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The survey revealed that multitasking has grown substantially in the past year across all devices. In fact, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of all respondents reported regularly using their computer/laptop while watching TV, up 16 percentage points from last year.

The survey also indicates that the tablet is showing early signs of becoming a complementary companion device for multi-tasking consumers with 14 percent using tablets for searching content and social media activities related to the TV program they are watching. Only 17 percent of those surveyed use a tablet for activities unrelated to the content being viewed on TV.

TVs connected directly to the Internet remain the ideal method for accessing online video on a TV. However, consumers’ preference for using connected TV for online videos has slipped from 36 percent in 2012 to 31 percent this year. And, the percentage of consumers who are not sure or don’t have a preferred method for accessing online video on TV has risen from 23 to 28 percent.

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Faced with ongoing economic challenges, declining voice and text revenues, and the need to address customers’ quality of service expectations on data-intensive networks, communications service providers (CSPs) are being compelled to consider revamping their operating models and adopting new transformational technologies to survive and thrive, according to a survey from Accenture.

The overwhelming majority (93 percent) of CSP executives surveyed identified the need for new or improved tools to plan, design, and track traffic on broadband or cable networks. One-third (33 percent) said they need to significantly revamp the tools used for broadband deployment, while another 60 percent would consider adding some tools.

All interviewees plan to invest in network analytics tools, and more than half (53 percent) cited customer experience improvements as the most important reason. These tools are typically used to analyze network data alarms, performance measures, trouble tickets, and customer churn due to dropped calls in an effort to improve network service quality.

Paolo Sidoti, global managing director of Accenture’s Network Business Services group commented:

“This survey paints a picture of a telecom industry in transition, buffeted by a storm which is both economic and technological in nature, with an impact across the entire value chain,” Sidoti said. “A challenging global economic climate, combined with reduced consumer spending for telecommunications services, is driving a rapid decline in traditional voice- and text-based revenues. Data traffic continues to rise, but data revenue is growing at a slower rate.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture  and Rail Solutions, an SNCF subsidiary,  announced that they have successfully delivered a range of passenger-focused systems for new Italian rail operator, Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV). These include an advanced reservation and distribution platform, a revenue management system and a customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Eric Schaeffer, Accenture global managing director for Industrial Equipment commented: 

“Using Navitaire Rail easy integration capabilities, NTV now has a comprehensive and complementary suite of solutions that allow them to serve passengers with greater flexibility, efficiency and reliability,” he says.

NTV is Italy’s first private high speed rail operator and one of the newest to be created in Europe. It runs state-of-the-art “Italo” trains linking Italy’s major cities and offers enhanced services, including passenger Wi-Fi, an on-board entertainment portal and a cinema carriage.

Navitaire Rail is a passenger sales and management solution which integrates the ticketing and travel process across internet, call center, travel agency and mobile channels.  It also provides rail station check-in and ancillary revenue generation opportunities.

In addition to the Navitaire Rail delivery, Rail Solutions implemented a new revenue management system that can adapt the availability of various pricing products based on customers’ demand. Accenture completed the delivery of a new CRM platform and contact center for NTV that allows the personalization of passenger interaction at every point of the travel experience, including time on-board, inside the terminal and while on the phone and using the internet.

from Accenture files

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

–Accenture  has been awarded a 12-month contract for technology and management consulting services to reengineer and implement the way beneficiary programs are delivered in Punjab under the Aadhaar biometric identification program.

Nilaya Varma, managing director with Accenture’s Health & Public Service operating group in India comments:

“The delivery of government to citizen services and benefits efficiently will pave the way in ensuring economic inclusion. Technology will aid the process and create significant cost savings that can be used for other development activities. We are honored to partner with the government in this important initiative,” Varma says.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture report

Faced with ongoing economic challenges, declining voice and text revenues, and the need to address customers’ quality of service expectations on data-intensive networks, communications service providers (CSPs) are being compelled to consider revamping their operating models and adopting new transformational technologies to survive and thrive, according to a survey from Accenture (NYSE:ACN).

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture  has been positioned as a “Leader” in IDC Health Insights’ recently published report, “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Life Sciences Drug Safety Services 2013 Vendor Assessment.” ¹ The report contains a vendor assessment – derived from both qualitative and quantitative metrics as well as end-user feedback – of drug safety service providers in the life sciences industry through the IDC MarketScape model.

IDC Health Insights assessed 10 drug safety service providers for this report, which is designed to evaluate the characteristics of each firm. In naming Accenture as a leader, the report’s author, Alan S. Louie, PhD, Research Director, Clinical Development Strategy and Technology, IDC Health Insights, commented:   “Accenture’s market-leading revenue in the drug safety services space, solid customer base with both top pharma and emerging life sciences companies, and strong emphasis on IP development makes the company a formidable competitor in drug safety.”

IDC Health Insights focuses on the following key criteria in defining excellence in drug safety services:

• Service focus experience (i.e., BPO, IT services, or strategic consulting services)
• Breadth of service offerings (supporting BPO)
• Diversity of resources and infrastructure supporting services delivery
• Project experience in the life science Drug Safety Services outsourcing market
• Strength of project leaders and their teams
• Quality of work and customer satisfaction

The IDC MarketScape divides potential key strategy measures for success into two primary categories: capabilities and strategies. IDC Health Insights specifically noted in this report, “With its performance-based approach options and significant dedication to innovate, it is clear that Accenture has a clear vision and commitment to growth in this area.”

from Accenture files

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

An Accenture-sponsored study from HfS Research reveals the outsourcing industry is failing to invest in the skills needed to capture the full value from outsourcing engagements.  The report, entitled “Is Good Enough Really Good Enough? The Great Talent Paradox in Outsourcing,” confirms that in order to achieve sustainable value beyond cost reduction, both buyers and providers of outsourcing must increase their focus on developing talent.

Mike Salvino, group chief executive, Business Process Outsourcing, Accenture comments:

“If outsourcing is to deliver on its full potential, buyers as well as providers need to invest in developing the skills and talent to capture the greater levels of value available from fourth and fifth generation BPO solutions,” he said. “The HfS Talent study – the first of its kind – highlights the growing talent gap between what the industry and its clients aspire to achieve and the lack of sufficient investment in people to make it happen. We hope it serves as a call to action for everyone involved in the business of outsourcing.”

According to the report, which featured a survey of executives from 282 enterprises, two examples of strategic business skills are increasingly important to enterprise executives: defining business objectives beyond cost reduction and efficiency (83 percent regarded this as important or critical) and influencing executives (77 percent).

Enterprises that have been successful with outsourcing invested in external experts with skills beyond operations management, procurement, and service-level measurement. Over time, they have developed a good number of operations managers in-house, and their service provider excels in these activities. Such companies are now investing instead in skills that improve their core business.

This failure to invest has created a “talent paradox.” As outsourcing moves from the back office to the middle and front office, where value creation is paramount, and as buyers seek more sustainable business outcomes beyond merely cost reduction, neither buyers nor providers are making the necessary investments in the key driver of value creation – people.

from Accenture files

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com  

Catholic Health Initiatives,  one of the nation’s largest non-profit health providers and Accenture  have teamed on a nine-month initiative that will apply analytics to identify at-risk factors among patient populations.    

Catholic Health Initiatives and Accenture will design and implement information management capabilities across healthcare facilities in 17 states. The effort is expected to help CHI target patient populations to improve care delivery and to better monitor patient health, while streamlining clinical operations for more efficient care management. Additionally, the initiative will focus on enhancing data warehouse capabilities and information management governance.

 Kelly Rakowski, managing director for Accenture’s health provider business comments:

“Applying analytics will enable better decision making for improved quality of care and efficiency in clinical operations,” she said. “This is crucial for healthcare providers, given the changes instituted through healthcare reform. This initiative will position CHI for future growth by ensuring that it continues to be able to provide consistent, high-quality care while reducing costs.”  

Catholic Health Initiatives is a national nonprofit health system with headquarters in Englewood, Colo. The faith-based system operates in 17 states and includes 78 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two community health-services organizations; two accredited nursing colleges; and home health agencies. In fiscal year 2012, CHI provided more than $715 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research.

From Accenture files

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture report

Accenture’s annual survey of more than 4,000 current account customers in the UK and Ireland showed declines in the depth and quality of interactions between customers and their banks, as new customer loyalty challenges emerge.

• Year-over-year declines in reported consumer trust in banks (40 percent in 2012 vs. 45 percent in 2011) and the view that their bank is fair and transparent (38 percent vs. 41 percent).
• Worrying signs within the 18-to-24 year old demographic, where reported satisfaction levels fell from 61 percent to 49 percent, trust levels fell from 48 percent to 37 percent, and those that consider their bank fair and transparent declined from 41 percent to 31 percent in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Peter Kirk, managing director of Accenture Distribution and Marketing Services in the UK and Ireland commented:

“This year’s survey results underscored the banking industry’s central challenge to re-engage customers, as the ‘human element’ of the relationship diminishes,” he said.. “Banks’ success in rolling out efficient, user-friendly digital channels and its continuing consumer trust issues may be contributing to an increasingly arm’s-length relationship between institutions and their customers, which impacts their opportunities to sell and build loyalty.”

from Accenture files

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Less than a third of large Asian companies report meeting their revenue and profit expectations for their international business in the past three years. This contrasts with more than a doubling of annual outbound investment by the region’s companies in the past decade, according to new research by Accenture. The research also revealed that understanding foreign consumers and sourcing the right local talent were among the biggest barriers to success overseas.

The biggest barrier to successful international expansion is a lack of understanding of overseas customers and markets, according to 61 percent of respondents. A majority (53 percent) pointed to complex local procedures and government regulations as a barrier. Thirty-five percent said their weak brand or reputation in these target markets was their biggest obstacle.

Paul Gosling, senior managing director, Accenture Management Consulting, Asia Pacific comments:

“Asian companies are increasingly enthusiastic about overseas opportunities but face stiffer competition and crowded markets,” he said. “Today, Asian companies make up 35 percent of the world’s largest businesses, but only one in ten of the world’s top brands. To close this gap and improve their relevance they will need to compete on more than cost and invest more in differentiation, understanding target customers and sophisticated talent management.”

The research, published in a report, ‘Asian Paths to Global Growth,’ included a survey of 249 senior executives at Asian based companies with annual revenues in excess of $250 million. Only 28 percent of surveyed companies say revenues and profits from their international business were in line with expectations in the last three years (ranging from 37 percent in China to 12 percent in Japan).

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

To help clients get the most business value from cloud computing and in anticipation of the shift in demand toward the public cloud, Accenture has launched the Accenture Cloud Platform.

Jack Sepple, global senior managing director – Cloud, Accenture comments:

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David Smith, senior managing director – Accenture Talent & Organization commented:

“Organizations often struggle to implement change programs on time and on budget as markets evolve at an accelerating pace,” he said. ”ChangeTrack Research’s insight-driven tools will enhance our ability to help our clients manage change with greater precision and more predictable results.”

Among ChangeTrack Research’s solutions is ChangeTracking®, a patented analytics tool based on 10 years of research and advanced mathematical algorithms, that has defined successful pathways for change management. ChangeTracking® collects data on people and processes associated with a change program, benchmarks progress and uses predictive analytics to identify where corrective action is needed. The acquisition complements Accenture’s suite of methods, tools and capabilities to help its clients achieve the goals of their most significant organizational transformations.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has selected Accenture Federal Services as the lead contractor for the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Account Management Services (AMS) system. As part of the five-year contract, Accenture will help implement new business requirements, tools and other automation processes to better support taxpayer casework.

Work under the contract will enable the IRS to continue to improve customer service for taxpayers by improving application performance, automating manual tasks, and providing the versatility needed to easily adapt to ongoing legislative changes. The system will be able to display and validate changes to updated taxpayer accounts, and store and manage actions that include case transfers, case closures and correspondence. AMS manages more than 39,000 users and scans more than 60 million taxpayer documents.

Accenture has served as a trusted partner to the IRS for more than 20 years, helping the agency to redesign, develop and manage three IRS portalsand  design, implement and  operate theReturn Preparer Registration System.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.  Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.  The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012.

from Accenture files

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com        

Like a lot of other traditional service institutions, postal services have seen major transformations that have them diversifying services and leveraging the latest technologies to stay relevant and cost efficient. A new study by Accenture tracked these changes. Recently, Brody Buhler, managing director for Accenture’s global postal industry practice talked with Big4.com about the high points and trends in Achieving High Performance in the Postal Industry: Accenture Research and Insights 2013.

He started out by noting Accenture’s research has been ongoing since 2006 and the nearly 50-billion piece decline seen in the last three years slowed in 2011 but has picked up its pace again recently. Buhler also spoke to how technology accelerated the change.

“There is a technology substitution challenge that comes in two ways,” he said. “The first is receiving those communications online, paying  a bill for example. But there’s also much more aggressive competition in the advertising space.”

Accenture research

The Accenture research found that posts worldwide were actually losing market share to online advertising. The study started with Accenture looking at the postal systems of 16 countries. Since then, the research has grown to cover a total of 24 posts and two commercial companies.

However, Buhler notes the study also found that posts are benefitting from a rise in package volume that the Internet economy has created.

“They’re obviously benefitting from the increased shipping that comes with increased ecommerce and they are also exploring entering other pieces of that value chain,” he said citing an example in Belgium where the post office offers small businesses website hosting and other fulfillment services.

The Accenture research also shows that posts in general are looking for ways to get further embedded in the value chain that includes ecommerce. In fact, the study specifically points to growing trends in cross border ecommerce which involves delivery to surrounding countries and other types of retail diversification like bill payment centers and government services.

Diversification

Rising employee pension costs were another factor causing worldwide posts to look at diversifying to stay competitive.

“We call those monopolistic ghosts in the research,” Buhler says. “What we’re finding is there are private postal operators that are entering the market and they enter with a much slimmer capital base and are much more agile. That poses a real competitive threat,” he says.

He also says that more traditional posts will need to address some of these legacy costs if they are going to compete. The latest version of the survey shows little changes in the top ten rankings with the exception of Norway which rose five positions and Finland which fell eight slots.

The research has also highlighted the advantages to posts that leverage their retail networks to provide services like in Italy where you can buy phones or microwaves through the outlets.

“Those posts that use their retail outlets as a true asset are high performers,” Buhler said. He also said although the Accenture research was able to classify four broad strategies that were being used, those posts classified as service providers that have diversified into new lines of business were the most successful.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com   

 Accenture and UniCredit have signed an agreement under which Accenture will help optimize the bank’s invoice management operations, including all activities related to UniCredit’s accounts-receivable, accounts-payable, asset-management and expense-payments functions.

The focus of the new entity is to help UniCredit optimize its invoice-management operations through greater process efficiencies, enabling the bank to meet the highest industry standards. Accenture will manage the joint entity, which combines the skilled professionals and processes from UniCredit’s existing invoice-management branch of business with Accenture’s finance and accounting, management consulting and IT capabilities.

