Time portal
Journey through time and around the world as you learn about Deloitte’s impact to talent, society and clients over the last 175 years.
The Lincoln proclamation
In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln chose Elijah Sells—father of Elijah W. Sells, an important figure in Deloitte’s history—to be third auditor of the Treasury of the United States. The Lincoln Proclamation, which records Lincoln’s decision for posterity, has become a treasured part of Deloitte’s history.
A Role Model Founder: Empowering Lives for Generations
For four decades, founder William Welch Deloitte made his home in Southall, a town 40 miles west of his office in central London. He built strong ties to the local community, and helped fund the construction of his community church in 1890. “His works do follow him” are the iconic words written in Deloitte’s honor on a commemorative plaque outside of Holy Trinity Church today.
Deloitte’s generosity extended further when, in 1897, he donated the land and funds to create homes for the poor in Southall. Deloitte’s Almshouses, which were built during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, remain a living testament to Deloitte’s charitable spirit.
Today, Southall is a diverse, largely South Asian community known as Little India, with railway station signs in both English and Gurmukhi. The church and Almshouses are still standing today, a persistent reminder of Deloitte’s commitment to his community.
The dot is born
When it was introduced in 2003, the Green Dot was restricted to punctuating Deloitte’s new wordmark logo. But in 2009, it found greater prominence as part of an advertising campaign in which the Dot showed the way forward: as a doorknob opening onto a new opportunity, a sun emerging from behind a cloud, and other roles.
Developing future leaders
Deloitte LLP’s Emerging Leaders Development Program (ELDP) prepares diverse, high-performing managers for the next stage in their careers. In addition to an intensive curriculum and a suite of digital self-assessment tools, ELDP pairs each participant with a senior mentor who advises the participant for at least two years.
A progressive leader
“Europeans and natives alike are integral parts of our South African nation—the better we all understand one another, the greater is the hope for a peaceful and prosperous South Africa. The future progress of South Africa is inseparably bound up with the economic prosperity of all sections of our South African population.” Howard Pim, founder, Howard Pim & Hardy, 1905.
Arrival in St. Petersburg
When Deloitte, Plender, Griffiths & Co. opened an office in St. Petersburg in 1913, Russian law banned the use of a deceased partner’s name in a firm’s name. The Russian offices of Deloitte thus operated under the name Plender, Griffiths, Wyatt & Co. until they were forced to close after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
The power of an idea
“The development of Auditape by Haskins & Sells underscores our Firm’s belief that in order to meet the challenge of an expanding tomorrow we must be willing to pioneer in exploring the power of an idea. . . . Without this spirit, the moon would still be a distant satellite—and not a suburb of the world.” Roy Lampe, business and industrial writer, Haskins & Sells, 1970.
Ready for the Fourth
Technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are helping spur massive growth for Deloitte. Deloitte Omnia, a cloud-based AI platform, helped drive more than US $1 billion in global investments from 2013 to 2018 in the Audit & Assurance practice area.
Growth in the Middle East
“The auditor’s profession was hardly known [in the 1920s] in the Arab world. . . . I did persevere, like any pioneer, with the result that in each year the practice grew within the framework of true professional principles . . . independence, professional knowledge and integrity.” Fuad Saba, founder of Saba & Co., 1971.
Cutting edge connections
You might not think a Formula 1 auto racing team has much to offer clients outside of the track, but Deloitte’s UK team has worked with McLaren Applied Technologies to bring cutting-edge sensor, simulation, predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to bear on data-driven businesses.
The first and second revolutions
When William Welch Deloitte founded Deloitte & Co. in 1845, railroad and steam technologies had already greatly transformed England. Deloitte’s clients, such as the Great Western Railway and Great Eastern Steamship company, led the way in the technologies of the second industrial revolution: electricity and telephone.
Indian beginnings
“Those early years of strenuous struggles . . . as an auditor which bordered in those days very much on the lines of a speculative adventure . . . sowed the seeds of success and prosperity which has been yielding a bounteous crop in later years.” Address by the partners and staff of Deloitte legacy firm S.B. Billimoria & Co. to Shapoorjee Bomanji Billimoria on his knighthood, 1928.
Focus on service
“A profession can exist only so long as it has a social and economic utility. . . . If the profit motive becomes predominant and service motive goes into the background, the profession will deteriorate and in course of time even cease to exist.” Chinubhai C. Chokshi, founder of Deloitte legacy firm C.C. Chokshi & Co., 1965.
Birth of the peer review system
Haskins & Sells was instrumental in the creation of the peer review system for US accounting practices, with the firm’s Gordon Murray serving as chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants committee that studied the issue, and Haldon Robinson leading the first review team.
Dedication to equality
Howard Pim, founder of Deloitte legacy firm Pim Goldby, helped establish the Institute of Race Relations in 1929 and served as its treasurer. A lifelong Quaker, Pim devoted much of his life to searching for solutions to South Africa’s racial problems and was dedicated to promoting education for blacks in South Africa. A township in Johannesburg is named after Pim.
Pim's commitment
“Pim’s views on the role of an auditor would find much acclaim in the modern world. . . . He believed firmly that every man had a bounden duty to serve his community and society at large, and became actively involved in countless activities to improve and enrich the lives of individuals and groups within it.” Hendrina Westoll, Of Ledgers and Legends: The Story of Deloitte South Africa.
Relief in WWI
Deloitte’s New York office worked with the Commission for Relief in Belgium during World War I. The commission’s chairman, future U.S. President Herbert Hoover, had an office in the same building as Deloitte’s London headquarters and would often visit the firm’s leader, Sir William Plender.
The greenest building in the world
The Edge in Amsterdam is the greenest building in the world, with nearly 30,000 sensors connecting to a mobile app used by the 2,500 Deloitte employees who are based there and share just 1,000 desks, encouraging collaboration and interaction.
The French connection
The Deloitte name is French: William Welch Deloitte’s grandfather, Count Jean Onuphre Noailles de Loitte, was a courtier to King Louis XVI of France who fled to England during the French Revolution. He settled in Hull and Anglicized his name to John Onuphre Christmas Deloitte.
The first Japanese CPA in the U.S.
Until 1970, only a US citizen could take the test to become a CPA in the United States. When the requirement was relaxed, Takeshi Yamaguchi of Tohmatsu New York took the test and became the first Japanese citizen to become a licensed CPA in the United States.
The first Japanese CPA in the U.S.
Until 1970, only a US citizen could take the test to become a CPA in the United States. When the requirement was relaxed, Takeshi Yamaguchi of Tohmatsu New York took the test and became the first Japanese citizen to become a licensed CPA in the United States.