RSM Robson Rhodes LLP was a
partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...
of
chartered accountants in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It was the UK member firm of
RSM Global
RSM International, branded RSM since 2015, is a multinational network of accounting firms forming the sixth-largest accountancy professional services network in the world by revenue. RSM's member firms are independent accounting and advisory b ...
, the 6th largest network of professional
accountancy
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...
firms in the world. With offices throughout the UK and Ireland, the firm offered auditing, consultancy and tax services to a wide variety of organisations in the private and public sectors.
Robson Rhodes was the 12th largest accountancy firm in the UK, with revenues of £85.5 million for the year ending 30 April 2006, and average revenue per partner of £1.007 million. However, despite the size of its turnover the firm was loss-making (£3.8m loss in 2006), and heavily in debt (£45m including partner debts). It became a part of
Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton is the world's seventh-largest by revenue and sixth-largest by number of employees professional services networks, professional services network of independent accounting and Management consulting, consulting member firms which ...
on 1 July 2007.
Robson Rhodes was founded in 1927 by
Sir Lawrence Robson.
[ROBSON, Sir Lawrence (William)]
, ''Who Was Who
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to ...
''
Mergers
In 2006, RSM Robson Rhodes announced that it was to merge with the US firm of RSM International, RSM McGladrey. However, delays in completing the deal due to financial problems at
H&R Block
H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch.
As of 2018, H&R Block operates approxima ...
, the company which owned RSM McGladrey, led RSM Robson Rhodes to terminate the deal. Prior to this, Robson Rhodes had sought other mergers including unsuccessful talks with the UK arm of
Mazars
Mazars is a global audit, accounting and consulting group employing more than 42,000 professionals in more than 90 countries through member firms. With head offices in France, Mazars has a network of correspondent partners and joint ventures in ...
.
On 29 April 2007, the partners of Robson Rhodes announced that they were to merge with Grant Thornton UK LLP, the UK firm of Grant Thornton International, then the sixth largest accountancy firm in the UK. The merged entity uses the Grant Thornton brand and Robson Rhodes no longer exists as a separate name. The deal was completed on 1 July 2007.
"Auditors join forces to take on Big Four"
''Daily Telegraph'', 28 April 2007
Locations
RSM Robson Rhodes had 10 offices in the UK and Ireland:
* Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...
* Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
* Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
* Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...
* Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
* Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
* Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a n ...
* Leeds
Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
* London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
(Head Office)
* Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
Following the merger with Grant Thornton, the Dublin office transferred to Grant Thornton Ireland.
Many of the offices have now been closed and merged with Grant Thornton offices. The exception has been the London head office in Finsbury Square and the Hemel Hempstead office.
References
External links
Article on RSM Robson Rhodes Business Consulting
''Consulting Times''
The Silent Scream of the Unloved Customer
BBC News feature
The Silent Scream of the Unloved Customer
2004 report by RR
{{Authority control
Defunct accounting firms of the United Kingdom
Consulting firms established in 1927
Companies disestablished in 2007
RSM International
1927 establishments in England
2007 disestablishments in England