Roberto Pagella, Managing Director of Accenture’s BPO services in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Eastern Europe, commented:

“This project represents a key initiative in our longstanding collaboration with UniCredit. Our leading capabilities in business process outsourcing, in finance and accounting and in technology align perfectly with UniCredit’s broader efficiency and innovation objectives and its approach to the new challenges in the market.”

The agreement is part of the bank’s broader “Newton” program announced in November 2011, which is designed to transform the bank’s operations for higher efficiencies. A key element of the Newton program is to combine UniCredit’s process expertise and technology assets with those of leading international companies to accelerate its operational transformation.

from Accenture files

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com        

To help its clients better measure and monitor the progress of their change programs, Accenture has acquired ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd, a provider of analytics-based tools and services for change management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Less than a third of large Asian companies report meeting their revenue and profit expectations for their international business in the past three years  according to new research by Accenture.

Talent and cultural issues are the greatest internal barriers to successful global expansion. Just over half (51 percent) of respondents said they cannot attract or retain the right talent to expand outside the region. Cross cultural barriers were identified by 46 percent and the inability to manage foreign workforces by a further 37 percent.

The Accenture  report shows that, where a majority (54 percent) of respondents say low cost operations are a driver of their global competitive advantage today, only 20 percent say this will be the case in three years. Forty-four percent of respondents say that in three years, they intend to drive their competitive advantage through their brand equity and 44 percent through the skills of their workforce.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com     

By all accounts, the new Accenture Delivery Center in Austin Texas will work to enhance the company’s health and public sector work across North America by providing software development and support with consulting and technology services.

David McCurley, managing director of Accenture’s public sector software business recently talked with Big4.com and provided an overview of the software to be supported by the new Delivery Center in Austin that will add 300 jobs by the end of the calendar year and streamline government social service programs.  

David McCurley

“This has been along time in the planning,” McCurley says. “We worked very hard to verify some assumptions we had about the marketplace and then drive something new and different into it.” 

Software Applications

Recently, Accenture has spent time developing and launching a flexible, service-based technology platform. There have been software applications to enable public agencies to upgrade or replace legacy IT systems added as well in an integrated, flexible manner to reduce technology and management costs and improve service delivery. These new software products include the Accenture Public Service Platform, the Accenture Benefits Management System, the Accenture Citizen Self-Service Portal and the Accenture Public Health Platform.

McCurley was the logical choice as the front man for this project. He will have 29 years with Accenture in May and most of that time has been spent working with government agencies. One of his endeavors with Accenture was looking at the benefits and service delivery programs that governments across the globe were offering their citizens. 

“In the course of that we started a process of looking across the globe looking at programs our clients were offering their citizens and if there was a more economical and business successful way that we could look at that service delivery model that was being accomplished.”

Software Capabilities

Accenture and McCurley found the answer lay with the company’s software capabilities and the understanding that people’s needs often crisscross from one government agency to another.

“Historically these services have been provided through a series of stovepipe funding mechanisms,” McCurley said. “For example, cash assistance is provided through one agency, medical assistance is provided through another agency, housing assistance is through another agency. Each agency has their funding sources and their own manner in which they deal with the public.”

One of the issues that Accenture tackled sprung from the fact they found most people’s issues didn’t fall neatly under the umbrella of just one program and many of the existing business systems Accenture’s clients were using didn’t take into account this crossover.

“The business systems that our clients had to bring to bear on those problems are not designed to be integrated and to share information and give a broad perspective on the underlying cause,” McCurley said adding that in response Accenture has developed a model for social services to look at these types of issues.

“We made a decision to look at the way software was being provided to this marketplace about three years ago.”

Stovepipe method

Historically, software was provided to the relevant agencies either using a ‘stovepipe’ method where significant customization was needed or off the shelf systems that were often a bad fit. Accenture saw the opportunity presented here.

“What we saw was the need for  purpose built software solutions that bring the benefits of an off the shelf solution which includes the functional purpose and depth of custom solutions that have been out there historically for decades,” he said.

These hybrid software programs also include, among other advancements, a self service portal for citizens.

“We know that governments are being faced more and more with pressures to take work out of their offices and citizens want access to information about their programs and case,” he said.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com  

Despite its unique and critical position in our society, healthcare is often subject to the same budgetary restrictions as other American industries. Now more than ever, hospitals and other facilities are facing the daunting task of improving patient care with shrinking funds.

A milestone in this ongoing battle was reached recently with the announcement that Trinity Health  worked with Accenture on a three-year initiative resulting in a new healthcare model that saved $17 million in annual costs while reducing patient mortality rates by almost 20 percent. Manuel Lowenhaupt M.D., Managing Director of Clinical Services in North America for Accenture, recently spoke with Big4.com about this important innovation that demonstrates how the old adage was at the center of the new model’s origins and successes.

Health care and digital technology

Manuel Lowenhaupt MD

He started our talk by acknowledging that healthcare has been slow to embrace some of the digital technologies that have become more commonplace with other industries.

“I would also gently suggest that healthcare as an industry has less experience with some of the tools that consulting and other major industrial models have brought,” he said, also noting that the lag was understandable in the context of the fact the industry has only started building out large national organizations in the last few decades that could use scalable industrial strength tools.

The partnership between Trinity Health and Accenture used those two concepts as a spring board. However, before the end of the three-year collaboration that resulted in a patient care delivery model for improving care coordination, standardization of care practices and enhanced patient outcomes, one key question needed to be addressed.

Descriptive Analytics

“The story with Trinity,” Lowenhaupt said, “goes to those two premises and asks, ‘What could you do if you brought information systems and predictive and descriptive analytics to the table. What could you do if you brought industrial strength change management to the table?’”

The idea took shape to bring the kinds of things that Big Four companies do in other industries to healthcare, but the question was would they work? The exciting answer to Lowenhaupt and Accenture was a resounding “yes” with notable benchmarks achieved like streamlined processes for medication reconciliation, a reduction in mortality rates and a reduced likelihood of patient falls through enhanced documentation of risk.

The scale of the achievement left little doubt.

“Trinity is a fifty hospital national system going from California to Maryland with fine hospitals of all sizes,” Lowenhaupt said. “In many ways part of the excitement for us was the fact that Trinity reflects healthcare on a usual day in the United States.”

Once Accenture was chosen with Lowenhaupt as the lead resource for the team that would consult with Trinity, some of the best-in-class capabilities were implemented. The Harvard Medical School trained physician is quick to point out what he considers to be the biggest benefit the Unified Clinical Organization model produced.

“The part that gets me most excited at the end of the day,” he said, “is information systems and digital technology really does improve the care of patients when it’s used well.”

Improving care coordination was one of the focal points of the collaboration and a topic that Lowenhaupt was happy to speak to. He started by saying that while there were many “ individual heroes in healthcare” one of the challenges faced by everyone working the field was in the transition of care that patients experience when they move from one provider to another or one care setting to another.

“We’re (the health care industry) really bad at the hand offs,” he said, adding that the new care coordination part of the process was in fact managing the mechanics of these hand offs. The Trinity improvement supported by Accenture focused on having “a management model that didn’t let you drop into the cracks and disappear as a patient.”

Backed By Accenture

There were other areas under the umbrella of the Trinity Health initiative, backed by Accenture, like patient outcomes and advancing standards of care practices. Being able to standardize the processes involved was, according to Lowenhaupt, one of the biggest accomplishments of the collaboration.

“Personalizing care is a critical component of high-performance care,” he said noting that standardization and building out models that really look toward a common set of tools and processes was one of the goals that increased both efficiency and the quality of patient care.

“Something that Trinity Health system should be extremely proud of was their ability to build out a single formulary for all their hospitals across the country.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

The firm received a high vendor assessment for its Accenture CAS Trade Promotion Management (TPM) software solution in Gartner Inc.’s recently published “Vendor Panorama for Trade Promotion Management in Consumer Goods.”

Accenture CAS is also a key component within Accenture Perfect Promotion, part of Accenture’s set of business services, which brings together Accenture’s management consulting capability, industry skills, and Accenture CAS software to create a highly differentiated solution for the consumer goods industry. This end-to-end service is designed to help clients increase trade promotion volume and effectiveness with less investment.

“We believe the assessment of Accenture CAS in this new Vendor Panorama report is recognition of our advanced trade promotion capabilities and cements our reputation as a leading provider of TPM software,” said Henning Fromme, Accenture CAS software product strategy and development lead. “Since introducing the first web-based TPM solution, we’ve been dedicated to creating an integrated sales platform that uses trade promotion management and optimization to drive exceptional sales planning.”

Gartner believes that technologies related to managing trade promotions have never been more relevant, as the average revenue expended by manufacturers for promotions now exceeds 20%. More and more companies are leaving spreadsheets for automated technologies, while others are adding promotion optimization capabilities.

from Accenture files

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Accenture’s report “Closing the Gap: How Tech-Savvy Advisors Can Regain Investor Trust,” shows:
• Nearly half (48 percent) of financial advisors are using social media on a daily basis to interact with their clients – most of whom (60 percent) have assets of more than $20 million.
• Seventy-four percent of advisors believe social media helps them increase assets under management; and half of advisors claim to have successfully used social media to convert prospects into clients.
• Nearly half of advisors (49 percent) said they believe firms that fail to leverage social media will lose clients to firms that do.
Alex Pigliucci, global managing director of Accenture Wealth and Asset Management Services comments:
“The use of social media to interact with clients is a differentiator for advisors today, but it will be mere table stakes in the not too distant future,” he said. “Wealth management firms that fail to adopt social media will miss an opportunity to build relationships with clients on their terms. This is becoming increasingly critical as investors are demanding online resources to help them better understand investment strategy and advice.”

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Accenture report

Accenture has announced  that Pamela J. Craig has decided to step down as chief financial officer on July 1 and retire from the company on Aug. 31, 2013. David P. Rowland, senior vice president – Finance, will become chief financial officer, effective July 1, 2013.

Mr. Rowland, 52, is currently senior vice president – Finance, with global responsibility for Accenture’s Finance Operations, which includes approximately 3,500 finance professionals focused on client finance, country controllership and operating group and growth platform finance activities. He is a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee and serves on the board of directors for Avanade, a joint venture of Accenture and Microsoft. Mr. Rowland began his career with Accenture in 1983.

 Accenture Chairman and CEO Pierre Nanterme comments:

“Pam has made a tremendous contribution to Accenture’s growth and success across a wide range of leadership roles during her 34-year career with our company,” he said. “As chief financial officer, she built a world-class finance organization and her focus on rigorous financial discipline has contributed to Accenture’s strong performance. As a key member of our senior leadership for many years, Pam has played an instrumental role working together with the rest of the leadership team in driving our growth and success in the marketplace. It has been my pleasure to work with her over the years, especially since becoming CEO.”

from Accenture files

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com    

 Accenture is opening a delivery center in Austin, Texas, to provide software development and support as well as consulting and technology services for the company’s health and public sector work across North America. The center is targeted to grow to around 300 jobs by the end of 2013, which would bring the number of Accenture employees in Texas to more than 5,000. The company has other Texas offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

In recent years, Accenture has developed and launched a flexible, service-based technology platform and software applications to enable public agencies to upgrade or replace legacy IT systems in an integrated, flexible manner to reduce technology and management costs and improve service delivery.

Stephen J. Rohleder, the Austin-based group chief executive of Accenture’s Health & Public Service operating group commented:

“Accenture has been growing in Texas for many years, and this expansion in Austin is being driven by our success in helping state health and human service agencies around the country leverage cost-effective, leading-edge technology to modernize their IT systems and improve productivity,” he said. “We are focused on helping public agencies seize transformative opportunities to improve citizen services while adapting to budget realities. We have worked with the state of Texas for over 30 years and Austin is key to our efforts to leverage technology and software to meet government needs.”

Accenture was ranked number five among large employers on the Austin American-Statesman’s 2012 ranking of the “Top Workplaces of Greater Austin.

from Accenture press releases

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been selected by the State of Ohio, following a competitive bid process, to build a new integrated eligibility system for health and human service programs. The contract has a 66-month base period that runs to August 2018.

“Ohio is taking a decisive step in modernizing its human services system to provide better value to taxpayers, better tools for state workers, and to improve citizen services,” said Julie Booth, who leads Accenture’s Human Services practice in North America.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

According to an Accenture survey of 400 U.S. financial advisors, financial advisors view social media as an increasingly important tool to engage clients, grow their business and better understand clients’ investment goals – with 48 percent interacting daily with clients through social media.

Accenture’s report “Closing the Gap: How Tech-Savvy Advisors Can Regain Investor Trust,”  says financial advisors see the rapid adoption of digital technologies changing their relationships with clients and view social media tools as increasingly critical to their individual success.

Alex Pigliucci, global managing director of Accenture Wealth and Asset Management Services comments:

“The use of social media to interact with clients is a differentiator for advisors today, but it will be mere table stakes in the not too distant future,” he says. “Wealth management firms that fail to adopt social media will miss an opportunity to build relationships with clients on their terms. This is becoming increasingly critical as investors are demanding online resources to help them better understand investment strategy and advice.”

Accenture Wealth and Asset Management Services provides management consulting, technology and outsourcing services to financial institutions to optimize analytics for wealth and asset managers, improve advisor productivity, help drive sales, reduce costs and manage risks. Its clients include eight of the top 10 global wealth managers and seven of the top 10 global asset managers.

from Accenture Press releases

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com   

 Accenturehas been selected by the State of Ohio, following a competitive bid process, to build a new integrated eligibility system for health and human service programs. The contract has a 66-month base period that runs to August 2018.   

The Human Services suite of products from Accenture Software will be used, enabling the State of Ohio to meet federal guidelines and to extend the system over time to support additional programs beyond the initial inclusion of Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The products include the Accenture Public Service Platform, the Accenture Benefits Management System  and the Accenture Citizen Self-Service Portal.

The new system will streamline processes and enhance technology for eligibility determination and the delivery of benefits to citizens. Beneficiaries will have new self-service online access options. It also will facilitate data-sharing among state agencies and offices, providing the state and its county partners with new capabilities to enroll people and manage human service operations.  

A new, service-based technology enterprise framework at the core of the planned system targets cost savings for IT system development, operations and maintenance. Accenture Integrated Social Services combine process and technology advancements to support the core missions of human service agencies.

Julie Booth, who leads Accenture’s Human Services practice in North America comments:

“Ohio is taking a decisive step in modernizing its human services system to provide better value to taxpayers, better tools for state workers, and to improve citizen services,” she says.

from Accenture press releases

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Senior sales and marketing executives of large U.S. pharmaceutical companies – with corporate revenues in excess of $1 billion in revenue – plan to sharpen their focus on multi-channel marketing and step up their use of digital technologies and analytics in 2013, according to a new survey by Accenture (NYSE:ACN). At the same time, more than four-fifths of the 200 executives surveyed – 83 percent – see cost reduction as their number-one strategic priority for the year.

