In its relationship with H&R Block, accounting firm McGladrey & Pullen took a highly unusual course regarding the press releases issued about the firm's initial statement it would end its Administrative Services agreement with Block and then that it and Block had come to terms. It removed them from its Web site after posting them.
M&P issued a press release in July announcing that it had served notice on Block to terminate the agreement. And that was the first press release that the accounting firm had issued since Sept. 11, 2008.
But when the two parties announced they had agreed to stay together, Block took the lead and it was that company's prepared statement that went into the press section on M&P's Web site on after the stock market close of December 11. At the same time, the July release about the proposed termination disappeared from the M&P page.
Questions about the removal of the press release were referred to corporate counsel Rick Miller, who did not return calls. Then by December 19, the announcement about the extension of the Block relationship had also vanished from the M&P press section. Meanwhile, the Block Web site continues to display a release dated July 22 that announced that it had received M&P's notification of the firm's intent to end the Administrative Services agreement in 210 days as well as the recent statement that the two had come to terms.
M&P has no posted press releases since one 15 months ago about the appointment of new partners.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
