Andersen chief joins hunt for saviour

BATTERED accountant Arthur Andersen has persuaded the head of its French operation to act as chief executive while it searches for a merger partner.

Aldo Cardoso replaces Joseph Berardino, who quit last month following the firm's indictment by a US grand jury. Cardoso's task is to find a saviour for Andersen.

A plan to combine all its operations outside the US with KPMG unravelled after several countries defected to merge with rival firms.

Andersen says plans to link its UK operations with KPMG are 'moving along quite nicely'. It denied reports of negotiations with Deloitte & Touche. A formal deal with KPMG is not expected for at least a week.

Andersen admits that partner liability sank the merger talks with Ernst & Young and Deloitte earlier this year.

Unlike the US, the UK is not a limited partnership.

But Andersen says that the risk of the US courts seeking out individual UK partners is slim.