Craig Robertson, North American managing director of Accenture’s Life Sciences’ Sales and Marketing practice comments:

“It’s clear that mastering multi-channel marketing – and realizing the full potential of digital technologies and analytics – is a top agenda item for sales and marketing executives who intend to achieve greater marketing efficiencies and meet the needs of their customers,” he said. “From this survey, we believe a correlation can be drawn that cost reduction is enabled by mastering multi-channel marketing using digital interactions and analytics.”

• Seventy-seven percent of executives report their organizations are already using third-party providers to augment sales and marketing activities.
• Of those executives that report this finding, digital and content production (64 percent) and analytics (62 percent) are areas where third-party services providers are used the most.
• Thirty-seven percent of executives report they intend to increase their usage of third-party providers for sales and marketing in 2013, with 92 percent intending to increase their use of third-party providers in analytics, 89 percent in advertising and 79 percent in digital and content production.

from Accenture press releases

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture  has been selected by United Fire Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“United Fire Group”) to implement its claims management software application, Accenture Claim Components, to serve as the insurer’s core claims processing system. The new system will help United Fire Group streamline claims processes and improve service for both agents and customers.

Accenture Claim Components is a comprehensive claims management solution covering property and casualty (P&C) claims functions from first notice of loss to settlement and recovery, for all lines of business. The solution provides real-time analytics and business-driven configuration consoles that will assist United Fire Group to more efficiently manage individual claims and more effectively balance its claims workload.

Accenture’s policy and claims software offers insurance carriers an integrated suite of software with modules that can be implemented individually or as part of a broader migration strategy. The combined software enables insurers of all sizes to benefit from a flexible suite of P&C software to configure products, transact lines of business and process claims.

Accenture Software combines deep technology acumen with industry knowledge to develop differentiated software products. It offers innovative software-based solutions to enable organizations to meet their business goals and achieve high performance.

from Accenture press releases

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Accenture has been named Informatica’s 2012 Alliance Partner of the Year as a result of driving more sourced revenue for Informatica than any other partner globally. Accenture has won the Informatica Alliance Partner of the Year award each year it has been awarded in 2007, 2008, 2010 and now 2012.

The Accenture and Informatica alliance provides organizations with access to deeply skilled resources, asset-driven delivery methods, and data integration solutions to address business and IT imperatives related to information management and analytics.

Since its inception in 1999, the alliance has delivered more than 1,000 projects globally and across all major industries using a comprehensive, unified data platform to help clients achieve business agility, consistency and ultimately competitive advantage underpinned by cost effective data management.

Sajid Usman, global managing director, Accenture Digital, Data and Analytics, Accenture commented:

“We’re pleased that Accenture has once again been honored with Informatica’s Alliance Partner of the Year award in recognition of our ability to deliver outstanding results for clients on the Informatica platform,” Usman said. “Our success in this category year after year is evidence of our ability to deliver innovative solutions in areas such as big data, cloud, data migration, data quality and master data management, helping clients to integrate and harness actionable business insights through analytics.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture recently announced that it has been named the APJ recipient of a VMware Partner Network Award in the Consulting and Integration Partner of the Year category.  The award was presented at VMware Partner Exchange 2013, VMware’s annual partner event, on Feb. 26 in Las Vegas.

The VMware software-powered solution accelerates the journey to cloud computing by providing a flexible IT infrastructure, combined with cloud-computing economics that are better able to provide the agility and service levels needed for sustainable business innovation and growth according to Accenture.

As well, a rich, integrated collection of architecture services, standards, guidelines, frameworks and tools designed to address challenges common to software development, such as incorporating unproven implementation approaches and frameworks is offered. The platform helps standardize resources, reduce IT costs and speed up the development of software.

The Mobile Secure Desktop is another added feature: A virtual architecture that provides end users with quick and easy access to applications and data across devices, locations and networks. This solution streamlines and automates desktop management and provides IT with the ability to apply location-aware, policy-driven access to corporate resources to ensure higher levels of security and compliance.

Kim Loane, managing director of technology consulting, Asia Pacific, at Accenture  comments:

“This honor illustrates our strong relationship with VMware and our commitment to developing innovative solutions and a strong delivery team that can improve the efficiency with which our clients operate,” Loane says. “However, our collaboration isn’t just about solutions and delivery. It’s about expanding our business and this partnership has helped us to expand license revenue agreements in the government agency, airline, energy, and banking markets.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture has been named to Canada’s Best Diversity Employers list, an annual competition to recognize Canadian employers with exceptional workplace diversity and inclusivity programs.

Several of Accenture’s initiatives contributed to its inclusion on the ranking, including:

• Women’s platform: Through the Defining success. Your way. initiative, Accenture is committed to helping its more than 90,000 female employees worldwide define and develop their own paths to success
• Persons with Disabilities (PwD): A global employee resource group focuses on efforts to help PwD across Accenture, including assistive technology, workplace accommodations, HR policies, training and development, geographic networking and recruiting efforts
• Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT): Accenture’s LGBT program include communications, education and development, events, collaboration, policies, procedures and regional networks

Claudia Thompson, managing director, Human Capital & Diversity for Accenture in Canada commented:

“At Accenture we promote diversity with client forums, supplier diversity programs and recruiting, as well as employee engagement and retention programs,” she said. “In addition, our employee resource groups connect individuals to help them strengthen their networks and enhance their working experience at Accenture.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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The IDC Health Insights report is a biannual IT budget-tracking survey of several hundred life science companies. The survey, which polled 102 industry leaders on planned IT budgetary spending, technology priorities and vendor preference, asked participants to identify which vendors servicing the life science market they expect to spend money with on software, hardware and IT services over the next 12 months.

The ranking was cited in the report: “Perspective: IDC Health Insights’ Top Preferred Life Science Technology Vendors for 2013,” which documents results from IDC Health Insights’ Leading Indicators in Life Science IT Spending Survey.”¹ The IDC Health Insights survey shows the majority of respondents expect to contract with Accenture during the next 12 months for IT services.

Anne O’Riordan, global managing director of Accenture’s Life Sciences practice commented saying:

“We are pleased to be recognized again as the top IT provider for the life sciences industry, as measured by IDC Health Insights.  I am proud of all of the professionals in our global network who have worked so hard for this designation.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture  has been awarded a contract to create the strategic plan to help develop the University of Aizu Revitalization Center. The plan includes construction of a technology lab on the university campus as well as support for projects focused on rebuilding Fukushima as a technology leader.

Accenture designed the center’s operating structure, administration policy and business plan to ensure the center supports mobility, cloud, analytics and smart city technology capabilities. Smart cities leverage the latest technology to create sustainable and attractive living environments for citizens and businesses with more efficient and higher–quality services.

• Advanced ICT Research – Advanced studies and research on technologies that lead to the creation of new industries.
• Innovation Field Project – Cloud computing, data centers and test environments for smart devices will be provided to support domestic and overseas ICT companies relocating to Fukushima.
• Management School – Supports the education and development of future ICT professionals. Seminars and open-class lectures will be available to students and the public.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US $27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

New global research from Accenture, titled “Defining Success,” has found that more than two-thirds of female professionals around the world – and the same number of male respondents – say they can “have it all.” In fact, having both a successful career and a full life outside work is so important that many choose a job based on its potential impact on work-life balance.

• Job Satisfaction: In the current survey, 53 percent of women and 50 percent of men say they are satisfied with their jobs and not looking for new opportunities, compared to 43 percent of women and 41 percent of men, who expressed satisfaction in Accenture’s 2012 research.
• Rewarding workplaces: When asked what words describe a good work environment, rewarding (cited by 59 percent) tops respondents’ lists. Honest, flexible and interesting follow (54 percent, 50 percent and 49 percent, respectively)
• Tenure: Two-thirds of women (66 percent) and three-quarters of men (74 percent) have been with their current employers for more than 4 years.
• Pay raises: The majority of respondents (58 percent of women; 64 percent of men) say they have asked for or negotiated a pay raise. These findings continue a steady upward trend: 49 percent of women and 57 percent of men in our 2012 research asked for or negotiated a pay raise, while 44 percent of women and 48 percent of men in the 2011 survey did the same.

Respondents to the Accenture survey were split evenly by gender and were balanced by age and level in their organizations. The margin of error for the total sample was approximately +/-2 percent. A full report on the research, “Defining Success,” containing info graphics, analysis of regional trends and other key highlights is available at www.accenture.com/IWD.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com        

Accenture has been awarded a contract to create the strategic plan to help develop the University of Aizu Revitalization Center. The plan includes construction of a technology lab on the university campus as well as support for projects focused on rebuilding Fukushima as a technology leader.

This strategic plan is another example of Accenture’s commitment to helping rebuild the area. The Accenture Center for Innovation in Fukushima was opened in July 2011 to consolidate and coordinate ideas and actions for the reconstruction of the area. Accenture’s plan calls for the lab design to begin this year, with construction expected to be completed in the spring of 2015. When completed, the lab will feature a next generation data center, an efficient, high-performance center that will consume about 40 percent less electricity than traditional data centers.

Accenture designed the center’s operating structure, administration policy and business plan to ensure the center supports mobility, cloud, analytics and smart city technology capabilities. Smart cities leverage the latest technology to create sustainable and attractive living environments for citizens and businesses with more efficient and higher–quality services.

Hiroshi Goto, managing director, Accenture’s Health & Public Service work in Japan commented:

“It is an honor to support the planning of the University of Aizu Revitalization Center. The plan will allow the University of Aizu, one of Japan’s largest computer science universities, to have a larger role in local revitalization efforts. Through this collaboration, Accenture will work with the university to create more jobs by leveraging Information Communications Technology, key to the reconstruction,” he said.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture recognition

Accenture received a high vendor assessment for its Accenture CAS Trade Promotion Management (TPM) software solution in Gartner Inc.’s recently published “Vendor Panorama for Trade Promotion Management in Consumer Goods.

Accenture CAS is also a key component within Accenture Perfect Promotion, part of Accenture’s set of business services, which brings together Accenture’s management consulting capability, industry skills, and Accenture CAS software to create a highly differentiated solution for the consumer goods industry.

More and more companies are leaving spreadsheets for automated technologies, while others are adding promotion optimization capabilities. In the Vendor Panorama, Gartner profiles the TPM/TPO market and the leading software vendors across core areas, including:  Completeness, User Experience, Product Vision, Analytical Strength and Configurability.

Gartner assessed 14 service providers for the Vendor Panorama, which focused on the TPM marketplace and leading vendors that help consumer goods companies use technology to better manage their trade promotions.

“We believe the assessment of Accenture CAS in this new Vendor Panorama report is recognition of our advanced trade promotion capabilities and cements our reputation as a leading provider of TPM software,” said Henning Fromme, Accenture CAS software product strategy and development lead. “Since introducing the first web-based TPM solution, we’ve been dedicated to creating an integrated sales platform that uses trade promotion management and optimization to drive exceptional sales planning.”

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The survey of 600 executives in the United Kingdom and the United States revealed that 66 percent of responding companies have appointed senior figures (e.g. chief data officers) in the last 18 months to lead data-management strategies and policies, as well as to support business growth.

The survey of 600 executives in the United Kingdom and the United States revealed that 66 percent of responding companies have appointed senior figures (e.g. chief data officers) in the last 18 months to lead data-management strategies and policies, as well as to support business growth.

A combined 45 percent of respondents described their analytical capabilities as either in need of improvement, limited, lacking senior management support or piecemeal. Another 20 percent of organizations stated they have the required technical and human resources to apply analytics regularly with some success, but that the focus tends to be tactical rather than strategic. Only 21 percent of respondents said they routinely use analytics very successfully as part of an integrated enterprise wide approach.

According to the research, getting the full returns on investments in analytics is a journey that leads from issues, to insight, to decisions, to action and ultimately to outcome. But the Accenture Analytics experts also state that incremental value is to be gained at every step of this journey, and that organizations should set clear goals for each step they climb, for example focusing on near-term value so their analytics efforts are self-funded within the first twelve months.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has completed the implementation of Accenture Duck Creek Rating software at Quixa SpA, the Italian subsidiary of AXA that provides motor insurance online and via telephone.

“Our work with Quixa will enable them to deliver an exceptional experience to their customers,” said Michael A. Jackowski, global managing director of Accenture Software for P&C Insurance. “Working with our insurance software Center of Excellence in Barcelona, we are able to provide industry and delivery expertise, accelerating the success of our expanding European client base.”

As a rapidly growing motor insurer, Quixa wanted a solution that provided highly flexible product, rating and rules configuration capabilities while allowing a seamless integration to its existing legacy systems. Following the 12-week implementation of Accenture Duck Creek Rating, Quixa now has the flexibility to quickly respond to changing market conditions and provide dynamic pricing based on customer relationships.

Quixa is using Accenture Duck Creek Rating to transform its product definition and deployment capabilities and enhance its existing business management processes.

 This Accenture award-winning policy and claims software offers an integrated suite of software with modules that can be implemented individually or as part of a broader migration strategy. Accenture’s offerings enable insurers of all sizes to benefit from a flexible suite of P&C software to configure products, transact lines of business and process claims

“Innovation is a key driver for Quixa,” said Filippo Sirotti, CEO of Quixa SpA. “The company stands out in the Italian market as a pioneering provider of innovative solutions. Following this approach, Quixa has identified the Accenture Duck Creek Rating software as the perfect match to further support its vision of delivering an exceptional customer experience. We rely on the highly configurable nature of this product to enhance our business management processes and support our growth in a competitive market.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

 A new Accenture and MIT Alliance in Business Analytics combines Accenture’s industry and analytics expertise with MIT’s scientific and technological leadership. Its two streams of collaboration cover the challenges of harnessing big data and new approaches to improve the science of decision-making. A recent Accenture study of organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom revealed that the adoption of analytics is growing and that, compared to a similar analysis conducted three years ago, the use of analytics as a primarily predictive tool has tripled.

The alliance’s research aims to close the gap between the advance of analytics technologies and their successful application in specific industry and government environments. A recent Accenture study of organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom revealed that the adoption of analytics is growing and that, compared to a similar analysis conducted three years ago, the use of analytics as a primarily predictive tool has tripled.

The research on big data will cover how organizations can exploit the insights available from the growing volume of external, unstructured data. MIT, Accenture and Accenture clients will explore innovative uses of various data types and develop practical applications of advanced analytics.

As part of the Alliance’s program, MIT and Accenture will also undertake further research to explore the correlation between analytics capabilities and investments and the resulting business outcomes.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

According to a new study from Accenture (NYSE:ACN), faced with a nearly 50-billion piece decline in global mail volume over the past three years, rising employee pension costs and increasing competition from private, commercial postal operators, the world’s postal agencies are fighting back by diversifying services and leveraging technology.

Brody Buhler, managing director for Accenture’s global postal industry practice comments:

“Despite a continued tumultuous business climate, some postal organizations are thriving. They are launching new business lines, combining their products with new technology and radically changing their cost structures to be leaner and more agile,” he said.  “As these posts reinvent their business models, they are emerging as very different organizations that are well positioned for future growth.”

