Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company founded in 1989, based in Dublin, Ireland. It offers consulting, digital, cloud, and security services to a wide range of clients worldwide.

In 1991, Accenture launched its first firmwide internal news publication called Dialogue, focusing on thought leadership.

Accenture was founded in 1998 as a spin-off from the consulting division of Arthur Andersen. It has since grown to become one of the largest global professional services companies.

In August 2000, following arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce, Andersen Consulting settled the dispute by paying $1.2 billion held in escrow and changing its name. The new name, Accenture, was chosen to symbolize the 'accent of the future.'

In 2001, Andersen Consulting changed its name to Accenture as part of a separation agreement. The name 'Accenture' was chosen to reflect the company's global ambitions and high performance goals.

On July 19, 2001, Accenture's IPO was priced at $14.50 per share, raising nearly $1.7 billion. The shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, marking a significant financial milestone for the company.

Due to the split from Andersen, Accenture avoided prosecution in June 2002 when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission prosecuted Arthur Andersen for obstructing justice and accounting fraud.

Accenture undertook an IT overhaul project for the British National Health Service (NHS) in 2003, but withdrew from the contract in 2006 due to disputes over delays and cost overruns, leading to the project's abandonment by the UK government five years later.

From at least 2005 until December 2009, Accenture used Tiger Woods as a celebrity spokesperson and advertised using the service mark 'Go on, be a Tiger' in association with his image. The sponsorship deal was terminated in 2009 due to Woods' extra-marital affairs.

Accenture has been actively supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since 2008, focusing on areas that align with its operations and stakeholders.

On 26 May 2009, Accenture's board of directors approved changing the company's place of incorporation from Bermuda to Ireland, leading to the establishment of Accenture plc.

In 2010, Julie Sweet joined Accenture after working as a partner at the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. She later went on to hold various key positions within the company.

In 2011, Accenture launched a new campaign of results-based advertisements featuring clients such as Marriott, Unilever and the Royal Shakespeare Company alongside its slogan 'High performance. Delivered'. This campaign focused on showcasing the company's services.

In 2012, it was revealed that Accenture was paying only 3.5% in tax in Ireland, significantly lower than the average rate of 24% it would pay if based in the UK.

In January 2014, Accenture replaced CGI Group as the lead contractor for HealthCare.gov, signing a $563 million contract to provide ongoing maintenance, software development, and technology support through 2019.

In April 2014, Accenture acquired i4C Analytics, a specialized analytics software platform provider based in Italy, focusing on helping clients solve complex business problems through user-friendly analytics applications.

In July 2015, the US Department of Defense awarded a major Electronic Health Records contract to Cerner, Leidos, and Accenture, valued at $4.33 billion, to serve 55 hospitals and 600 clinics.

On 29 August 2017, Apple Inc. announced a partnership with Accenture to develop iOS business software.

In June 2018, Accenture faced controversy over charging the US Government nearly $40,000 per hire for recruiting Customs and Border Protection officers, leading to scrutiny over the firm's practices.

In January 2019, CEO Pierre Nanterme resigned from his position at Accenture citing health reasons, with Chief Financial Officer David Rowland appointed as the interim CEO.

In July 2019, Julie Sweet, former CEO of Accenture North America, was appointed as the new chief executive officer of the company, effective September 2019.

Julie Sweet was appointed as the CEO of Accenture in September 2019. She took over the leadership role in the company.

Accenture agreed to acquire Symantec's 300-person cybersecurity services division from Broadcom for $200 million. The acquisition was completed in April 2020.

On 1 February 2021, Accenture acquired Imaginea Technologies, a cloud-native and agile development company, which also strengthened the Cloud First division.

On 22 April 2021, Accenture acquired Cygni, a cloud-native, full-stack development company.

On 22 August 2021, Accenture acquired Trivadis AG, an IT services provider.

The all-time high Accenture stock closing price was 400.42 on December 29, 2021.

In April 2022, Accenture acquired the London-headquartered sustainability consultancy Avieco and rebranded Accenture Interactive as 'Accenture Song'.

In May 2022, Accenture announced the acquisition of Munich based sustainability consultancy Akzente.

In June 2022, Accenture acquired operational and digital engineering technology capabilities from Transcom ITS and ARZ, as well as Advocate Networks, a technology consultancy and managed services provider.

In July 2022, Accenture acquired Solvera Solutions, a cloud consulting company.

In August 2022, Accenture acquired Tenbu, a cloud data firm.

In November 2022, Accenture acquired the Tokyo-headquartered data science company, Albert Inc.

On 21 December 2023, Accenture acquired Jixie's intelligent digital marketing platform and business in Indonesia.

On 10 January 2024, Accenture entered into an agreement to acquire Navisite, a digital transformation and managed services provider, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was completed on 30 January 2024.