire to move forward despite the obstacles. Soon after
becoming a network firm of C&L, in 1992, Abacus
identified a potential telecom privatization opportunity. A
consortium was formed to bid for financial advisory, led by
C&L. Asad Ali Khan from Abacus and Stuart Macintosh,
Head of Telecom, from C&L London Office, delivered a
"The win made headlines within
the Coopers & Lybr and network,
establishing the credentials of
Abacus as a firm in South Asia with
capacity to support large-scale
and specialized consulting
opportunities"
series of presentations to the Privatization Commission in
Islamabad. It was a high profile opportunity with several
international firms including investment banks vying for
the project. The competition was intense. The
C&L–Abacus Consortium made it to the top and ended up
winning the race. The win made headlines within the
Coopers & Lybrand network, establishing the credentials
of Abacus as a firm in South Asia with capacity to support
large-scale and specialized consulting opportunities.
The world was increasingly becoming quality conscious and
it was apparent that Pakistan’s indigenous products were
not keeping up with quality standards. Abacus seized this
opportunity and established a new business vertical titled
“Environmental & Quality Consulting Services” in 1994
followed by a series of workshops across Pakistan on the
impact on exports from Pakistan after the unification of
Europe. These workshops were supported by European
Commission with a focus on major export sectors. The
purpose was to provide an atmosphere to discuss problems
and ways with businessmen and industrialists to improve
exports with special focus on transformation and designing
of various systems and processes according to the
requirements laid down in ISO and Environment Quality
Management Standards (QMS). Over the years to follow,
almost every exporting business house in the country had
no choice but to adopt the QMS. Once again, Abacus was
at the forefront of this transformation.
More new opportunities emerged for Abacus with a sudden
surge in demand for financial management systems and
business process reengineering activities, which prompted
Abacus to launch yet another vertical “Financial
Management & System Consulting Services” in 1994.
Page 17 | Chapter 3
Muhammad Aamer Chaudhry, Chartered Accountant,
England & Wales, had just returned from London after
spending several years with KPMG. He was inducted to
spearhead the newly formed vertical.
In the same year, Alliya Haidar with an MBA in Corporate
Finance and Marketing Strategy from Lahore University of
Management Sciences (LUMS) joined Abacus in the
restructured Corporate Finance Consulting Services area.
"Abacus continued to make
strides by winning large-scale
consulting opportunities in
collabor ation with C&L"
Chapter: 4
Meanwhile, Abacus continued to make strides by winning
large-scale consulting opportunities in conjunction with C&L,
funded by bilateral and multilateral institutions such as the
World Bank, DFID, European Commission, CIDA, UNIDO
among others. Some major examples include the Project to
Improve Financial Reporting and Auditing (PIFRA); Sales Tax
Reform Project for the Federal Revenue Authority; and System
Retransformation at the Saudi Telecom Company in Saudi
Arabia. Abacus remained at the forefront in successfully
formulating and implementing these reforms at these projects
for over several years. The new and innovative business fields
that Abacus had introduced, previously ignored by the
business community, now began to win projects and deliver
results.
New Vistas
“We all live under the same sky, but we don't
all have the same horizon”
Konr ad Adenauer
Also in 1994, C&L International Abacus sought assistance
to extend the scope of relationship to audit, tax and
advisory services. Asad Ali Khan & Co, a duly licensed firm
by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan,
already existed with an office at the Cricket House Building
in Lahore. A fresh strategic plan was drawn up and agreed
with C&L to set up a new firm in the name and style of
Coopers & Lybrand & Co in Pakistan with Christopher Lowe
and Asad Ali Khan as partners in the new firm. Subsequently,
in an attempt to rationalize the network, merger talks occurred
and it was decided to merge Asad Ali Khan & Co into
Coopers & Lybrand & Co, culminating into one
audit/accountancy firm in Pakistan. Mr. Asad Ali Khan was
appointed as the Chairman and Senior Partner of the firm.
Under the arrangements, Ismail Bhayat, Chartered
Accountant (England & Wales), was seconded to Pakistan by
C&L from its London Office. He arrived in Karachi in
September 1994 to start a new office from scratch and
commence practice. The primary role assigned to Ismail was to
build, establish and strengthen the institutional capacity for
assurance, audit, tax and business advisory practice in
Pakistan.