The 2013 research shows little movement since 2012 in the top 10 postal agencies, with the exception of Norway, which jumped five positions to seventh place and Finland, which dropped eight slots to 15^th place in the 2013 study. The top 10 highest performing posts, according to the Accenture research, are Singapore Post, United Parcel Service (UPS) (USA), Austria Post, Poste Italiane (Italy), Australia Post, FedEx (USA), Posten Norge (Norway), bpost (Belgium), TNT (Netherlands) and Correios Brasileiros (Brazil).

Some of the findings from the Accenture research includes the fact that no postal operator has seen real value or positive financial impact from the expansion of digital mail. None of the digital solutions currently in the market have resulted in significant profit nor achieved broad adoption.

As well, Postal agencies are creating new services that focus on the recipient – and not the sender – of mail, including narrower windows of delivery or the ability to redirect a parcel delivery to a new location. These services are giving consumers more control over package deliveries and providing postal agencies with a new revenue source.

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Accenture has been ranked as the number one life science information technology (IT) services vendor in a global survey conducted by IDC Health Insights. It is the third consecutive year Accenture has received this ranking.

The Accenture survey, which polled 102 industry leaders on planned IT budgetary spending, technology priorities and vendor preference, asked participants to identify which vendors servicing the life science market they expect to spend money with on software, hardware and IT services over the next 12 months.

Anne O’Riordan, global managing director of Accenture’s Life Sciences practice, said, “We are pleased to be recognized again as the top IT provider for the life sciences industry, as measured by IDC Health Insights.  I am proud of all of the professionals in our global network who have worked so hard for this designation.”

The ranking was cited in the report: “Perspective: IDC Health Insights’ Top Preferred Life Science Technology Vendors for 2013,” which documents results from IDC Health Insights’ Leading Indicators in Life Science IT Spending Survey.”¹ The IDC Health Insights survey shows the majority of respondents expect to contract with Accenture during the next 12 months for IT services. Click here for a link to the report.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

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Accenture Federal Services recently received a five-year, $24.4 million contract to help modernize The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) financial system. The current 25 year old structure will be transitioned to a cloud based operation that uses  commercial-off-the-shelf software in a shared service environment. The new project was something that Ed Meehan, Accenture’s Managing Director, US Federal Civilian Agency Portfolio, was only too happy to talk about when he spoke with Big4.com recently.
“What’s great about this project is when we’re done,” Meehan said, “ it’ s going to help the National Science Foundation deliver  their core mission with research grants for universities and colleges and award them effectively and efficiency in this time where agencies need to get a return on every dollar spent.”

Optimize Business Processes

To reach that end goal, Accenture will optimize business processes across all departments. Beyond being Accenture’s first project with the NSF, this contract also allows the company to advance its Oracle practice.

“This is a really hot space right now. This program has a  cloud element that is  really on the cutting edge of providing business services,” Meehan said.  One of the innovations that Accenture will implement for cost savings and efficiency is commercial-off-the-shelf-software. Meehan told Big4.com this feature was a fine example of technology working with the bottom line and how the need for specifically tailored software was lessened with this improvement.

Saving Client’s Money

“It lets us save the client money because it doesn’t require a lot of tailoring. That’s where costs can start to add up,” he said adding that the difference was in the fact that Accenture delivers the software through their Federal Financials as a Service offering that allows them to run the software as a cloud based solution.

“Both the cloud architecture and the shared services components are examples of how we are helping NSF with increased efficiency and improved effectiveness,,” Meehan said adding that one of the benefits these innovations will bring is a transformation taking the roles of financing and accounting from the back office and enabling them to be more of a “front line resource in terms of supporting the business mission and goals.”

Created by Congress in 1950, the NSF is a federal agency designed to promote interests in science, health and national defense. About 20 percent of all federally supported research conducted by American colleges and universities comes from this agency.

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New Accenture Contract

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approved Accenture Federal Services and Vius LLC for participation in the department’s Mentor/Protégé Program.The Mentor/Protégé Program encourages private-sector relationships and expands DHS’s efforts to identify and respond to the developmental needs of veteran-owned businesses. The program’s goal is to enhance participants’ ability to compete successfully for federal government contracts.

Mentors provide technical and management assistance, financial assistance in the form of equity investments and/or loans, subcontract support and assistance in performing prime contracts by working through joint-venture arrangements with veteran-owned firms.Over the past several months, Vius and Accenture have worked together, establishing strategic relationships to help identify solutions for government clients.  As part of the DHS mentor/protégé program the two companies will work together to provide best-in-class solutions and services to federal government clients.

“Veterans bring a unique perspective to the work of protecting our country’s citizens, both here and abroad,” said Rocky Thurston, who leads Accenture’s work at DHS.  “We look forward to learning from Vius while sharing our experience and understanding of the federal marketplace.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.  Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been selected by United Fire Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“United Fire Group”) to implement its claims management software application, Accenture Claim Components, to serve as the insurer’s core claims processing system. The new system will help United Fire Group streamline claims processes and improve service for both agents and customers.

Accenture Claim Components is a comprehensive claims management solution covering property and casualty (P&C) claims functions from first notice of loss to settlement and recovery, for all lines of business. The solution provides real-time analytics and business-driven configuration consoles that will assist United Fire Group to more efficiently manage individual claims and more effectively balance its claims workload.

Accenture’s policy and claims software offers insurance carriers an integrated suite of software with modules that can be implemented individually or as part of a broader migration strategy. The combined software enables insurers of all sizes to benefit from a flexible suite of P&C software to configure products, transact lines of business and process claims.

Michael A. Jackowski, global managing director of Accenture Software for P&C insurance commented:

“We are pleased that United Fire Group has selected Accenture Claim Components for their core claims management system,”he said. “Built on a modern technology platform that helps to achieve a lower cost per claim and reduce IT costs overall, Accenture Claim Components provides a robust claims processing solution to insurers of all sizes. Accenture Claim Components is highly configurable, function-rich and is designed to seamlessly integrate with the insurer’s existing IT infrastructure.”

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Accenture Spotlight Interview

 The term cutting edge has often been associated with Accenture‘s attempts to modernize technological systems, so when they recently announced that NYU Langone Medical Center had selected them to steer their ICD-10 implementation program, it came as no surprise. The federal government has mandated that the transition to ICD-10 must take place by October 1, 2014, so when Big4.com talked with Gala Prabhu, Director and Manager of Accenture’s ICD-10 initiatives, there was a lot of interesting ground to cover.

The process started in the summer of 2011 when Accenture was asked to come on board to help develop NYU’s ICD-10 strategy.

“We were asked to come in and talk to them about doing an ICD-10 assessment,” Prabhu said adding that Accenture was asked to go in and look at the current state and then come up with a detailed project plan and the budget for what it would cost the institution.

Several Areas

Since then, Accenture has worked with NYU Langone on several different areas that will foster the transition to ICD-10 mandates as prescribed by the federal government’s health care initiatives and the World Health Organization. Prabhu says one of the reasons Accenture was asked to assist with the project that will, among other things, minimize patient disruptions on outpatient care and verify compliance of physician documentation, is their relevant connections.

“One of the reasons we were asked to come in was the fact that we have an alliance with 3M as they are one of the leading vendors for ICD-10 in terms of coding and HIM insights and we had partnered with them,” she said, noting that Accenture will be on hand three months after the October deadline to further help with the transition.

Along with assisting with online training that will include all members of the healthcare network including physicians, Accenture will help with the critical dual coding needed. Prabhu spoke to the importance of this part of the transition and clarified how it works in relation to necessary medical administration.

“With dual coding the coder actually looks at the medical chart and codes in ICD-9 which is the way that reimbursement works today,” she said. “You go in and look at the chart and say that XYZ services were done and these translate into XYZ codes which then get rolled up into a DRG and then you get paid based on those DRGs.”

Using both codes

Prabhu went on to say that NYU Langone, under Accenture’s advisement, will use both existing ICD-9 and impending ICD-10 codes as a way of transitioning in the mandated ones before October. This practice run enables everyone across the NYU enterprise to get up to speed.

“In the case of NYU they’ve decided to do 9 to 12 months of dual coding which is pretty much considered best practice,” she said. “The big thing that we really get out of dual  coding is seeing if the physicians are really documenting at the level we need.”

Documentation

The lead time will enable the physician’s documentation processes to be able to work well with ICD-10 code.

“This gives us a one-year period to actually work with the physicians and track how they can improve their documentation,” Prabhu said adding that any improvements implemented today will also help with current reimbursements. She also mentioned another benefit to dual coding now was seeing how well charts coded in ICD-10 make their way through the system.

“We also want to take the claims that are coded in ICD-10 and make sure they pass through the different systems. We wanted to do some level of ‘Payer Testing’ and work with them if we see a variance.”  

Prabhu finished by saying her work with this latest initiative has been eye opening for her as well as the clients that Accenture works with on ICD-10.

“In some ways it’s bigger than Y2K because that was a technological change that needed to occur, whereas with ICD-10, it’s people process and technology all intertwined.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com  

Accenture Health Care Support Work

The Unified Clinical Organization (UCO), an innovative care improvement model from Trinity Health, is improving care coordination, patient outcomes and advancing standardization of care practices with support from Accenture. One example is a new care model for sepsis patients has helped Trinity Health save $17 million in annual costs related to sepsis care and reduced patient mortality from sepsis by almost 20 percent, according to information Accenture released at HIMMS Annual Conference & Exhibition (HIMSS).

Trinity Health worked with Accenture to identify system-wide opportunities for improving clinical and disease management outcomes across their 49 hospitals and involving over 10,000 clinicians. As part of a three-year initiative, Trinity Health established the UCO, a unique operating model to establish highly effective, reliable clinical practices, including medication reconciliation, patient safety protocols and standard care models for specific acute care scenarios, such as sepsis and heart failure.

“We consider (the creation of our Unified Clinical Organization) a real breakthrough in our ability to deliver consistent, top quality care to every patient, every time, in every Trinity Health location,” said Paul Conlon, Senior Vice President of Clinical Quality and Patient Safety. “We are proud of the innovation and accountability of our clinician-led teams and their ability to apply industrial strength analytic and change management tools to advance our core mission – to improve the health of our communities and to steward the resources entrusted to us.”

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Organizations are adopting analytics for decision making, according to new research from Accenture. However, there is  a  disconnect between these capabilities and how successfully they put them to use for business decision-making. “Analytics remains the new kid on the block, but is clearly moving on the C-suite agenda,” said Narendra Mulani, senior managing director, Accenture Analytics. “However, although companies are investing in senior resources and advanced technologies, analytics is not yet deeply ingrained into the fabric of most companies as an integrated, enterprise-wide approach. For many organizations the journeyto achieving true return on investment still lies ahead.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

A new Accenture (NYSE:ACN) survey shows that most U.S. doctors surveyed (82 percent) want patients to actively participate in their own healthcare by updating their electronic health records.  As well, the majority of doctors (81 percent) believe patients should even be able to add such clinical updates to their records as new symptoms or self-measured metrics, including blood pressure and glucose levels.

These findings were consistent among 3,700 doctors surveyed by Accenture in eight countries: Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United States. In fact, nearly half of doctors surveyed (49 percent) believe that giving patients access to their records is crucial to providing effective care. But, only 21 percent of doctors surveyed currently allow patients to have online access to their medical summary or patient chart, the most basic form of a patient’s record.

On behalf of Accenture, Harris Interactive conducted an online survey of 3,700 physicians across eight countries: Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United States. The survey included 500 doctors per country (200 from Singapore) and assessed the physicians’ adoption, utilization and attitudes toward healthcare IT. The research was conducted between November 2012 and December 2012.

“Many physicians believe that patients should take an active role in managing their own health information, because it fosters personal responsibility and ownership and enables both the patient and doctor to track progress outside scheduled appointments,” said Mark Knickrehm, global managing director of Accenture Health.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Accenture Federal Services a $2 million, one-year contract to help the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) continue improving the system that tracks data critical to the nation’s meat and poultry food supply. The work will focus on case management tracking and increased reporting efficiency to further streamline the agency’s investigation, review and approval processes.

“Federal agencies are faced with the challenge of transforming and improving how they work in today’s challenging financial environment. Continued improvements will help FSIS drive operational efficiencies, improve performance, and help protect our nation’s critical food supply infrastructure,” said Ed Meehan, who leads Accenture’s federal civilian agency portfolio.

Accenture’s federal business serves every cabinet-level department and 20 of the largest federal organizations. The U.S. federal portfolio spans across clients in civilian, defense, intelligence and public safety agencies.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US $27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture has been named to Canada’s Best Diversity Employers list, an annual competition to recognize Canadian employers with exceptional workplace diversity and inclusivity programs. The publication of standings, now in its sixth year, appears today in The Globe and Mail and on the Canadian job search website, Eluta.ca.

“At Accenture we promote diversity with client forums, supplier diversity programs and recruiting, as well as employee engagement and retention programs,” said Claudia Thompson, managing director, Human Capital & Diversity for Accenture in Canada. “In addition, our employee resource groups connect individuals to help them strengthen their networks and enhance their working experience at Accenture.”

“As a global company, Accenture is culturally diverse by nature. We believe in fostering our employees’ diverse talents and backgrounds, while remaining united by our core values and common methodologies,” said Michael Denham, president and country managing director of Accenture Canadian operations. “By embracing diversity and ensuring a culture of inclusion, we are able to attract the talent we need to serve our clients at the highest possible level.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

New Accenture Survey

Demonstrating the growing importance of incorporating mobility into enterprises, most CIOs believe mobility will generate significant sources of new revenue for their businesses, and most will invest 31 – 40 percent of their discretionary budgets to achieve that goal – compared with only 19 percent of CIOs surveyed last year – according to Accenture (NYSE:ACN).

Regarding specific mobile capabilities, survey respondents indicated that improving field and customer service with instant data access, capture and processing topped the list of needs (43 percent), followed by engaging customers via mobile devices (36 percent), especially with transactions on mobile devices (34 percent). Twenty-nine percent of all respondents said they plan to design, develop and/or distribute connected devices to support B2B application.

“It’s encouraging that companies are embracing the importance of mobility but they need to go further by identifying the top areas for mobile deployment,” said Jin Lee, senior managing director, Accenture Mobility. “In particular they should look at areas that will grow, such as connected devices, and conduct a ‘gap analysis’ to determine how to catch up, or even better, get ahead of the curve. Other critical considerations include investments, budget allocation, re-training staff, hiring mobile expertise, and leveraging external experts to help develop or implement mobility strategies.”

From Dec. 2012 through Jan. 2013, Accenture conducted an online survey with 413 IT professionals (CIOs, CTOs, Directors of Technology or IT, and Chief Mobility Officers) across 14 industries in 14 countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed work for companies that generate between US$1 billion and US$5 billion in annual revenues; 42 percent for companies that generate between US$500 million and US$1 billion; and 6 percent for companies between US$250 million and US$500 million.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

New global research from Accenture, titled “Defining Success,” has found that more than two-thirds of female professionals around the world – and the same number of male respondents – say they can “have it all.” In fact, having both a successful career and a full life outside work is so important that many choose a job based on its potential impact on work-life balance.

