Butler succeeds Madonna as US chairman of KPMG

Stephen Butler has succeeded Jon Madonna as chairman of US accounting and consulting firm KPMG Peat Marwick. Madonna, who held the post for six years, has become chairman of KPMG International, the global entity.

Roger Siboni succeeds James Brocksmith as deputy chairman.

Butler, whose experience has been mainly in audit, has no plans to change the way the consultancy side of KPMG Peat Marwick is run. His goal is to increase revenues both in consultancy and the firm’s traditional businesses.

“In consultancy we have the greatest opportunity for growth, but I think we can grow tax and audit as well. My intention is not to diminish the emphasis we put on the consulting business, but to have it grow very rapidly,” Butler said. “The aim is to provide a balance between our traditional audit and tax businesses and consulting.”

Butler was formerly managing partner of KPMG’s largest office, Metro New York, for two years, and partner-in-charge of KPMG’s financial services practice in New York. He has been with the firm for 27 years.

His vision for the future is to see KPMG ahead of the competition, both traditional rivals and new entrants to the market.

“We want to be number one in all businesses we choose to compete in, though this may not necessarily mean we will be the number one firm globally,” said Butler.

He added: “There is a lot of competition in the field, but one of our advantages is our client base from our traditional businesses, and we can leverage those clients’ businesses. That is a significant advantage when competing with other firms.”