Edward Nusbaum

By Andrew Blumberg
Carey Business School

Edward E. Nusbaum, CEO and executive partner of Grant Thornton, one of the largest national public accounting firms in the world, is the scheduled speaker for the January installment of the Carey Business School's Leaders & Legends breakfast speaker series, to be held from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel.

With 433 partners and more than 5,000 employees in the United States, Grant Thornton provides assurance, tax and business advisory services to a global roster of clients.

A 27-year veteran with the firm, Nusbaum is also chairman of Grant Thornton International's board of governors, is an appointed member of the U.S. firm's partnership board and leads both the national and senior leadership teams.

Before becoming CEO, Nusbaum served as the firm's national managing partner of professional services, managing partner of the Philadelphia office and national director of assurance services, based in New York. He also has chaired the Grant Thornton International Audit Policy Committee as well as the U.S. firm's Capital Markets, Assurance Services Advisory and Strategic Initiatives Objectives committees.

Nusbaum, whose remarks are titled "Shaping the Accounting Profession: Agility in Strategic Execution," has taken an industry lead in advocating for reform and tighter controls in the business, including his five-point plan to restore public trust, the need for stock-option expensing, prohibiting auditors from also performing internal controls work, the need for principles-based accounting, not rolling back Section 404 requirements for smaller companies and supporting the FASB position on pension accounting.

The monthly Leaders & Legends breakfast series is designed to engage business and community professionals in an examination of the most compelling issues and challenges facing society today. Admission to the lecture, which includes breakfast, is $35. To register and for more information, go to: carey.jhu.edu/leadersandlegends .

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