Accounting Hall of Fame 1999 Induction: J. Michael Cook

August 16, 1999 San Diego, California Remarks, Citation, and Response REMARKS by Oscar Gellein Haskins & Sells, retired I first met Mike Cook a little over 30 years ago (I was older then than he is now) when he was a senior accountant in a Florida office of Haskins & Sells. I recall thinking then that Mike likely would rise to the top leadership position in the firm. The merger movement of large accounting firms was rumbling and underway when Mike became the managing partner. The eight large firms had their own personalities; some referred to separate cultures. The personalities mirrored the perceptions of strong-minded founding partners. Perceptions about professionalism and marketing of accounting services were divided. (Some believed that the ideal merger would result from the merger of widest differences; others thought that it was one with the narrowest differences. Perhaps time will tell.) Mike was the right person at the right time to deal with the problems of unification in a merger. As CEO of Deloitte & Touche, he soon made it a bedrock mission of the firm to render the best possible services to all clients and to establish unity around the world. The office of the chairman was created to monitor effectively engagements with large clients. Programs were adopted to retain and reward talented women. Mike found the formula for the required personality of the newly merged firm. Had I not known about Mike's talents, his energy, his commitment, and certainly his endurance, when I read the citation prepared by Dan Jensen, I would have thought that it cited the achievements of two or more persons. I now shall read the citation. CITATION written by Daniel L. Jensen The Ohio State University This champion of the accounting profession was born in New York City in 1942. He was encouraged and mentored in his study of accounting at the University of Florida by J. T. Ball, then professor of accounting and taxation. Working as a caddy at the Lake Placid Club one summer, he met Hall of Fame member John Queenan, then managing partner of Haskins & Sells and chairman of the AICPA. A conversation with Queenan about the importance of the accounting profession and the role of the AICPA made a lasting impression on the young student. Upon graduation with honors from the University of Florida in 1964, he joined the Fort Lauderdale office of Haskins & Sells. In 1974, at the age of 31, he became a partner. On assignment to the firm's national office in the 1970s, he worked closely with Hall of Fame member, Oscar Gellein, and Kenneth Stringer, and he remembers the important role they played in his professional development. After leading the firm's Florida practice, in 1983 he was named national managing partner of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells; he became chairman and CEO of the firm in 1986. In 1989, he directed the merger of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells and Touche Ross and was named chairman and chief executive officer of Deloitte & Touche. He also served as chairman of the Deloitte & Touche Foundation and a member of the board of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the global organization with over 82,000 people in more than 130 countries. During his ten years at the helm of D&T, the U.S. firm more than tripled its annual revenues to over $5 billion and earned national prominence as one of the profession's best places to work. He received numerous awards for his commitment to the advancement and retention of high-talent women in business, including the CEO Recognition Award from Women in Technology International and Working Mother magazine's Family Champion of the Year Award. He was named as the only male member of the President's Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History. Through his leadership, Deloitte & Touche was ranked No. 8 on Fortune magazine's 1999 "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," up from No. …