NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 6, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- PricewaterhouseCoopers on Monday re-opened its New Orleans office at 639 Loyola Avenue. The 43 New Orleans-based staff members and partners had been working since the end of August, when Katrina struck, from the firm's Houston office and other PwC sites throughout the Gulf region.
Kathy Nieland, managing partner of PwC's New Orleans office, said it was an emotional experience for those returning to their desks yesterday. "All of us who were affected by this tragedy are humbled by the overwhelming outpouring of charitable giving and the encouragement of our fellow PwC employees," Nieland said. She added that the firm's support -- financial, logistical and moral -- not only helped PwC employees with their own difficulties, but enabled many of them to assist their families and take part in local disaster relief efforts.
This support was wide ranging. The firm worked with local authorities and other organizations to locate not only PwC people, but missing relatives of employees, retired partners and others.
In getting back to work in New Orleans, Ms. Nieland also noted that the office has important client projects underway right now in both the assurance and advisory practices, and that the firm looks forward to continuing to provide these services and contribute to the rebirth of the New Orleans business sector.
In evacuating the New Orleans office, PwC provided both short-term housing assistance for all staff and longer-term financial relief to those most devastated by the natural disaster. Besides shifting personnel and client service apparatus to Houston, the firm also took advantage of a sophisticated data back-up system it had in place to transfer data and enable the continuation of operations.
The staff's ability to work from remote locations after Hurricane Katrina struck, and then return to a largely intact home office more than three months later, owed something to efforts by the firm's Crisis Management Team and the office managing partner.
Ms. Nieland, whose own home was destroyed by floodwaters from Lake Pontchartrain, had gone to the office hours before Katrina hit to back up important computer files and send them to the firm's technical hub in Tampa. This high-quality backup system preserved virtually all of the office's crucial client and personnel data, but also enabled staff and partners to access that information from remote offices.
Within two days of the hurricane, the team reconnected via conference call from hotel rooms and on special telephone lines the firm had set up for them. Client service then continued in a relatively seamless, albeit remote, fashion on forward to today's return.
PricewaterhouseCoopers' financial relief efforts will continue as the entire New Orleans community gets back on its feet. The firm's "People who Care" fund has committed to assist with long-term financial costs of employees who suffered significant losses from the storm. That fund also will contribute $50,000 to Catholic Charities this week, along with $75,000 to Habitat for Humanity to support one home. The New Orleans PwC office will participate in building that home.
Finally, the New Orleans PwC office is hosting a United Way Women's Leadership Initiative function on Thursday, December 8th, in support of the organization's community efforts.
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