“Over the course of their careers, professionals will continue to define and re-define what success looks like,” said Adrian Lajtha, Accenture chief leadership officer. “For many, career goals and personal priorities will take precedence at different times.  As today’s professionals strive to find the right balance, leading companies will find innovative ways to help them develop, grow and thrive.”

“The fact that finding the right approach to integrating career and life demands continues to be critically important to employees is significant for employers,” said Nellie Borrero, managing director – global inclusion & diversity, Accenture. “Companies that can help their employees navigate both their professional and personal lives are likely to see strong employee engagement and enjoy an advantage as they recruit and retain high performers.”

In November 2012, Accenture conducted an online survey of 4,100 business executives from medium to large organizations in 33 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture has been named to Canada’s Best Diversity Employers list, an annual competition to recognize Canadian employers with exceptional workplace diversity and inclusivity programs. The publication of standings, now in its sixth year, appears today in The Globe and Mail and on the Canadian job search website, Eluta.ca.

“At Accenture we promote diversity with client forums, supplier diversity programs and recruiting, as well as employee engagement and retention programs,” said Claudia Thompson, managing director, Human Capital & Diversity for Accenture in Canada. “In addition, our employee resource groups connect individuals to help them strengthen their networks and enhance their working experience at Accenture.”

 Several of Accenture’s initiatives contributed to its inclusion on the ranking, including:

• Women’s platform: Through the Defining success. Your way. initiative, Accenture is committed to helping its more than 90,000 female employees worldwide define and develop their own paths to success
• Persons with Disabilities (PwD): A global employee resource group focuses on efforts to help PwD across Accenture, including assistive technology, workplace accommodations, HR policies, training and development, geographic networking and recruiting efforts

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

The European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs has awarded a consortium of Accenture  Morpho (Safran) and HP, a contract to maintain the European Visa Information System (VIS). The contract is for three years with a possible one-year extension to a maximum value of €70 million (approx.US$93 million).  

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture has been recognized with an HP Partner in Excellence Global Innovation Award for Cloud Computing at the 2013 HP Global Partner Conference.

“The HP Partner in Excellence Global Innovation Award for Cloud Computing is a testament to our proven track record of working together to generate dramatic business improvement and producing tangible results for our clients,” said Scott Harrison, global managing director, Alliances, Accenture. “Over the past 20 years, Accenture and HP have jointly designed and implementedstrategic solutions for our joint clients and it is rewarding to be recognized as a leader in delivering business results for our clients with HP.”

HP Partner in Excellence Award winners are selected by a panel of HP Alliance executives and presented to outstanding HP partners worldwide who have demonstrated exceptional business performance, achieved significant overall growth, have delivered innovative solutions to customers, or have demonstrated IT innovation through philanthropic activities in their local communities.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Latest Accenture Award

Accenture recently  announced that it has been named the APJ recipient of a VMware Partner Network Award in the Consulting and Integration Partner of the Year category.  The award was presented at VMware Partner Exchange 2013, VMware’s annual partner event, on Feb. 26 in Las Vegas.

“This honor illustrates our strong relationship with VMware and our commitment to developing innovative solutions and a strong delivery team that can improve the efficiency with which our clients operate,” said Kim Loane, managing director of technology consulting, Asia Pacific, at Accenture. “However, our collaboration isn’t just about solutions and delivery. It’s about expanding our business and this partnership has helped us to expand license revenue agreements in the government agency, airline, energy, and banking markets.”

New Accenture and VMware joint solutions were designed to help organizations improve IT efficiencies through increased agility, automation and simplicity while reducing costs.

“We are pleased to recognize the achievements made in 2012 by members of the VMware partner ecosystem,” said Andrew Dutton, SVP and General Manager, APJ, VMware. “VMware Partner Exchange is dedicated to educating and equipping our partner ecosystem with the resources and insights they need to help deliver first class solutions for the software-defined datacenter in the coming year. We congratulate Accenture on winning a VMware Partner Network Award and we look forward to our mutual success in 2013.”

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

According to Accenture, demonstrating the growing importance of incorporating mobility into enterprises is critical and  most CIOs believe mobility will generate significant sources of new revenue for their businesses, and most will invest 31 – 40 percent of their discretionary budgets to achieve that goal – compared with only 19 percent of CIOs surveyed last year.

Accenture conducted a global survey of CIOs and other C-suite IT professionals to understand if companies are embracing the importance of mobility and to identify the top priorities of IT professionals, and the obstacles to achieving them.

“It’s encouraging that companies are embracing the importance of mobility but they need to go further by identifying the top areas for mobile deployment,” said Jin Lee, senior managing director, Accenture Mobility. “In particular they should look at areas that will grow, such as connected devices, and conduct a ‘gap analysis’ to determine how to catch up, or even better, get ahead of the curve. Other critical considerations include investments, budget allocation, re-training staff, hiring mobile expertise, and leveraging external experts to help develop or implement mobility strategies.”

The survey further found that mobile device management (27 percent), collaboration (25 percent) and knowledge sharing (23 percent) are the top three most important features to a developed mobile strategy. When Accenture participants were asked about their top two priorities, China (53 percent), Italy (53 percent) and India (50 percent) tagged mobility as one of their top two focus areas. The United Kingdom (67 percent), Japan (57 percent), and France (52 percent) ranked mobility as one of their top five IT priorities.

Security is still a significant concern, and interoperability has risen as an issue, indicating that existing systems were not all built for mobile and must be transformed for adoption to continue. The study found that security (45 percent), budget concerns (41 percent) and lack of interoperability with legacy systems (31 percent) are still the main barriers cited by companies as impacting their mobile priorities.

From Dec. 2012 through Jan. 2013, Accenture conducted an online survey with 413 IT professionals (CIOs, CTOs, Directors of Technology or IT, and Chief Mobility Officers) across 14 industries in 14 countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

The post Accenture: Recognized by Informatica appeared first on Big4.com.

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded Accenture Federal Services a $2 million, one-year contract to help the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) continue improving the system that tracks data critical to the nation’s meat and poultry food supply, Ed Meehan, who leads Accenture’s federal civilian agency portfolio, was understandably excited when he talked with Big4.com recently.

“What’s great about this is we’re able to bring new capabilities to FSIS, grow them over time and while doing that, consolidate systems that makes everything less costly to run,” he said. The new contract will look at critical functions like case management tracking and increased reporting efficiency.

Meehan also points out that Accenture first implemented the AssuranceNet system in 2005; it is  the original framework Accenture started the work from.

“It’s done a number of things over time like standardizing and streamlining controls,” he says, adding it also focused on laws and regulations in the earlier days across district offices before the recent advances were implemented.

Other Accenture Capabilities

“There have been other capabilities brought onto the same system over time, including  program evaluation and violations of inspection laws,” he says, noting that as domestic food policy has been developed, everything has been integrated together.

“This  is our seventh implementation phase of this program, focusing on  enhancing existing business practices and reporting,” he said, adding that with this particular segment, Accenture will be harmonizing different business processes and working on international and internal audit program areas that will be brought on to the system.

“That’s what will  enable the retirement of e three legacy systems that currently are disconnected from AssureNet,” he told Big4.com.

One of the priorities had been embedding laws and regulations across all USDA  district offices so there was one set of standardized processes used. With this latest contract, Accenture has added even more offices with a focus on internal audits. Meehan says the experience that started with the AssuranceNet system has been an evolutionary one.

“What’s incredible  is the fact that we’re able to being some innovation from an Accenture standpoint and merge federal experiences with commercial experiences that we have to help FSIS envision and design these new capabilities and then grow them over time,” he said, adding that one of the critical motivating factors was dealing with systems and information that’s important to the lives of Americans.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

 Accenture and the Accenture Foundations have awarded Quest Alliance India an additional grant of US$623,000 to help the organization provide approximately 3,000 disadvantaged young people with career and workplace skills.

“Supporting Quest Alliance India helps exemplify Accenture’s commitment to building skills and improving the communities in which we live and work,” said Jill Huntley, managing director of corporate citizenship at Accenture. “Quest is proving it’s possible to develop replicable and scalable programs that teach crucial job skills and help disadvantaged young people.”

The award reflects Accenture’s global corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business.

“India’s workforce is quite young and in need of formal training so we are constantly seeking ways to provide disadvantaged young people with the skills necessary to find long-term employment and to provide for themselves and their families,” said Aakash Sethi, founder and executive director of Quest Alliance. “Working with Accenture and leveraging their technology and skills has allowed us to enhance the capacity and quality of our training significantly.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

A new Accenture book, published by Wiley, reveals how changes to sales strategies and execution models can help sustain profitable growth amid an increasingly complex and fast-evolving selling environment.   Accenture (NYSE: ACN) recently announced the release of Selling Through Someone Else: How to Use Agile Sales Networks and Partners to Sell More, authored by Robert Wollan, Naveen Jain and Michael Heald, managing directors in the Accenture Sales & Customer Services practice.

Robert Wollan, co-author and global managing director of Accenture’s Sales & Customer Services practice comments:

Without a doubt, globalization, new competitors and low-cost threats have disrupted the sales process,” he said. “As a result, traditional approaches to sales are becoming less effective and less reliable for many. To be successful, sellers must be agile to navigate this increasingly complex environment and they can benefit from creating unique experiences that influence customers in a more complex and competitive setting.”

The book also includes guidance from numerous Accenture professionals with deep knowledge and experience in underlying capabilities that support the agile selling model. These include mastering core capabilities such as lead generation, incentives and pricing and analytics that leaders use to bring agile selling to life and creating the infrastructure to sustain the relationships with customers, channel partners and other entities that are critical to agile selling.

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Accenture will work with the Madrid Health Authority to enhance the integration and functionality of Madrid’s healthcare technology systems across 36 hospitals, 29 specialized treatment centers and more than 400 primary care facilities. The Madrid Health Authority (Consejería de Sanidad de la Comunidad de Madrid) has awarded Accenture (NYSE: ACN) a two-year contract to deliver consulting services.

“This project builds on the existing work we have done with Accenture to develop our IT infrastructure, and supports our goal of using the most innovative and efficient technologies to provide our citizens with effective, accessible and affordable healthcare,” said Zaida Sampedro Préstamo of Madrid Health Authority.

“This contract reinforces our commitment to the Madrid Healthcare Authority and underscores Accenture’s deep knowledge of the public health industry,” said Baltasar Lobato who leads Accenture’s Healthcare business in Spain. “Accenture will apply its broad industry skills and insights from our global network to support the Authority’s mission to offer strong citizen-oriented services to increase regional competitiveness.”

The scope of the initiative includes traditional project management and an advisory role in which Accenture will support the technical and functional decisions of the technology systems.

The Madrid Health Authority is a government agency that is responsible for delivering public healthcare services to the more than 6.5 million Madrid citizens. The Madrid Health Authority employs more than 80,000 people and oversees a complex public healthcare system that is comprised of 36 hospitals, 29 specialized treatment centers and more than 400 primary care facilities.

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Accenture new IT report

According to a new report by Accenture (NYSE: ACN), the convergence of social media, mobile computing, analytics and the cloud is transforming the way businesses operate, and companies that adopt available technologies to “go digital” will be better positioned to take advantage of rapidly shifting business opportunities and leap ahead of the competition.

Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s chief technology officer comments:

“Organizations and their leaders need to hit the reset button on how they use technology to drive market differentiation, deepen customer relationships, and deliver growth and profitability,” he said. “Our latest Technology Vision report finds that the technology for accomplishing these business goals is available today, but that adopting a new digital mindset is required to harness the potential. The power and reach of converging IT trends such as mobility and cloud means that business leaders need to understand the implications of a software-driven, ‘connected everything’ world.”

While technology gives organizations the ability to understand their customers better than ever, most enterprises are not taking full advantage of it to build deeper, richer relationships that can  improve customer loyalty significantly according to PwC. While mobile computing, social networks and context-based services have increased connections with consumers, many companies have lost customer intimacy in the process. These connections have been viewed as another communication or transactional channel rather than opportunities to improve relationships.

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The European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs has awarded a consortium of Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Morpho (Safran) and HP, a contract to maintain the European Visa Information System (VIS). The contract is for three years with a possible one-year extension to a maximum value of €70 million (approx.US$93 million).

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Accenture has been recognized with an HP Partner in Excellence Global Innovation Award for Cloud Computing at the 2013 HP Global Partner Conference. The HP Partner in Excellence Global Innovation Award for Cloud Computing honors Accenture for demonstrating significant success with HP by implementing a Private Cloud solution for a global healthcare products client.

HP Partner in Excellence Award winners are selected by a panel of HP Alliance executives and presented to outstanding HP partners worldwide who have demonstrated exceptional business performance, achieved significant overall growth, have delivered innovative solutions to customers, or have demonstrated IT innovation through philanthropic activities in their local communities.

Scott Harrison, global managing director, Alliances, Accenture comments:

“The HP Partner in Excellence Global Innovation Award for Cloud Computing is a testament to our proven track record of working together to generate dramatic business improvement and producing tangible results for our clients,” he says.. “Over the past 20 years, Accenture and HP have jointly designed and implementedstrategic solutions for our joint clients and it is rewarding to be recognized as a leader in delivering business results for our clients with HP.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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The Accenture Technology Vision 2013 report looks at the future of enterprise IT and makes recommendations for how companies can take advantage of technology and software to improve their competitiveness, operations and business results. These include:

Leveraging Technology to Create Digital Relationships at Scale: While technology gives organizations the ability to understand their customers better than ever, most enterprises are not taking full advantage of it to build deeper, richer relationships that can  improve customer loyalty significantly. While mobile computing, social networks and context-based services have increased connections with consumers, many companies have lost customer intimacy in the process. These connections have been viewed as another communication or transactional channel rather than opportunities to improve relationships.

Accenture’s Technology Vision is developed annually by the Accenture Technology Labs. For the 2013 report, Accenture researchers and scientists developed hypotheses about information technology developments that will have a significant impact on businesses over the next three to five years.

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“We have witnessed the profound effect skills training has on people, businesses, industries, markets and communities,” said Adrian Lajtha, Accenture’s chief leadership officer. “We now have the opportunity to continue combining the passion, dedication and resilience of our people and our strategic nonprofit partners to increase the impact of Skills to Succeed around the world.”

Skills to Succeed draws on one of Accenture’s core competencies – training talent – to help address the need for skills that open doors to employment. The initiative harnesses the powerful combination of financial support and the pro bono contributions of time and Accenture employee skills.

