Accenture

Formation and early years

Accenture began as the business and technology consulting division of accounting firm Arthur Andersen^[11] in the early 1950s when it conducted a feasibility study for General Electric to install a computer at Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky,^[12] which led to GE's installation of a UNIVAC I computer and printer,^[13] believed to be the first commercial use of a computer in the U.S.^[14] Joseph Glickauf, an early pioneer of computer consulting, held a position as head of Arthur Andersen's administrative services division.^[12]

Split from Arthur Andersen

In 1989, Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting became separate units of Andersen Worldwide Société Coopérative (AWSC). Throughout the 1990s, there was increasing tension between Andersen Consulting and Arthur Andersen. Andersen Consulting was paying Arthur Andersen up to 15% of its profits each year (a provision of the 1989 split was that the more profitable unit – whether AA or AC – pay the other the 15 percent), while at the same time Arthur Andersen was competing with Andersen Consulting through its own newly established business consulting service line called Arthur Andersen Business Consulting (AABC). This dispute came to a head in 1998 when Andersen Consulting put the 15% transfer payment for that year and future years into escrow and issued a claim for breach of contract against AWSC and Arthur Andersen. In August 2000, as a result of the conclusion of arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce, Andersen Consulting broke all contractual ties with AWSC and Arthur Andersen. As part of the arbitration settlement, Andersen Consulting paid the sum held in escrow (then $1.2 billion) to Arthur Andersen, and was required to change its name, resulting in the entity being renamed Accenture.^[15]

Emergence of Accenture

On 1 January 2001, Andersen Consulting adopted its current name, "Accenture". The word "Accenture" is supposedly derived from "Accent on the future". The name "Accenture" was submitted by Kim Petersen, a Danish employee from the company's Oslo, Norway office, as a result of an internal competition. Accenture felt that the name should represent its will to be a global consulting leader and high performer, and also intended that the name should not be offensive in any country in which Accenture operates.^[16]

Accenture's banner hanging on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) building for its initial public offering on 19 July 2001.

On 19 July 2001, Accenture's initial public offering (IPO) was priced at $14.50 per share, and the shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE); Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley served as its lead underwriters. Accenture stock closed the day at $15.17, with the day's high at $15.25. On the first day of the IPO, Accenture raised nearly $1.7 billion.^[17]

Bermuda headquarters

In October 2002, the Congressional General Accounting Office (GAO) identified Accenture as one of four publicly traded federal contractors that were incorporated in a tax haven.^[18] The other three, unlike Accenture, were incorporated in the United States before they re-incorporated in a tax haven, thereby lowering their US taxes. Critics, most notably former CNN journalist Lou Dobbs,^[19] have reported Accenture's decision to incorporate in Bermuda as a US tax avoidance ploy, because they viewed Accenture as having been a US-based company.^[20] The GAO itself did not characterize Accenture as having been a US-based company; it stated that "prior to incorporating in Bermuda, Accenture was operating as a series of related partnerships and corporations under the control of its partners through the mechanism of contracts with a Swiss coordinating entity."^[21]

Accenture engaged in an IT overhaul project for the National Health Service (NHS) in 2003, making headlines when it withdrew from the contract in 2006 over disputes related to delays and cost overruns.^[22] The government of the United Kingdom ultimately abandoned the project five years later for the same reasons.^[23]

Ireland headquarters

Accenture announced on 26 May 2009 that its board of directors unanimously approved changing the company's place of incorporation from Bermuda to Ireland and would become Accenture plc.^[24]

Accenture was chosen to replace CGI Group as the lead contractor for HealthCare.gov in January 2014.^[25] In December 2014, Accenture won a $563 million contract to provide ongoing maintenance, software development and technology support for HealthCare.gov through 2019.^[26]

In July 2015, the United States Department of Defense awarded a major Electronic Health Records contract to Cerner, Leidos and Accenture. The contract valued $4.33 billion will serve 55 hospitals and 600 clinics. Accenture Federal Services and Leidos will play the role of configuration specialist, while Cerner is the prime contractor.^[27]

On 29 August 2017, Apple Inc. announced a partnership with Accenture to create iOS business solutions.^[28]

In June 2018, Accenture generated controversy over the amount the firm has been charging to recruit 7,500 Customs and Border Protection officers. Under the $297 million contract, Accenture had been charging the US Government nearly $40,000 per hire, which is more than the annual salary of the average officer.^[29]

Diversity policy

Accenture has implemented policies to reduce gendered discrimination such as gender neutral bathrooms and gender neutral dress-codes. Denise Norris, a transgender activist and Accenture employee, said “In cultures that don’t embrace gender diversity, Accenture’s workplace can become a haven, a safe space for our transgender employees.”^[43]