Coleman D. Ross

Public Accounting
Audit Clients Served

PWCPrice WaterhousePricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers

New York City New York City
New York City

New York City

photo from Wikipedia/Bernd Untiedt

Hartford
Hartford
Hartford

Hartford's Travelers Tower

photo from Wikipedia/Daderot

Vermont Vermont
Vermont

Vermont's Mount Mansfield

photo from Wikipedia/Jared C. Benedict

Boston Boston
Boston

Downtown Boston

photo from Wikipedia/Nick Mitchell

Bermuda Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda's Elbow Beach

photo courtesy of George Lin

In addition to the Fortune 500 Services companies that I served as the audit signing partner, I was also the audit signing partner for other financial services companies, principally in New England, New York, and Bermuda. My audit clients by industry sectors follow:

  • Life insurers and multi-line insurers: American Bankers Group (now Assurant Solutions), Miami, FL; Connecticut General (now Cigna), Hartford; Covenant Life, Hartford; Equitable Companies (now Equitable Holdings), New York; National Life, Montpelier, VT; Phoenix Companies, Hartford; State Mutual Life (later Allmerica Financial), Worcester, MA
  • Property-casualty insurers and reinsurers: Champlain Casualty, Barre, VT; Connecticut Surety, Hartford; Co-operative Fire, Middlebury, VT; Covenant Mutual, Hartford; Granite Mutual, Barre, VT; Discover Re, Farmington, CT; Patrons Mutual, Glastonbury, CT; New York Casualty, Waterbury, NY; Phoenix Re (now Argo Group), New York; Trenwick Group, Stamford, CT; Union Mutual Fire, Montpelier, VT; Vermont Mutual, Montpelier, VT; XL Capital, Hamilton, Bermuda
  • Commercial banks and finance companies: Bank of New Haven; Barclays American Business Credit, East Hartford; Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, Hartford; Constitution State Corporate Credit Union, Wallingford, CT; DuPont Mortgage, Avon, CT; Equator Bank, Nassau, Bahamas; First Bank of West Hartford; Farm Credit Banks of Springfield, Agawam, MA; Home Bank & Trust, Meriden, CT; New England Bank & Trust, Hartford; New England Mortgage, Avon, CT; Shawmut National (also Hartford National), Boston and Hartford; Vernon National Bank, Vernon, CT; Windsor Bank & Trust, Windsor, CT
  • Investment funds: Connecticut General Life Separate Accounts, Connecticut General Life Variable Annuity Accounts, Connecticut National Bank Common Trust Funds, Conning & Company Venture Capital Funds, Equitable Life Separate Accounts, Equitable Life Variable Annuity Accounts, National Life Variable Annuity Accounts, Phoenix Mutual Life Big Edge Series Funds, Phoenix Mutual Life Separate Accounts, Phoenix Mutual Life Variable Annuity Accounts, State Mutual Life Variable Annuity Accounts
  • Asset management / securities brokerage: Conning & Company, Hartford

 

Tampa Tampa
Tampa skyline

Tampa's Downtown Skyline

photo by Andrew Ross

Toronto Toronto
Toronto

Toronto's City Hall

photo from Wikipedia/Montrealais

James W. Walter
Jim Walter
James W. Walter

James W. Walter in front of
company headquarters in Tampa.

photo from Walter Energy, Inc.

Prior to my admission into the Price Waterhouse partnership, I was an auditor on other Florida and Canadian publicly-reporting clients, including the following:

  • Commercial banks and savings institution: Bank of Clearwater; Bank of Palmetto; Caladesi National Bank, Dunedin; Dale Mabry State Bank, Tampa; First National Bank in St. Petersburg; First National Bank of Naples; Manatee Federal Savings & Loan, Bradenton; Palmer Bank, Sarasota; Toronto Dominion Bank, Toronto
  • Life insurers: Pioneer Western, Clearwater; United Sun Life, Lakeland
  • Securities brokerage: Raymond James Financial,
    St. Petersburg
  • Real estate investment trust: Walter Realty Investors, Tampa
  • Industrial: International Nickel (now Vale Inco), Sudbury, Ontario; Jim Walter (now Walter Energy), Tampa

Sound securities markets require sound financial information. It is as simple as that. Investors require – and have a right to require – complete information about each and every security, information that fairly and honestly represents every significant fact and figure that might be needed to evaluate the worth of a corporation....

 

It is unarguable, I think, that the independent oversight of financial figures is central to that disclosure system. Indeed independence is at integrity’s very core. And, for more than a century, the responsibility for the independent oversight of corporate financial statements has fallen to America’s public accounting profession. It is the auditor’s stamp on a financial statement that gives it its validity, its respect, and its acceptability by investors. And only if the auditor’s work is comprehensive, skeptical, inquisitive, and rigorous, can we have confidence that financial statements speak the truth....

— John C. Bogle, “Public Accounting: Profession or Business”, October 16, 2000

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