Accenture is collaborating with nonprofits on more than 200 Skills to Succeed initiatives, which focus on making a sustained impact around the world, including:

• Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute – enabling the organization to train 7,500 new patient navigators and expand its skills-building and job readiness program in 35 locations across the United States
• Junior Achievement and Junior Achievement Young Enterprise – helping to equip young people with workplace and entrepreneurial skills in more than 19 countries

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

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The book  informs the entire C-suite, not just the Chief Sales Officer, about how to develop and scale this more agile approach. It addresses how the CIO can work together with peers in sales and operations, as well as the implications for the Chief Talent Officer.

It  presents trends and lessons learned from the authors’ work with a range of companies, from Fortune 500 and Global 500 businesses to small-medium businesses owners. It identifies how analytics, the adoption of digital selling and mobile sales tools and greater collaboration with channel partners and customers can reshape a company’s sales function and help it reach its financial and strategic objectives.

The book also includes guidance from numerous Accenture professionals with deep knowledge and experience in underlying capabilities that support the agile selling model, including:

• Mastering core capabilities such as lead generation, incentives and pricing and analytics that leaders use to bring agile selling to life;
• Building a better sales network that extends far outside the walls of the organization (and your employees) and capitalizes on new market opportunities;
• A fresh look at motivating a sales force and what the “right” behaviors and the “right” incentives really are;
• Building an advanced sales and distribution IT infrastructure to support a sales force; and
• Creating the infrastructure to sustain the relationships with customers, channel partners and other entities that are critical to agile selling.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

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Accenture shows qualifications

Accenture has been positioned in the “Leaders” quadrant in Gartner Inc.’s recently published “Magic Quadrant for Oracle Application Management Service Providers, Worldwide.”

With more than 52,000 skilled Oracle consultants around the globe, Accenture is uniquely qualified to provide strategy, implementation, upgrade and application outsourcing solutions across a comprehensive suite of Oracle products. Accenture-developed solutions such as Accenture Delivery Methods for Oracle enable a consistent and reliable Oracle solution implementation across any industry and business function.

We believe Accenture’s positioning in this new report reflects the results we deliver every day to clients who entrust us with the management of their Oracle Applications,” said Derek Steelberg, global managing director of Oracle business for Accenture. “Our application outsourcing services for Oracle are designed to deliver reliability, value and innovation–helping our clients to reduce costs, improve operations and respond to a dynamic business and Oracle technology landscape.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies

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The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Accenture s a five-year, $24.4 million contract to help modernize the organization’s financial system. Today, the way federal agencies process and manage their financial information can have a significant impact on their ability to deliver on their mission. By improving NSF’s efficiency and effectiveness, Accenture will be helping the agency deliver on its mission of promoting scientific research nationwide,” said Ed Meehan, who leads Accenture’s work with civilian agencies.

Accenture will work with NSF to modernize current operations by transitioning the agency to a cloud-based financial system, Accenture’s Federal Financials as a Service offering and its financial systems shared service center. Accenture will help to increase the agency’s efficiency and effectiveness, and optimize business processes across all departments.

“Today, the way federal agencies process and manage their financial information can have a significant impact on their ability to deliver on their mission. By improving NSF’s efficiency and effectiveness, Accenture will be helping the agency deliver on its mission of promoting scientific research nationwide,” said Ed Meehan, who leads Accenture’s work with civilian agencies.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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Accenture to help modernize financial system

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Accenture Federal Services a five-year, $24.4 million contract to help modernize the organization’s financial system. The project will upgrade the agency’s 25 year-old financial accounting system to one that is fully integrated, based on commercial-off-the-shelf software and hosted in a shared service environment.

“Today, the way federal agencies process and manage their financial information can have a significant impact on their ability to deliver on their mission. By improving NSF’s efficiency and effectiveness, Accenture will be helping the agency deliver on its mission of promoting scientific research nationwide,” said Ed Meehan, who leads Accenture’s work with civilian agencies.

Last year, NSF managed and dispersed $5.72 billion for research and related activities. In fields that include mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, the agency often is the major source of federal financial backing. About 10,000 new awards are presented annually, with an average duration of three years. These awards fund specific research proposals for individuals and small groups of investigators. In the past few decades, NSF-funded researchers have won more than 180 Nobel Prizes.

Accenture will work with NSF to modernize current operations by transitioning the agency to a cloud-based financial system, Accenture’s Federal Financials as a Service offering and its financial systems shared service center. Accenture will help to increase the agency’s efficiency and effectiveness, and optimize business processes across all departments.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.  Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

New York University Langone Medical Center (NYU Langone) has selected Accenture to support its ICD-10 implementation program. The effort will map ICD-10 mandates to clinical processes and will use analytics to identify and mitigate potential risks to avoid financial loss.

ICD-10 is an International Classification of Disease system established by the World Health Organization for classifying medical diagnostic properties and procedures in records and reimbursement claims. By U.S. federal mandate, all health organizations must transition to ICD-10 by October 1, 2014.

Since 2010, Accenture has worked with the NYU Langone to establish the infrastructure and reimbursement processes for transitioning to the ICD-10 mandates, including eliminating erosions in coder productivity, remediating areas of financial risk in coding and documentation, minimizing patient disruptions in outpatient care and verifying the compliance of physician documentation. Additionally, the hospital information systems were upgraded to support the implementation process.

Accenture will work with NYU Langone to help manage all areas of transitioning to the ICD-10 mandates, such as implementing computer-assisted coding software and helping to administer online training to the entire healthcare network, including physicians. In addition, Accenture will help the Medical Center perform dual coding up to12 months prior to the federally mandated ICD-10 deadline.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US $27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012.

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According to a new report by Accenture,  the convergence of social media, mobile computing, analytics and the cloud is transforming the way businesses operate, and companies that adopt available technologies to “go digital” will be better positioned to take advantage of rapidly shifting business opportunities and leap ahead of the competition.

“Organizations and their leaders need to hit the reset button on how they use technology to drive market differentiation, deepen customer relationships, and deliver growth and profitability,” said Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s chief technology officer. The Accenture Technology Vision 2013 report looks at the future of enterprise IT and makes recommendations for how companies can take advantage of technology and software to improve their competitiveness, operations and business results.

The Accenture Technology Vision 2013 report finds that because technology has become core to virtually every aspect of a business, every business is a digital business and that all senior leaders – not just CIOs — must be able to understand, embrace and drive value from new technologies that affect their organization. Today’s software, for example, has the potential to change the very business model of a company or industry in the future, according to the report.

“The challenge for businesses in today’s digital landscape is to reimagine themselves in the context of an increasingly software-driven world,” said Daugherty. “To succeed, organizations must leverage IT innovations to derive insights that enable them to optimize their enterprise, take advantage of emerging opportunities, strengthen customer loyalty, and deliver better business outcomes.”

Accenture’s Technology Vision is developed annually by the Accenture Technology Labs. For the 2013 report, Accenture researchers and scientists developed hypotheses about information technology developments that will have a significant impact on businesses over the next three to five years.

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Accenture has announced it has exceeded its original Skills to Succeed goal of equipping 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business.

“Skills are a key driver of economic empowerment, leading to greater innovation, increased competiveness and rising standards of living in both mature and emerging markets,” said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s chairman & CEO. “Through Skills to Succeed, our people are inspired to put their skills and interests to work creating sustained impact in communities around the world. This continued dedication will help us achieve our increased goal of equipping half a million people with skills by 2015.”

• Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute – enabling the organization to train 7,500 new patient navigators and expand its skills-building and job readiness program in 35 locations across the United States
• Junior Achievement and Junior Achievement Young Enterprise – helping to equip young people with workplace and entrepreneurial skills in more than 19 countries

Skills to Succeed is Accenture’s global corporate citizenship initiative, which focuses on advancing employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in both mature and emerging markets. By 2015, the company is committed to equipping 500,000 people around the world with the skills to get a job or build a business. To achieve this, Accenture will continue to work with strategic partners that share its skills-building goals. Current partners include organizations such Junior Achievement, Plan International, Save the Children, and Youth Business International, among others.

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Accenture has  announced the release of Selling Through Someone Else: How to Use Agile Sales Networks and Partners to Sell More, authored by Robert Wollan, Naveen Jain and Michael Heald, managing directors in the Accenture Sales & Customer Services practice. The book, published by Wiley, reveals how changes to sales strategies and execution models can help sustain profitable growth amid an increasingly complex and fast-evolving selling environment.

Selling Through Someone Else informs the entire C-suite, not just the Chief Sales Officer, about how to develop and scale this more agile approach. It addresses how the CIO can work together with peers in sales and operations, as well as the implications for the Chief Talent Officer. The book presents trends and lessons learned from the authors’ work with a range of companies, from Fortune 500 and Global 500 businesses to small-medium businesses owners.

• Mastering core capabilities such as lead generation, incentives and pricing and analytics that leaders use to bring agile selling to life;
• Building a better sales network that extends far outside the walls of the organization (and your employees) and capitalizes on new market opportunities;

Without a doubt, globalization, new competitors and low-cost threats have disrupted the sales process,” said Robert Wollan, co-author and global managing director of the Accenture Sales & Customer Services practice. “As a result, traditional approaches to sales are becoming less effective and less reliable for many. To be successful, sellers must be agile to navigate this increasingly complex environment and they can benefit from creating unique experiences that influence customers in a more complex and competitive setting.”

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Accenture tournament like no other

From the first tee shot to the final putt, millions of golf fans in more than 224 countries will follow the 2013 World Golf Championships (WGC)-Accenture Match Play Championship with great interest when 64 of the world’s best players tee it up Feb. 20 – 24.

“Match play is a head-to-head competition that mirrors the global business environment that we and our clients must compete in every day,” said Accenture chief marketing & communications officer, Roxanne Taylor. “We believe there is great synergy between the tournament and the mission of Accenture, which is to help our clients also achieve high performance.”

Unlike any other TOUR event, for five intensive days of match play these elite golfers will square off in head-to-head, single-elimination competition at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain, in Marana, Ariz., just north of Tucson, marking one of the most exciting weeks of the year in golf.

The Accenture Match Play Championship is further distinguished by four 16-player brackets. The 64 players are divided into four brackets, each named in honor of one of golf’s greatest players: Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Gary Player and Sam Snead. Players in each of the brackets are seeded No. 1 through No. 16, with the No. 1 seed playing the No. 16 seed in the first round, No. 2 pairing off with No. 15, No. 3 meeting No. 14, and so forth.

The Accenture Match Play Championship will be telecast live for a total of 29 hours over the five days of the tournament and can be seen on television in 224 countries. In the United States, Golf Channel opens Tournament Week by airing five hours of highlights from the 2012 Accenture Match Play Championship event Tuesday, Feb.19 from 8:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. with a replay 12:00 a.m.–12:30 a.m. and will wrap up the week with an additional four-hour highlights program of the 2013 Accenture Match Play event Monday, Feb. 25 from 2:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.

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The Madrid Health Authority (Consejería de Sanidad de la Comunidad de Madrid) has awarded Accenture (NYSE: ACN) a two-year contract to deliver consulting services focused on existing healthcare IT systems for Madrid’s public healthcare network that serves the city’s 6.5 million citizens.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Accenture Federal Services a $2 million, one-year contract to help the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) continue improving the system that tracks data critical to the nation’s meat and poultry food supply. The work will focus on case management tracking and increased reporting efficiency to further streamline the agency’s investigation, review and approval processes

Accenture developed and first implemented the AssuranceNet system in 2005, helping the agency better record and share data, as well as standardize and streamline controls across the organization, focusing first on laws and regulations across district offices. Since then, offices responsible for program evaluation, case management, violations of inspections laws and the development of domestic food policy all have been integrated.

Enhancements under the new contract will enable FSIS to retire three legacy systems and consolidate all data into one, agency-wide enterprise solution.

Accenture’s federal business serves every cabinet-level department and 20 of the largest federal organizations. The U.S. federal portfolio spans across clients in civilian, defense, intelligence and public safety agencies.

Accenture Federal Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, a U.S. company, with offices in Arlington, VA.

Ed Meehan, who leads Accenture’s federal civilian agency portfolio commented:

“Federal agencies are faced with the challenge of transforming and improving how they work in today’s challenging financial environment. Continued improvements will help FSIS drive operational efficiencies, improve performance, and help protect our nation’s critical food supply infrastructure,” he said.

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Accenture and Quest Alliance India today announced that Accenture and the Accenture Foundations have awarded Quest Alliance India an additional grant of US$623,000 to help the organization provide approximately 3,000 disadvantaged young people with career and workplace skills. The grant brings Accenture’s direct support to Quest Alliance India to more than US$950,000 since 2009.

“Supporting Quest Alliance India helps exemplify Accenture’s commitment to building skills and improving the communities in which we live and work,” said Jill Huntley, managing director of corporate citizenship at Accenture. “Quest is proving it’s possible to develop replicable and scalable programs that teach crucial job skills and help disadvantaged young people.”

The award reflects Accenture’s global corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The grant, which consists of cash as well as the time and skills of Accenture employees, will allow Quest Alliance India to work with nonprofit vocational training partners to develop and implement a blended learning curriculum in English and workplace readiness

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments

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Accenture has helped Shanghai East Hospital complete the implementation of a Hospital Resource Planning (HRP) system designed to optimize the hospital’s business processes and enhance its operating efficiency. Previously, Accenture helped the hospital design a roadmap for building its IT infrastructure and introduced the hospital to the leading analysis and assessment model established by the U.S. Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

Under the management consulting agreement, Accenture supported the introduction of the system that covers a variety of business functions, including logistics management, materials management, cost accounting and budget management. Among the new capabilities, the system provides closed-loop materials management and full-cost financial accounting, intended to help the hospital achieve greater efficiency and lower costs.

“Shanghai East Hospital is a top general hospital in China and a driver of innovation within the global healthcare sector,” said Bo Wang, who leads Accenture’s Health & Public Service business in Greater China. “We are honored to be leveraging our deep industry knowledge and project management skills to help Shanghai East Hospital achieve more efficient business operations as it strives to build a leading, intelligent and digital hospital.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies.

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Seven financial technology entrepreneurs have been selected to participate in the inaugural FinTech Innovation Lab London launched by Accenture , leading banks and venture capital companies last year. The Lab is designed to nurture early-stage companies developing new technologies for the financial services sector.

The seven start-ups – chosen by leading industry executives from a large field of applicants from the UK and internationally – include: BehavioSec, Calltrunk, Digital Shadows, Growth Intelligence, Kiboo, Open Bank Project and Waratek. Their innovations range from cloud development tools and “Big Data” security and analysis applications, to search engines for voice recordings, “behavioural biometric” solutions for fighting fraud, open source technologies, and personal financial management tools for young people.

Accenture reports the chosen entrepreneurs will be mentored for 12 weeks by leading executives from financial services, venture capital and angel investment firms through a series of panel discussions, workshops, leadership coaching and networking opportunities. At the end of the programme, the entrepreneurs are given an opportunity to present their concepts to potential investors and participating industry executives.

The FinTech Innovation Lab London is modelled on a similar programme that was co-founded by Accenture and the Partnership for New York City Fund, which has already proved highly successful in helping a dozen young financial technology start-ups.

