BearingPoint To Consult on Iraqi Economy

[Khephra]

The U.S. Agency for International Development confirmed yesterday that BearingPoint Inc., a consulting firm based in McLean, won a one-year contract worth as much as $79.6 million to help rebuild Iraq's economy.

The job includes developing trade regulations, nurturing private businesses and helping build a system to provide social services that before the U.S.-Iraq war had been paid for by the United Nations "oil-for-food" program. The firm will also help build a commercial banking network, develop programs to distribute loans to small farms and businesses, and examine tax policies. Its consultants will work in Iraq's central bank and the ministries of finance and trade, and they may analyze and execute the privatization of government-run industries.

BearingPoint already has received $9 million from USAID to begin work and will request more as it determines the number, complexity and urgency of its tasks. The $79.6 million figure is the most that USAID will pay the company.

Competitors learned of the award about a week ago, three months after four of them, led by McLean-based Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., complained in a letter to USAID that they were left out of bidding for the job of fixing Iraq's monetary system.

more...................

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48164-2003Jul25.html

[Eloriel]

1. BearingPoint, BearingPoint....

Trying to remember -- isn't there some nefarious connection there? Hmmmmmm. Carlyle? Halliburton? SOMETHING going on with them that I just can't put my finger on in my overloaded (and leaking) memory banks.

Anyone?

Eloriel

[htuttle]

2. Here we go

Something smells really bad here.

BearingPoint used to be called 'KPMG Consulting', which has the dubious honor of having hired Arthur Andersen's entire business and IT consulting unit en-masse.
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2002/0628kpmg.html

Not so coincidentally, BearingPoint ALSO bagged the no-bid contract to reconstruct Afghanistan's economy, to the tune of $64 million or so.
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/20388-1.html

It had previously acquired the contract to help the Afghan government upgrade it's accounting system. I'm sure all the Andersen personnel they hired will be of assistance in this.

In both cases (Afghanistan and Iraq), they are concentrating on privatizing the economies and outsourcing government services.

In a side note, BearingPoint recently split the technology outsourcing contract for the state of Florida with Accenture, Ltd, of BERMUDA. Recognize the name 'Accenture'? They used to be called Arthur Andersen...

They really think we are stupid, don't they.

[Cassandra]

6. If you can find out all that

what's wrong with the Post that they can't (other than the obvious)?

[htuttle]

7. It took less than 2 minutes

Just googled it up.

In another 10 minutes, you could probably have lists of the Boards of Directors of these companies and who they donated money to for another slice of the story.

Maybe the WP doesn't have access to google.com and opensecrets.org?

[starroute]

8. Accenture is bad news

See the recent thread headed "Think the military families are going to vote for Bush after THIS?"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=84090&mesg_id=84090&page=

Octafish posted an interesting quote there from Online Journal:

And although Accenture has not been officially implicated in the Enron scandal, they have created
a reputation of their own that is already raising eyebrows.

This is hot off the newswire—7/15/03 NEW YORK (CBS.MW)—Accenture Ltd., the former Andersen
Consulting, disclosed Tuesday that it might have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act. Chairman and CEO Joe Forehand, on an earnings call with analysts and reporters Tuesday,
said the consulting firm's Middle East operations could be in non-compliance with the
Act, which prohibits the bribery of foreign government officials by U.S. persons.

The Canada-based Polaris Institute published a scathing report on Accenture, saying,
"Accenture's efforts in government outsourcing have often been very expensive and/or of poor
quality. There is good reason to question Accenture's track record in outsourcing of government
services."

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/072103Landes/072103landes.html

[RaRa]

10. Accenture and AA

Actually, Accenture is the new name of the former Andersen Consulting. When AC and Arthur Andersen split informally (early 1990s), they battled over the Andersen name. Both sides were getting in on the consulting (especially IT consulting) bandwagon of the 90s. AC finally gave up on the name and renamed to Accenture. So they haven't really been related to Arthur Andersen of recent fame.
That said, I know nothing about the above mentioned government contracts; just wanted to clarify the difference between the two companies.

[JCMach1]

11. And they have done such a wonderful job

:grr:

[Khephra]

3. I don't know about that

But shouldn't the Iraqis be "developing trade regulations" and not a company hired by Bush?

Once more, the real Bush agenda comes forth.

[Tracer]

4. BearingPoint Reconstructing Afghanistan?

If so, I'd like to know what they've done with the money.

I recently read a report from Afghanistan that said that "not one brick" has been built and (paraphrasing here) that Americans have fancy offices in Kabul and run around in SUVs, but do just about nothing. Furthermore, there are NO international companies doing business in Afghanistan, other than ONE bank.

(edited for an apostrophe boo boo)

[lkinsale]

9. They've done such a great job in Afghanistan

That by 2004, we can expect Iraq to be a complete disaster.

*furious rant*

Just think of the actual good that could have been done in Afghanistan if the "consulting" millions had gone directly to some reconstruction of the country's agriculture and schools. Think of the friends we might be making, think of how useless the resurgent Taliban would look to the people there.

But noooo....

Is that highway from Kabul to Kandahar built yet, Mr. Bush? Are they even working on it? I know you're busy, but could you remember to put Afghanistan in your budget next year?

PFFFFFFTTTTTTT

[tomp]

5. if they're any good at economy building...

...maybe they should start at home.

there is no question that this is a dirty deal. nothing the bush's touch is clean.