KMPG Consulting, which broke free from KPMG a year ago and offered its shares to the public as KCIN, is preparing for a name change. Hoping to distance itself even further from Big Five firm KPMG in the current climate that favors auditor/consultant independence, KMPG Consulting is rallying employees and professional branding companies in the search for a new identity.

According to firm spokesman John Schneidawind, KPMG Consulting has intended to change its name ever since it split from the audit firm. Terms of the agreement between the two companies allow KPMG Consulting to use the name KPMG until 2004.

Mr. Schneidawind said that the recent turmoil in the accounting profession has resulted in an acceleration of the name change process. "We want to do it as soon as possible," he said. "We've got to get the message out that we are separate from the tax and audit company… It's more urgent now than it was two or three months ago."

KPMG Consulting chief executive officer Rand Blazer concurs. "The time is now to do this," Mr. Blazer was quoted as saying in a Wall Street Journal article on Wednesday.

In a similar move, Andersen Consulting, which severed its relationship with Big Five firm Andersen last year, changed its name to Accenture. Ernst & Young's consulting arm joined forces with France's Cap Gemini to form Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Deloitte Consulting, which recently announced plans to split from parent firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is considering a name change. So is PWC Consulting, which announced plans to file an initial public offering this spring.