Organisational culture; Leadership

Johan Blignaut, the Managing Partner of Grant Thornton Kessel Feinstein Pretoria (GTKF), (a mid-size auditing firm with seven partners), had worked hard to turn the partnership around and create a culture that was conducive to success. His efforts appeared to have been successful. The partnership had been dogged by in-fighting, bickering and power struggles. Now it was characterised by unity and mutual respect. Moreover, the firm was making money. But was the firm in a position to take on the future confidently? He had commissioned two organisational culture surveys - one qualitative and one ethnographic - in an effort to understand more about the culture and how it might influence the firm's success. The results had shown up a fundamental difference between the perceptions of the audit and other staff about the firm's culture. The audit staff seemed to be deeply unhappy with the way things worked and this both surprised and concerned him deeply. If the experiences recounted by the audit staff were anything to go by, it seemed that GTKF Pretoria had become just like the firm where he had done his articles: something he had vowed would not happen. He wanted GTKF to be different. But more than this, it could have implications for the firm's ability to retain qualified chartered accountants to fill the necessary management positions and groom them for partnership. Would he and the partners have to change their approach?