- William Barclay Peat
Sir William Barclay Peat (1852 - 1923) was the Scottish-born second son of James Peat and Margaret Barclay (of the banking family that built
Barclays Bank , one ofEngland 's largest). Born of privilege, Peat studied law at the prestigious Montrose Academy inScotland , but he did not enter the legal profession.Instead, the eager 17-year-old moved to
London in 1870 to seek his fortune. He was hired as a junior accounting clerk for a London firm and quickly rose through the ranks, earning partnership at the age of 24.In 1891, Peat assumed leadership of the firm, renamed it William Barclay Peat & Company, and ignited an accounting legacy that has endured until today.
"The Peat family kept the partnership going with a requirement that the senior partner needed to be a Peat for at least three generations," says Roger White, a retired
KPMG partner and unofficial organization historian who wrote the book "Peats to KPMG - Gracious Family to Global Firm", which was published in 2004 in theUnited Kingdom . The Peat name lives on today in the world of accounting.Sir William Peat's great-grandson, Michael, worked for KPMG for five years and now serves as one of
Prince Charles ' most trusted aides.Sir Michael Peat is an Eton- and Oxford-educated accountant who has been lauded for his tough financial stance atBuckingham Palace and asKeeper of the Privy Purse andTreasurer to the Queen .Main source
* [http://kpmghu.lcc.ch/dbfetch/52616e646f6d4956c247e50a674f62a32f0d015479d0165a302d8f3a286f0314/who_were_kpmg.pdf Who were K, P, M & G?]
* [http://www.kpmg.hu/index.thtml/hu/_ki/strollth/peat_william_barclay/index.html KPMG Hungary]
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