Page 18 | Chapter 3
Page 19 | Chapter 4
C&L Partners’ Conference, Brussels (1996)
Pakistan Navy Dockyard – Quality Management project completion (1998)
PwC Consulting MEP meeting in progress at Abacus House (2000)
Beijing- Paris Car Rally - John Stuttard, Chairman C&L China,
with his vintage Rolls Royce in Lahore (1997)
ate nineties were witness to several new forces
of change as they began to emerge on the global
scene, shaping the future of business, and soon
became profoundly influential. One could feel
that the business world was at the brink of
being swept by epic change. Mergers, acquisitions,
globalization, deregulation, unbundling and ring-fencing
processes spurred up all around. Industries were dissolving
and re-forming before our eyes, and technology continued to
grow and develop in an exponential manner. These were
compelling realities altering the profile of the real world.
training and succession perspectives and streamlining the
finance and admin functions. Syed Ali Shaukat, one of the
senior most consultants of Abacus working in the Corporate
Finance Practice Area , was designated to head the Finance
Department as Chief Finance Officer.
"Mergers, acquisitions,
globalization, deregulation,
unbundling and ring-fencing
processes spurred up all
around"
In September 1997, the corporate world suddenly heard the
news of a mega-merger. Coopers & Lybrand and Price
Waterhouse announced plans to merge, creating the world’s
largest international firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
This reduced the ‘Big Six’ to ‘Big Five’, dwarfing the then
current leaders Andersen Worldwide by more than USD 2
billion in global revenue. In terms of fee ranking, C&L was
ranked ahead of Price Waterhouse by almost USD 3 billion.
The merger went through the regulatory approval process and
successfully concluded by the end of 1998.
The new office building was a modern, state of the art facility (1999)
C&L International Partners Conference, Frankfurt (1997)
Internet was rapidly becoming a public commodity and
e-business was starting to be taken as a new, innovative but
serious way for earning money. Google, Amazon, eBay and
Yahoo! had all been established, ensuring themselves the first
mover’s advantage. The ‘dotcom bubble’ was beginning to
expand. All these developments reinforced the need for a
knowledge economy. The new freedom and empowerment
that was granted by technology to consumers, employees,
corporations and entrepreneurs brought about a revolution in
the ways and means of doing business. Talent, as a result, was
beginning to find its worth; it became abundantly clear that
victory will no longer be simply the right of corporations that
could write the largest paychecks.
With due recognition to the significance of human capital
management, another key HR specialist resource, Fatima
Asad-Said, with an MBA degree in Human Resource, Finance
and Management from LUMS was engaged and inducted into
the HCM vertical in 1997.
Abacus House, 4 Noon Avenue, became the new Head Office (1999)
In the meantime, Coopers & Lybrand & Co, the audit and
accounting arm of Abacus, continued to grow at an
exponential rate. From a small base with one office and two
partners in 1994 to a leading firm in the country with offices
in all major cities of the country, five partners and 300 staff,
in a span of less than five years was no mean feat.
Abacus Annual Staff Dinner (1997)
Abacus recognized the fact that in a professional services firm
the most important assets are its people. So, it went about in
further strengthening its internal HR policies from retention,
"Abacus, now PwC Consulting,
was oper ationally integr ated
into the sub-theatre MEP, an
integr al part of the EMEA
Theater"
In Pakistan, the merger formalities were also initiated and
completed by June 2000. Consequently, Abacus’ audit and
accountancy arm ‘Coopers & Lybrand & Co’ was merged with
A. F. Ferguson & Co. (the member firm of Price Waterhouse
in Pakistan). Abacus being the consulting arm of
PricewaterhouseCoopers, now PwC Consulting, was
operationally integrated into the sub-theatre called MEP
(Middle East Pakistan). an integral part of the EMEA
Theater comprising Europe, Middle East and Africa.
"Abacus consultants left a
vivid impression of their
excellent performance in all
professional disciplines"
With the rapid growth and expansion in business, Abacus felt
a dire need for additional customized office space compatible
with its requirements and image. So in 1997, work commenced
on the rebuilding and renovation of a centrally located
commercial building at 4-Noon Avenue, Main Canal, Lahore.
The Abacus family moved into their new state-of-the-art,
impeccably furnished office in March of 1999. The new
office boasted over 200 work stations, 12 office rooms,
meeting rooms, a massive library, conference and training
rooms equipped with the latest technology, and allied
supporting facilities. However, by 2006 this office too would
run critically short of space and gradually two more offices and
a training academy would be established in Lahore alone.
In April 2000, Abbas Ali Khan, Chartered Accountant
(England & Wales) with a Bachelor Degree in Computer
Sciences from Oxford University, based in London with PwC,
was seconded and inducted into Abacus’ business vertical of
Information Technology Consulting Services.
With the operational integration into the MEP Region of PwC
Consulting, Abacus’ key leaders and other resources were
inducted not only into key leadership positions but also began
to be deployed on projects across the Middle East. Abacus’
Consultants left a vivid impression of their excellent
performance in all professional disciplines, and Abacus was
being widely recognized as a formidable arm of MEP.
