Some in the industry say that one reason for the failure of an attempted merger between Arthur Andersen and Price Waterhouse eight years ago was Andersen's disdainful view that a lot of Price Waterhouse's senior partners were dead wood.
The report submitted by Lazards to London Underground's board strongly criticises Price Waterhouse's various proposals for splitting operations and track as over-complex and risky.
Even staid accountants have caught the entrepreneurial buzz: the annual staff turnover rate at Price Waterhouse's local software-services group is 25%.