Arthur Andersen’s L.A. Office Chief Will Retire

Sheldon I. Ausman, managing partner of Arthur Andersen & Co.’s Los Angeles office, will leave at the end of the month, capping a 34-year career at the accounting and consulting firm.

Ausman, 56, has managed the firm’s office since 1977, during which time it has grown from about 450 employees to more than 1,500, becoming one of the area’s largest accounting concerns.

Ausman managed Andersen’s entire Southern California operation, which includes smaller offices in the South Bay, Orange County, San Diego, Westwood and Woodland Hills, as well as offices in Hawaii, Las Vegas and Sacramento.

No replacement has been named, but an Andersen spokesman said an announcement would follow in the next seven to 10 days.

Ausman said in an interview that he was taking advantage of Andersen’s early retirement program to build a new career outside the accounting field. “Retiring is not in my vocabulary,” he said. “But I don’t want to be an accountant; I’ve already done that for 34 years.”

He said he was considering financial consulting work, mergers and acquisitions or investment banking as an alternative career.

In any case, he said he would remain in Los Angeles, where his wife, Sandra, is chief of protocol for the county. In addition, Ausman and his wife have involved themselves in a variety of civic activities, including public television station KCET-TV, the Huntington Library, the Western Heritage Museum and the Music Center.

“He’s made a tremendous contribution to the community, both he and his wife,” said R. Michael Shaw, director of taxes, West region, for rival firm Coopers & Lybrand in Los Angeles. “Plus, the Andersen office has prospered significantly while he’s been managing partner . . . They’ve been formidable competitors,” he added.

Ausman said his departure had nothing to do with the abortive merger talks between Chicago-based Andersen and Price Waterhouse, which were dropped last week. Andersen has 231 offices in 49 countries.