Page 21 | Chapter 4
Chapter: 5
he new millennium saw some of history’s
biggest accounting scandals that redefined
consulting and audit parameters for the entire
world. Enron Corporation, an American
energy giant that claimed revenues of nearly
USD 101 billion during 2000, employed approximately 20,000
staff and was awarded ‘America's Most Innovative Company’
for six consecutive years by Fortune Magazine, filed for
bankruptcy. This was following the unearthing of a massive
accounting scandal in late 2001, which revealed that Enron’s
financial condition had been systematically misreported
through a creatively planned accounting fraud by Arthur
Anderson, one of the famed ‘Big Five’ who were giving Enron
audit as well as consulting services. Enron was attributed as the
world’s biggest audit failure of the time until WorldCom’s
bankruptcy in July 2002 (also involving Arthur Anderson).
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated
an investigation. Enron crisis raised the concerns whether
auditors are sufficiently independent of their clients if their
firms were at the same time also providing those same clients
with costly advice.
Challenge and Triumph
“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a cour ageous choice”
Peter Drucker
"The Sarbanes-Oxley Act
turned out to be an
enormous game-changer"
The scandals led to the eventual dissolution of Arthur Anderson
and a radical change in the regulatory framework.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in July 2002 restricting public
accounting firms from providing consulting services to their
audit clients. The new legislation also increased the
accountability of auditing companies to remain unbiased and
independent of their clients.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act turned out to be an enormous
game-changer, dramatically affecting the accounting and
consulting professions and impacting the largest accounting
firms. The Act stipulated several services that would be
"unlawful" if provided to a publicly held company by its auditor,
including information systems design/implementation,
appraisals or valuation services, management and human
resources services, and so forth.
Page 22 | Chapter 5
"Realizing that it is the
choices we make that define
our destiny, Abacus took the
final decision not to go with
the sale"
By this time, however, most global accounting firms, including
PwC, had separated their consulting arms from their audit
divisions in an attempt to restore confidence. PwC announced
in June 2002 that its consulting arm that had been spun off
and demerged as PwC Consulting, would be re-branded as
'Monday’ ahead of an Initial Public Offering. But then only a
month later in July 2002, ‘Monday’ plans were dropped and it
was announced that IBM would acquire PwC’s global business
consulting and technology services unit for a bargain price of
USD 3.5 billion in cash and stock. Ironically, only two years
earlier, Hewlett-Packard had been in talks to acquire PwC
Consulting in a cash and stock deal worth USD 17+ billion but
the deal could not be consummated.
diversified and went far beyond the technology and integration
services offered by IBM. Thirdly, Abacus consulting business
model was much more aligned to and compatible with the
local market conditions.
Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not
something to wait for, but something to be seized. Abacus had
a hard choice to make. Realizing that it is the choices we make
that define our destiny, Abacus took the final decision not to
go with the sale. PwC was disappointed, so was IBM who
thought that Abacus was a prize-catch within the MEP region.
Subsequently, IBM recruited almost the entire key IT staff of
Abacus. This was a major set-back for Abacus. At the time,
Abacus had only one office in Lahore and was left with a
consulting staff of about 40 people. Abacus restored its name
from PwC Consulting to Abacus Consulting in October 2003.
Sale of PwC Consulting worldwide to IBM, of course, implied
Abacus’ sale as well. However, Pakistan was one of the very few
countries within the PwC network where the stocks were still
held by the local equity partners. Hence, Abacus had a choice
of going with IBM or going independent.
"Abacus restored its name from
PwC Consulting to Abacus
Consulting in October 2003"
These were testing times for Abacus. Abacus’ key leaders put
their heads together and spent several days in evaluating both
the options with their pros and cons. External forces and
pressures from PwC began to mount, cautioning that Abacus
may not be able to sustain itself if it did not go with the sale.
On the other hand, there were apprehensions on the part of
Abacus’ key leaders as to IBM’s potential conflict between
hardware activities and consulting services. Secondly, IBM was
specifically focused on technology and system integration
areas, whereas the portfolio of Abacus was much more
Page 23 | Chapter 5
Chapter: 6
Rebirth and Metamorphosis
“The strong survive, but the cour ageous triumph”
Michael Scott
Abacus senior leadership taking part in a capacity building conference, Islamabad (2002)
ITCN Asia, Expo Center, Karachi (2001)
Triumph after challenge (2003)
With Finance Minister Dr. Salman Shah, and President SAP South East Asia Eric MacDonald (2006)
Despite testing times, Abacus kept true to its aim of transforming businesses (2002)
Abacus restored its name from PwC Consulting to Abacus Consulting (2003)
Page 25 | Chapter 6