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The Highmark Foundation will team with Accenture  to establish and implement a patient navigation pilot program at two Western Pennsylvania hospitals: St. Vincent Health System in Erie and Allegheny Valley in Pittsburgh. Accenture and the Highmark Foundation will work with the hospitals to create an infrastructure for patient navigation – both locally and within the individual hospitals. As a part of the effort, six patient navigators will be trained, hired and placed within the hospitals, while an additional 10 navigators will be trained, so they can assist when necessary.

Jean-Pierre Stephan, who leads health consumer and services strategy for Accenture, comments: ”

Patient navigation not only creates a one-on-one connection for the patient, it serves as a low-cost investment that delivers significant value to care delivery,” he said.  “The Highmark Foundation is uniquely positioned to help hospitals and patients navigate various barriers within the health system while freeing up time for clinicians to do what they do best – provide care.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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This builds on the long term relationship between Accenture and KPN, expanding the range of capabilities Accenture is currently providing.  Accenture has existing managed services contracts at KPN for its business support systems, infrastructure operations, as well as a contract to deliver KPN’s interactive TV services to multiple devices (TV, tablets and smartphones) based on the Accenture Video Solution.  With this additional contract, Accenture will work with KPN on further enabling a consistent experience for KPN customers across digital touchpoints.

Accenture will provide application development and maintenance services from its Netherlands location and through its India Delivery Center in Bangalore. Accenture’s industrialized breadth of global delivery capabilities focus on outcome, productivity and quality improvement through proven tools, innovations, automation, reusable assets, shared services and process optimizations.

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The ISAS solution provides a centralized, end-to-end student administration solution for more than 80 TAFE campuses across Queensland, providing more than 250,000 students annually with access to their records and numerous services, such as enrollment, self-service for academic records and payment of accounts. The solution processes more than 1.6 million enrollment transactions and issues 80,000 awards and certificates per year.

These services provided have included business consulting, systems integration, application support and maintenance, as well as IT infrastructure support.  Under a new two-year agreement Accenture will continue providing critical support services for the core student solution across the state.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with over 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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The seven start-ups – chosen by leading industry executives from a large field of applicants from the UK and internationally – include: BehavioSec, Calltrunk, Digital Shadows, Growth Intelligence, Kiboo, Open Bank Project and Waratek. Their innovations range from cloud development tools and “Big Data” security and analysis applications, to search engines for voice recordings, “behavioural biometric” solutions for fighting fraud, open source technologies, and personal financial management tools for young people.

The chosen entrepreneurs will be mentored for 12 weeks by leading executives from financial services, venture capital and angel investment firms through a series of panel discussions, workshops, leadership coaching and networking opportunities. At the end of the programme, the entrepreneurs are given an opportunity to present their concepts to potential investors and participating industry executives.

The FinTech Innovation Lab London is modelled on a similar programme that was co-founded by Accenture and the Partnership for New York City Fund, which has already proved highly successful in helping a dozen young financial technology start-ups.

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According to an Accenture (NYSE: ACN) survey of more than 1,000 high-income, digitally savvy U.S. investors, Millennial investors are more conservative and less trusting of financial advisors than baby-boom and Gen X investors, and more inclined to consult other sources before accepting financial advice.

Alex Pigliucci, global managing director of Accenture Wealth and Asset Management Services comments:

“Surprisingly, the millennial generation has emerged from two boom-and-bust cycles even more conservative about investing and more skeptical of financial advice than the generations that were hit hardest by the market,” he said. “This poses a fundamental challenge for financial advisors who will see the greatest transfer of wealth in history from boomers to their heirs over the next several decades. But counter to prevailing wisdom, our research suggests millennials are a highly viable target for advisors.”

Forty-three percent of millennial respondents (age 21-30) described themselves as “conservative” investors, compared with 31 percent of baby-boom respondents (age 46-70). Millennials were also significantly more likely than baby boomers to say they prefer “tried and true” investment options (27 percent vs. 19 percent, respectively).

According to the survey, published in Accenture’s new report “Generation D: An Emerging and Important Investor Segment,” millennials are the most driven among the generations to build and pass along wealth, and the most interested in mastering investment strategy

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Accenture recently opened a new office in downtown Calgary, featuring the latest technology to help employees collaborate and connect with clients, and each other, locally and around the world.

In keeping with Accenture’s commitment to conducting business in an environmentally sustainable way, the Accenture office in Calgary is eco-efficient, using sustainable and environmentally friendly operational practices, and materials such as Forest Stewardship Council certified wood, carpet tile with up to 68 percent recycled content, and flooring that is Green Label Plus certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute.

As a leader in effective workplace strategies, Accenture’s move to a new location in Calgary comes with the latest collaborative technologies to drive productivity, including:

• A “walk up and connect” technology experience that merges furniture and technology to help teams access and share information in one meeting through large-screen sharing
• A unified laptop communications platform that connects people everywhere with instant messaging, voice, video and online meetings

“Our office showcases a wide range of collaborative workspaces and technologies and helps leverage Accenture’s ability to connect with the best talent worldwide,” said Luke O’Regan, managing director of Accenture’s operations in Calgary. “The opening of this new office supports our efforts to help businesses in Alberta – and around the world – achieve high performance.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

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When the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently awarded Accenture an eight-month contract to design a master blueprint for automating the department’s Earned Value Center, it marked another one of the firm’s successes in dealing with the defense industry.

Joe Chenelle, who leads Accenture’s defense and intelligence agency business, recently talked with Big4.com about how Accenture’s work will help the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) will ensure DoD contractors report costs and schedules efficiently.

“This is a plan analyze,” he started out saying. “This is not a full implementation at this time. This is just a blueprint for how the Earned Value Center would standardize their tools and processes.”

Focus on Analytics

Chenelle went on to say that Accenture’s focus was to design an analytics program to pull information together from various sources to enable on-site detailed analysis. As things stand, the DCMA sends local field representatives out to each project site.

“That creates the potential  for some inconsistencies in requirements and assessments,” Chenelle said. “I give the DCMA a lot of credit since they’re looking to automate a lot of these processes.”

He also noted the quality of the people the DCMA was looking for to work on this project was high.

“Specifically, they’re looking for Microsoft Certified Architects and analytics personnel with 20 y years of first-hand experience with assessing and analyzing project risk.”

The resulting analytics that will form the core of Accenture’s work will improve the work flow and streamline the reporting process. The need comes partially from a backlog of reviews that are presently handled manually.

Solution Web Portal

“The solution will involve a web portal where  the reviews will be tracked, monitored and then recorded,” Chenelle said  there will be a benefit to the contractors as well since they will have an increased insight into each program’s performance.

The final analytics program will be shared with regional field offices, program managers and DoD executives. On-site, detailed analysis will be one of the key advantages.

“It will really increase the access, visibility and consistency to shorten the turnaround time for everyone,” Chenelle said.

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Accenture will team with the Highmark Foundation will team  to establish and implement a patient navigation pilot program at two Western Pennsylvania hospitals: St. Vincent Health System in Erie and Allegheny Valley in Pittsburgh. Accenture and the Highmark Foundation will work with the hospitals to create an infrastructure for patient navigation – both locally and within the individual hospitals. As a part of the effort, six patient navigators will be trained, hired and placed within the hospitals, while an additional 10 navigators will be trained, so they can assist when necessary.

Allegheny and Erie counties were selected for the program partially based on county health rankings; each county had specific factors suggesting a high demand for patient navigation, including limited access to care, quality of care, health disparities, low income, geographic location and racial or ethnic diversity.

Jean-Pierre Stephan, who leads health consumer and services strategy for Accenture comments:

“Patient navigation not only creates a one-on-one connection for the patient, it serves as a low-cost investment that delivers significant value to care delivery,” he said. “The Highmark Foundation is uniquely positioned to help hospitals and patients navigate various barriers within the health system while freeing up time for clinicians to do what they do best – provide care.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

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Accenture  has helped Shanghai East Hospital complete the implementation of a Hospital Resource Planning (HRP) system designed to optimize the hospital’s business processes and enhance its operating efficiency.

“We are very pleased to work with Accenture and are more than satisfied with the outcome of our long-term cooperation,” said Liu Zhongmin, director of Shanghai East Hospital. “With nearly 40 years of global industry experience and best practices, Accenture has played an important role in helping the hospital put business innovation to its best use in order to improve service quality through IT capacity building.”

Under the management consulting agreement, Accenture supported the introduction of the system that covers a variety of business functions, including logistics management, materials management, cost accounting and budget management. Among the new capabilities, the system provides closed-loop materials management and full-cost financial accounting, intended to help the hospital achieve greater efficiency and lower costs.

“Shanghai East Hospital is a top general hospital in China and a driver of innovation within the global healthcare sector,” said Bo Wang, who leads Accenture’s Health & Public Service business in Greater China. “We are honored to be leveraging our deep industry knowledge and project management skills to help Shanghai East Hospital achieve more efficient business operations as it strives to build a leading, intelligent and digital hospital.”

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Accenture has provided business services to support the TAFE Queensland Institutes Student Administrative System (ISAS) since 2002. Now, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has marked a 10-year relationship with the Department of Education, Training and Employment through a renewal of its business, application and infrastructure support services arrangement for the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) student solution in Queensland, Australia.

The ISAS solution provides a centralized, end-to-end student administration solution for more than 80 TAFE campuses across Queensland, providing more than 250,000 students annually with access to their records and numerous services, such as enrollment, self-service for academic records and payment of accounts.

Dean Sedgman from the Department stated, “Accenture has proven itself to be a reliable and valued provider of services to us and, with the latest arrangement, both of our organizations will continue to focus on improving the student experience across the state by providing a solution that meets the challenges of our environment.”

The services Accenture has provided include business consulting, systems integration, application support and maintenance, as well as IT infrastructure support.  Under a new two-year agreement Accenture will continue providing critical support services for the core student solution across the state.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with over 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is providing Canadian utility Hydro One Networks Inc. with an analytics solution to improve how the utility plans investments in its transmission and distribution assets. Hydro One anticipates that, when the analytics solution is fully deployed, it will use data that can be combined with other statistical modeling, forecasting and optimization techniques to enable the utility to better anticipate its grid performance.

Rick Stevens, Vice President – Asset Management at Hydro One Networks comments:

“Our ratepayers expect us to get the most out of our assets and Accenture is helping us do exactly that,” he said. “We chose Accenture because they have significant experience with Hydro One’s business processes and IT systems, as well as SAP, enterprise asset management and ERP solutions. They also have a track record of successful delivery along with the skills and people required to deliver on the goals for this analytics solution.”

Brian A. Martin, a managing director in Accenture’s Utilities industry group commented:  “Accenture is focused on delivering a next-generation asset analytics solution that will help Hydro One make better-informed investment decisions and improve its asset management performance through state-of-the-industry capabilities.”

Accenture is helping Hydro One to access and integrate historical asset data and information from multiple databases and business applications that were either inaccessible or not integrated into the utility’s information technology and operations technology networks.

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Accenture announced today that CEO Pierre Nanterme has assumed the additional position of chairman of the board. Mr. Nanterme, 53, succeeded William D. Green,as CEO in January 2011 and has served on the Accenture board of directors since October 2010. In his 30-year career with Accenture, he has held a wide variety of leadership positions across key parts of the business. Prior to becoming CEO, Mr. Nanterme was group chief executive of Accenture’s Financial Services operating group, and earlier served as the company’s chief leadership officer.

The company had previously announced, on October 22, 2012, that Mr. Nanterme would succeed William D. Green, who has stepped down as chairman of the board and retired from Accenture, effective today.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is providing Canadian utility Hydro One Networks Inc. with an analytics solution to improve how the utility plans investments in its transmission and distribution assets. The asset analytics solution uses a risk-based approach to prioritize capital and maintenance expenditures, which will help Hydro One manage and identify operations, maintenance and administration requirements.

Hydro One anticipates that, when the analytics solution is fully deployed, it will use data that can be combined with other statistical modeling, forecasting and optimization techniques to enable the utility to better anticipate its grid performance. Its managers will be able to access integrated asset information to help them further identify and plan for short- and long-term investment scenarios and deliver performance outcomes that mitigate power system and on-going investment risk.

Accenture working with Canadian Utility

Brian A. Martin, a managing director in Accenture’s Utilities industry group, said, “Accenture is focused on delivering a next-generation asset analytics solution that will help Hydro One make better-informed investment decisions and improve its asset management performance through state-of-the-industry capabilities.”

Brian A. Martin, a managing director in Accenture’s Utilities industry group, said, “Accenture is focused on delivering a next-generation asset analytics solution that will help Hydro One make better-informed investment decisions and improve its asset management performance through state-of-the-industry capabilities.”

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KPN, a leading telecommunications and IT services provider in The Netherlands, has awarded Accenture (NYSE: ACN) a four-year technology and management consulting contract to develop, build and maintain a full range of digital managed services.

Accenture will provide application development and maintenance services from its Netherlands location and through its India Delivery Center in Bangalore. Accenture’s industrialized breadth of global delivery capabilities focus on outcome, productivity and quality improvement through proven tools, innovations, automation, reusable assets, shared services and process optimizations.

This builds on the long term relationship between Accenture and KPN, expanding the range of capabilities Accenture is currently providing.  Accenture has existing managed services contracts at KPN for its business support systems, infrastructure operations, as well as a contract to deliver KPN’s interactive TV services to multiple devices (TV, tablets and smartphones) based on the Accenture Video Solution.  With this additional contract, Accenture will work with KPN on further enabling a consistent experience for KPN customers across digital touchpoints.

Anatoly Roytman, who leads the Accenture Interactive digital practice for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said, “This program delivers application development and maintenance for all of KPN’s applications for its Internet domains. It will combine effectively the support of KPN’s online domain activities which is currently provided by various outside suppliers.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has marked a 10-year relationship with the Department of Education, Training and Employment in Queensland, Australia. Accenture has provided business services to support the TAFE Queensland Institutes Student Administrative System (ISAS) since 2002.

“Accenture has proven itself to be a reliable and valued provider of services to us and, with the latest arrangement, both of our organizations will continue to focus on improving the student experience across the state by providing a solution that meets the challenges of our environment,” says Dean Sedgman from the Department.

The ISAS solution provides a centralized, end-to-end student administration solution for more than 80 TAFE campuses across Queensland, providing more than 250,000 students annually with access to their records and numerous services, such as enrollment, self-service for academic records and payment of accounts. The solution processes more than 1.6 million enrollment transactions and issues 80,000 awards and certificates per year.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with over 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Accenture  has been positioned as a “Leader” in IDC’s recently published report, “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Oracle Implementation.

Derek Steelberg, global managing director of Oracle business for Accenture comments:

“Accenture’s being named a leader in this report is an affirmation of our extensive track record of Oracle systems implementations worldwide,” he said. “Looking ahead, we will continue to help our clients gain the most business value from their Oracle implementations by leveraging our global network, industry experience and strong alliance with Oracle, combined with investments in innovative Oracle-based solutions for vertical industries, customer experience, analytics, mobility and engineered systems.”

