Doing well & doing good

ALMOST four decades ago, in his last year of high school and wondering what to study at college, a young Robert Moritz decided on accounting.

"The interest was probably more financial-based than anything else", today's global chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) admits with a grin. "I read a story where partners made US$90,000 a year and I thought that was great."

Similarly pragmatic reasons lay behind his choice of employer upon graduation in 1985. Though he also had an offer from IBM, he turned it down in favour of a role at a firm - then Price Waterhouse - that seemed to open more doors. "For me, at that age, it was all about: 'What immediate job opportunity will I take that will give me more options and opportunity later?'" he recalls. "The thought process I had was to come in, to get experience, to pass the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam, to get certified, and then actually go off and do other things. "That clearly did not work for me," he quips, 34 years later. "I've stayed ever since."