KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries, with over 265,000 employees and has three lines of services: financial audit, tax, and advisory. Its tax and advisory services are further divided into various service groups. Over the past decade various parts of the firm's global network of affiliates have been involved in regulatory actions as well as lawsuits. The name "KPMG" stands for "Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler". The initialism was chosen when KMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler) merged with Peat Marwick in 1987. History Early years and mergers William Barclay Peat joined Robert Fletcher & Co. in London in 1870 at the age of 17 and became head of the firm in 1891, renamed William Barclay Peat & Co. by then. In 1877, Thomson McLintock founded Thomson McLintock & Co in Glasgow. In 1897, Marwick Mitchell & Co. was founded by James Marwick and Roger Mitchell in New York City. In 1899, Ferdinand William LaFrentz founded the American Audit Co., in New York. In 1923, The American Audit Company was renamed FW LaFrentz & Co. In about 1913, Frank Wilber Main founded Main & Co. in Pittsburgh. In March 1917, Piet Klijnveld and Jaap Kraayenhof opened an accounting firm called Klynveld Kraayenhof & Co. in Amsterdam. In 1925, William Barclay Peat & Co. and Marwick Mitchell & Co., merged to form Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. In 1963, Main LaFrentz & Co was formed by the merger of Main & Co and FW LaFrentz & Co. In 1969 Thomson McLintock and Main LaFrentz merged forming McLintock Main LaFrentz International and McLintock Main LaFrentz International absorbed the general practice of Grace, Ryland & Co. In 1979, Klynveld Kraayenhof & Co. (Netherlands), McLintock Main LaFrentz (United Kingdom / United States) and Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft (Germany) formed KMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler) as a grouping of independent national practices to create a strong European-based international firm. Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft CEO Reinhard Goerdeler (son of leading anti-Nazi activist Carl Goerdeler, who would have become Chancellor if Operation Valkyrie had succeeded) became the first CEO of KMG. In the United States, Main Lafrentz & Co. merged with Hurdman and Cranstoun to form Main Hurdman & Cranstoun. In 1987, KMG and Peat Marwick joined forces in the first mega-merger of