LEROY J. HERBERT

HERBERT--LeRoy J. Herbert, a Certified Public Accountant who played a pivotal role in the global rise of Ernst & Young (E&Y) and helped to define international standards of governance and oversight for the accounting profession, died Thursday, November 22, at his home in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey. He was 89. Mr. Herbert began his professional career in 1950 as an auditor in the Baltimore, MD office of Ernst and Ernst, then one of the "Big Eight" accounting firms. In 1970, he was named Senior Partner-in-Charge of International Operations and given responsibility for expanding the firm's operations overseas. In 1979, Ernst and Ernst merged with the British accounting firm Whinney Murray and Co. The new firm, known as Ernst and Whinney (E&W), had accounting partners in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, the Far East, Central and South America and North America. In an effort to implement corporate governance on a world-wide scale, E&W established an umbrella oversight organization, Ernst & Whinney International (EWI), to knit E&W offices on six continents into a unified global network that could provide multinational clients with a consistent level of accounting services. Mr. Herbert was EWI's first Executive Partner, with responsibility for ensuring that E&W offices adhered to the firm's standards and practices. In carrying out these quality assurance functions, he spent more than six months a year traveling abroad to visit E&W offices. He also established new international offices for the firm. During 1980 and 1981, Mr. Herbert led negotiations with officials in Beijing that resulted in E&W being the first foreign accounting firm to obtain permission to open an office in the People's Republic of China. When he retired in September 1983, E&W employed 21,000 people and had 300 offices in 70 countries. In 1989, E&W, by then the world's fourth largest accounting firm, merged with Arthur Young & Co. the fifth largest. Today, E&Y has 167,000 employees at 700 offices in 140 countries. Mr. Herbert was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, (AICPA), and played a leading role in the profession's early efforts to define and strengthen international accounting standards and governance practices. He was chairman of the AICPA International Practice Executive Committee and chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the Accountants International Study Group. After leaving E&W, Mr. Herbert began a second successful career as a dealer in antiques, establishing LJH Gallery in Fair Haven, NJ. Grateful for the medical care his mother received at Monmouth Medical Center before her death, Mr. Herbert joined the Monmouth Medical Center Board of Trustees in 1985. As chairman of the board in 1996, he oversaw the merger of that hospital in Long Branch, NJ with Saint Barnabas Medical Center of Livingston NJ, a move that created the state's largest non-profit health care network. Mr. Herbert also was a Charter Member of the Board of Directors of the University of Maryland Foundation. He was born August 3, 1923 to Leroy J. and Edna Herbert of Long Branch, NJ. He graduated from Long Branch Senior High School in 1941. The following year, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Monmouth, where he was assigned to break codes during World War II. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1946, Mr. Herbert enrolled in the University of Maryland where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting in 1950. Mr. Herbert, who never married, is survived by four cousins: James P. West of Jupiter, FL, Kelley M. West of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Thomas W. McGee of Miami, FL, and Frank J. McGee of Annandale, VA. Requiem Mass will be Wednesday, November 28th, at 10am in St. James' Episcopal Church, 300 Broadway, Long Branch. Entombment will follow at the Herbert Family Mausoleum at the Woodbine Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making contributions in memory of Mr. Herbert to the "Monmouth Beach First Aid Squad Storm Recovery Fund" at 26 Beach Road, Monmouth Beach, NJ 07750 or to the "LeRoy J. Herbert Fund in Accounting" at the University of Maryland. You can find additional information about Mr. Herbert's life and achievements at: www.woolleyboglioli.com.