History of PKF

PKF stands for William Henry Pannell, Erroll Kerr and William J. Forster. Between 1869 and 1923 they established their own companies in New York and London, merging to form PKF in 1969.

“P” stands for William Henry Pannell. Born in England in 1843, Pannel was apprenticed to the London-based partnership Hart, Brothers & Co. In 1869 he set up his own accounting firm, W.H. Pannell & Co.

“K” designates Errol Kerr. After emigrating to New York from his native Scotland, Kerr teamed up with the British businessman William Harris in 1911 to found the accounting firm Harris, Allan & Co. (later known as Harris, Kerr & Co.). The original office was located in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Madison Avenue.

“F” stands for William J. Forster. Born in New York, Forster worked briefly for Harris, Allan & Co. before setting up his own firm, W.J. Forster & Co, in New York. In 1933 Forster amalgamated with Harris, Kerr & Co. to form Harris, Kerr, Forster & Co.

August 1869
William Henry Pannell sets up his own accounting firm, W.H. Pannell & Co, in Girdlers Hall, London.

March 1885
Now a qualified legal clerk, Pannell goes into partnership with William Hardy.

May 1942
Pannell & Co. amalgamates with two other firms (Crewdson, Youatt & Howard and Lewis, Hardy & Co.) and later adopts the name Pannell, Crewdson & Hardy.

December 1948
The first overseas office is opened – in Belize, Central America.

Mai 1963
Pannell, Crewdson & Hardy merges with Fitzpatrick, Graham & Co. In 1967 the company’s name is shortened to Pannell, Fitzpatrick & Co.

October 1969
The four accounting firms Pannell, Fitzpatrick & Co. (UK), Harris, Kerr, Forster & Co. (USA), Campbell, Sharp, Nash & Field (Canada) and Wilson, Bishop, Bowes & Craig (Australia) amalgamate to form an international network which is open to additional member firms.

September 1980
Member firms around the world agree to use the name “Pannell Kerr Forster” for the network.

January 2000
Pannell Kerr Forster is renamed “PKF International”. The company’s registered office is in London.

November 2000
Pannell Kerr Forster decides to abbreviate its name to “PKF”, as these three letters have become firmly established in the marketplace.

November 2001
UK turnover exceeds £100 million for the first time.

January 2002
Eight independent German accounting and tax consultancy firms join up and establish the German PKF network.

January 2003
PKF International virtually doubles its business volume following the announcement that Polaris North America is joining the network.

January 2008
PKF becomes a full member of the “Forum of Firms”

January 2009
In January 2009 the PKF Pannell Kerr Forster GmbH in Germany was re-named into PKF Germany GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft.

September 2010
An office in Heidelberg becomes new member of PKF Germany.

Since its inception the network has grown continuously. In 2009 the 17,600 employees and 1,800 partners generated a total turnover of $ 1,9 billion.