William T. Keevan, CPA, CGMA

Title: Senior Advisor, Chess Consulting LLC
Dept/Program: Daverio School of Accountancy Advisory Board

Professional & Academic Experience

Mr. Keevan has more than 50 years experience serving corporations and their boards and legal counsel on a wide range of matters, including financial statement audits and SEC reporting, government contract claims and cost accounting and pricing disputes, alleged False Claims Act violations, internal and government investigations, enterprise risk management, and providing expert testimony in various forums.

He has been responsible for leading major practice groups at three international professional services firms and for the training and professional development of numerous colleagues over the years. He has served on two public company audit committees (as chairman of one) and on one compensation committee. In these capacities he has worked with company management to develop robust enterprise risk management and strategic planning processes, improve financial reporting and internal controls, enhance the organizational stature and effectiveness of the internal audit and compliance functions, and strengthen communication and coordination with the independent auditors. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to Chess Consulting LLC, as Counselor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies where he served for eight years on the Board of Trustees, and as a member of the Advisory Board of the George W. Daverio School of Accountancy of the College of Business Administration at The University of Akron.

Mr. Keevan joined Arthur Andersen & Co., an international accounting firm, in December 1968. He left Arthur Andersen in November 1973 to enter private industry and was invited to return to the firm in January 1979. He was with Arthur Andersen for 28 years, 20 years (from 1982-2002) as a partner serving in a number of senior management positions, including as a member of both the Firmwide and North America Audit and Business Advisory Services Leadership Teams, Managing Partner – Government Contract Consulting Services, Managing Partner – Business Fraud and Investigation Services (North America), and Managing Partner – Strategic Alliances and Business Expansion for the Audit and Business Advisory Services Practice.

In addition to serving his own clients, Mr. Keevan was often consulted on accounting, auditing, and regulatory compliance matters by other Arthur Andersen partners, particularly those whose clients were engaged in government or long-term commercial contracting activities. He was also regularly consulted by members of Andersen’s Firmwide Professional Standards Group and occasionally by other public accounting firms referred to him by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He retired from Andersen in 2002 when it ceased the practice of public accounting.

In June 2002, Mr. Keevan and two of his Andersen partners formed Keevan Consulting LLC which they then sold to Navigant Consulting Inc. From June 2002 to December 2006, Mr. Keevan was a Senior Managing Director of Navigant Consulting and the leader of the firm’s Government Contractor Advisory Services Practice. He also served on the firm’s Disputes, Investigations and Regulatory Advisory Services Practice Management Committee.

In December 2006, Mr. Keevan, his two Andersen partners and most of the professionals in his practice at Navigant joined Kroll Associates Inc., a leading international risk consulting firm, where he was a Senior Managing Director and the U.S. leader of the firm’s Complex Accounting, Disputes and Regulatory Compliance Practice.

In 2010, subsequent to the sale of Kroll by its parent company Marsh & McLennan, Mr. Keevan became an independent consultant and Senior Advisor to Chess Consulting LLC, a firm founded by his two Andersen partners and the successor to the practices he led at Andersen, Navigant, and Kroll. In that capacity he continues to serve clients and mentor colleagues as he has throughout his career.