IDC assessed 12 of the largest Oracle applications systems integrators for this report, which is designed to evaluate the characteristics of each firm. IDC divides potential key strategy measures for success into two primary categories: capabilities and strategies. IDC specifically noted three areas of strength for Accenture: ability to integrate teams, capability to provide functional insights and ability to manage changes in project scope.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.

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Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has been named to FORTUNE magazine’s 2013 “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the fifth consecutive year.

In recognizing Accenture, FORTUNE cited the company’s extensive training as a career springboard for new employees and its more than 52 hours of average employee training a year. Among the many programs and initiatives Accenture provides its employees are:

Accenture’s people are serious about giving back and the company supports their energy, enthusiasm and passion to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Skills to Succeed, the company’s corporate citizenship initiative, inspires its people and gives them the opportunity to make a measured and sustained impact in communities around the world. Accenture’s new global online volunteering tool, myCorporateCitizenship, makes it easier than ever for its people to contribute to the Skills to Succeed goal of equipping 250,000 people with the skills to get a job or build a business.

Training & Development: Accenture provides training throughout each employee’s career—in classrooms, online, in teams and via mobile learning – and employees can choose courses tailored to their individual skills, experience and areas of interest. For example, myLearning, Accenture’s global online learning portal, offers more than 30,000 courses from core training to specialized functional and technical training. In fiscal 2012, Accenture invested more than $850 million in employee training and professional development.

To pick the 100 Best Companies to Work For, FORTUNE partners with the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America; 259 firms participated in this year’s survey. More than 277,000 employees at those companies responded to a survey created by the institute, a global research and consulting firm operating in 45 countries around the world. Two-thirds of a company’s score is based on the results of the institute’s Trust Index survey, which is sent to a random sample of employees from each company.

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Global businesses that capitalize on major changes in consumer behavior can generate significant growth over the next few years, according to a new report from Accenture.

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Accenture and the World Economic Forum, salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM),,announced the completion of a collaborative effort to deliver a “Social Wall” at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, taking place from January 23-27.

The World Economic Forum is connecting more deeply with all of its constituents across business, government, NGOs, and civil society organizations through technology. In a world that requires greater multi-stakeholder collaboration, it is ever more important to listen to and engage with others according to Accenture.

“Social media connects the world in ways that was previously not possible,” said Paul Daugherty, chief technology officer at Accenture. “The ‘Social Wall’ at this week’s World Economic Forum presents the immense amount of data, conversations and trends shaping the online discourse related to Davos in a compelling way. Understanding, analyzing and consuming enormous amount of data – in real time – is the future of market intelligence.”

Located in the Davos Congress Center, the Social Wall features an 8-meter-wide screen that displays real-time visualizations of trending conversations happening on social channels such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter around the annual gathering of world leaders and from Accenture delegates. This year’s gathering features the most socially savvy list of participants with more than 800 delegates active on Twitter. The Social Wall allows participants to take the pulse of the conversations and key themes emerging from the global gathering  by highlighting the most popular trending topics, the most active and influential participants, and the most active regions on social channels. In all, the Social Wall is expected to monitor half a billion social media conversations a day.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

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The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)  has awarded Accenture Federal Services an eight-month contract to design a master blueprint for automating the department’s Earned Value Center. Joe Chenelle, who leads Accenture’s defense and intelligence agency business commented:

“This blueprint will give the DCMA a clear path to process improvements through the use of technology. Working side-by-side with our clients, Accenture implements innovative solutions that dramatically improve operational performance,” he said.

The Earned Value Center is part of the agency that reviews  more than a trillion dollars of annual defense spending from around the world.  Accenture’s work will focus on deploying analytics, improving work flow and streamlining reporting to help the DCMA increase efficiency and address a backlog of reviews that currently rely on manual processes. Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is responsible for ensuring that DoD contractors in the United States and abroad are reporting their costs and schedules accurately using the highest standards for earned value management established by the National Defense Industry Association.

Accenture’s federal business serves every cabinet-level department and 20 of the largest federal organizations. The U.S. federal portfolio spans across clients in civilian, defense, intelligence and public safety agencies.

Accenture Federal Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, a U.S. company, with offices in Arlington, VA. Accenture’s federal business serves every cabinet-level department and 20 of the largest federal organizations. The U.S. federal portfolio spans across clients in civilian, defense, intelligence and public safety agencies.

Learn more about Accenture’s global Defense and Public Safety practice, from Insights to Outcomes, its work with federal agencies and Delivering Public Service for the Future.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced that Key Insurance Company has selected Accenture Duck Creek Rating property and casualty (P&C) policy software to support their product development and expansion initiatives.

Michael A. Jackowski, global managing director of Accenture Software for P&C Insurance comments:

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According to research  published  by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Accenture (NYSE:ACN), seventy percent of companies believe that climate change has the potential to significantly affect their revenue, a risk which is intensified by a chasm between the sustainable business practices of multinational corporations and their suppliers.Climate change presents near-term risks to businesses, according to the report. Fifty-one percent of the risks that disclosing companies associate with drought or extreme rain are already having an adverse effect on company operations, or are expected to within five years, say those businesses.

Most of the positive actions responding companies say they have taken in response to climate change are attributable to organizations that have been using CDP’s unique global system for at least two years, demonstrating that customer pressure is driving change. However, the report identifies a performance gap between companies and their suppliers, and it claims that this is intensifying climate risk in the global supply chain models according to Accenture.

Gary Hanifan, global sustainability lead for supply chain, Accenture comments:

“This report provides clear evidence that those who are most transparent about their climate change risks are more likely to achieve the greatest emissions reductions”,he says. “And they are also more likely to enjoy monetary savings as a result of their responses to climate change risks. But the return on investment by the most proactive companies will not reach its full potential unless those companies can encourage their suppliers to follow their lead.”

The report is freely available from the CDP and Accenture websites. It provides advice on how companies can use data, process and governance to create a more sustainable supply chain and capitalize on the correlations between climate risk, performance and accountability to realize financial benefit.

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“Energizing Global Growth: Understanding the Changing Consumer,” concludes that companies able to capitalize on these changes with speed and agility could capture a portion of the trillions of dollars in growth that businesses globally are likely to see over the next few years as the result of changing consumer behavior. Accenture estimates that just 20 sectors most associated with these changes are set to enjoy growth of US$2.4 trillion by 2016.

The new report from Accenture (NYSE: ACN)  is based on four individual studies: an online survey of 10,000 consumers in 10 countries across five continents; a survey of 600 business executives in those same 10 countries; an assessment of the world’s top 3,000 listed companies by market capitalization and their revenue growth compared with the industry averages over various timeframes; and a macroeconomic analysis conducted in conjunction with Oxford Economics to assess the impact of changing consumer behavior.

Consumers are increasingly “connected” – often online, interacting with companies and other consumers to research and purchase products, share advice, and praise or criticize a business. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of the consumers surveyed said they use the Internet to research or purchase products or services more than they did three years ago. Consumers are also increasingly using social media as a tool in the purchasing process and this is changing consumer behavior.

Accenture also found that while nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of business executives said that consumer behavior has changed markedly in the last three years, a similar proportion (74 percent) said they do not fully understand the consumer changes that are under way – and even more (80 percent) said they believe that their companies are not taking full advantage of the opportunities these changes present.

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The Australian Department of Defence, in collaboration with Accenture has successfully completed a major milestone in the migration of the Department’s primary data center to a new facility in Sydney, a core outcome of the Data Centre Migration (DCM) project.

“The successful completion of this significant and complex data center migration project will assist the Department in realizing its cost-savings goals under the Strategic Reform Program. Importantly, the project will deliver Data Centre agility and IT operational effectiveness for the Department’s business critical applications including HR, finance and logistics,” said Matthew Gollings, who leads Accenture’s Defence business in Australia.

The Data Center Migration Project is one of a number of projects Accenture is completing for the Australian Department of Defence. Accenture was recently awarded a five-year contract as the Department’s Human Resources Applications Sustainment partner, as well as a contract to complete design of a modern human resource IT capability under JP2080 Phase 2B.1. of the Department’s Defence Management Systems Improvement program.

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The New Year is starting out well for Accenture. Earlier this month, Accenture Federal Services announced it had been awarded two contracts from The U.S. Department of the Navy to help the Navy in its  push for financial auditability. Vince Vlasho, who is the Managing Director for Accenture’s Navy business unit, recently spoke with Big4.com about his firm’s involvement with this critical initiative.

He started his talk with us by supplying an overview of how his company came to be involved.

“Fairly recently, Secretary (of Defense) Panetta issued a mandate that he wanted to get the Department of Defense to an audit ready state,” Vlasho said, going on to mention there were two key milestone updates required. The first was to have the Statement of Budgetary Resources audit ready by the end of 2014 and the second was to have the rest of the financial statements audit ready in 2017.”

Vlasho went on to say that the Navy was one step ahead of Panetta’s announcement.

FIP Program

“The Navy’s program is called the Financial Improvement Program (FIP). It’s really a program where the Navy is taking a look at business processes, data, information systems and internal controls so they can understand what an auditor might look for,” Vlasho said.

To that end, Accenture was recently awarded two contracts totaling more than $30 million to help with these processes. The first is a three-year, $25.5 million contract to work with six commands and the Marine Corps to prepare this audit readiness. The second is a three-year, $5.37 million Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM) contract. Its job is to evaluate the design and operating effectiveness of IT general computer controls and business process automated controls for the Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

Vlasho, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was an active duty naval intelligence officer prior to joining Accenture, provided a general example of how the Navy’s audit readiness goals could be reached with help from these contracts.

Testing Processes

“We’re going through and helping them test  processes, to help them understand what controls an auditor might be looking for when evaluating an  invoice, for example, to make sure it is valid and paid properly in a timely fashion,” he said.

The FISCAM review of the Navy ERP will help the Navy assess General Accounting Office compliance and both contracts support the overall FIP program.

Vlasho also used the invoice example to highlight how other important criteria would be used as benchmarks.

“They (auditors) might come in and look at the contract the invoice is posted against to see  if the paperwork lines up with how the contract is set up and its structure. Did the person who signed off on the invoice have the appropriate authorities? Does the invoice tie into the accounting lines set out in the contract?”

Navy’s ERP system

Some of Accenture’s other work entails looking at the Navy’s ERP system against 266 information system controls from FISCAM.

Vlasho summed up the whole operation by saying there was a high degree of teamwork needed.

“We have teams dedicated to each of the commands,” he said. “They’re working with these commands to identify internal controls an auditor might look at and making sure those commands have the right documentation and controls in place,” he said, adding Accenture had a great team .

“I’m very proud of the results that we’ve seen to date,” he said.

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Accenture  is expanding its global network of Innovation Centers for SAP® Solutions with the opening of a new center in Toronto. The Accenture Innovation Centers for SAP Solutions bring together Accenture’s functional and industry expertise with the latest SAP technology, including the SAP HANA® platform, analytics, mobility and cloud computing technologies. Supported by teams of professionals from Accenture and SAP, the centers provide clients with process-specific business solutions, the latest research around existing and emerging SAP technology, and the industrialization of the resulting solution, content and delivery methods.

“The new Accenture Innovation Center for SAP Solutions will drive Canadian businesses forward on key emerging technology trends in the country, including mobility, analytics, and cloud computing. With our global expertise and local knowledge, we can deliver end-to-end technology solutions based on SAP software to help process and manage growing amounts of data, ultimately driving better results for business and governments,” said Wayne Ingram, Managing Director of Technology at Accenture’s Canadian operations.

The Canadian center joins Accenture’s global network of Innovation Centers in the U.S., Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, Europe, South Africa and India. Innovation Centers leverage the skills and expertise at locations across the Accenture Global Delivery Network, Accenture Technology Labs and the Accenture Global Talent and Innovation Network.

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Accenture and Junior Achievement recently announced that Accenture has awarded Junior Achievement a grant of US$1.1 million to help the organization develop a new work readiness program that will enable high school students across the United States to gain the skills necessary to secure employment and build a career plan. During its first year of implementation, the program is expected to reach approximately 85,000 students.

“Students who participate in this program will gain vital career and life skills, including problem solving, critical thinking and conflict management,” said Michael Scimo, North American human capital and diversity lead, Accenture. “We share Junior Achievement’s commitment to educating young people and giving them the skills to connect to the workforce in a meaningful way.”

The award, which consists of cash as well as the time and skills of Accenture employees, reflects Accenture’s corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The new curriculum will combine career exploration and work readiness skills through hands-on, interactive program activities, including a new technology platform to reach students in both the classroom and remotely more effectively.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) was awarded top honors as 2012 Supplier of the Year at Cisco’s (NASDAQ: CSCO) 3^rdAnnual Global Procurement Services conference.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been positioned as a “Leader” in IDC’s recently published report, “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Oracle Implementation Ecosystem 2012 Vendor Analysis.”¹ The report represents a vendor assessment, including both qualitative and quantitative characteristics, of the 2012 Oracle-based systems integration ecosystem through the IDC MarketScape model.

“Accenture’s being named a leader in this report is an affirmation of our extensive track record of Oracle systems implementations worldwide,” said Derek Steelberg, global managing director of Oracle business for Accenture. “Looking ahead, we will continue to help our clients gain the most business value from their Oracle implementations by leveraging our global network, industry experience and strong alliance with Oracle, combined with investments in innovative Oracle-based solutions for vertical industries, customer experience, analytics, mobility and engineered systems.”

IDC assessed 12 of the largest Oracle applications systems integrators for this report, which is designed to evaluate the characteristics of each firm. In naming Accenture as a leader, IDC stated that, “Accenture has a comprehensive set of services for Oracle in the market and is one of Oracle’s global partners. Accenture is known for its vertical industry specialization and industry-tailored solutions, global delivery capability, and breadth of service — including strategy, business consulting, systems integration, technology consulting, and application outsourcing – serving the needs of large-scale businesses and governments.”

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Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has been named to FORTUNE magazine’s 2013 “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the fifth consecutive year, ranking No. 91, up from No. 92 in 2012. The annual ranking, now in its 16th year, is a prestigious recognition of the best in workplace culture and talent initiatives.

• Training & Development: Accenture provides training throughout each employee’s career—in classrooms, online, in teams and via mobile learning – and employees can choose courses tailored to their individual skills, experience and areas of interest. For example, myLearning, Accenture’s global online learning portal, offers more than 30,000 courses from core training to specialized functional and technical training. In fiscal 2012, Accenture invested more than $850 million in employee training and professional development.
• Inclusion & Diversity: Accenture takes the widest possible view of inclusion and diversity. Ten U.S. employee resource groups provide opportunities for individuals who share common interests to network and achieve collaborative goals with a business purpose. In March 2012, Accenture introduced a global women’s theme – Defining success. Your way. – to create meaningful mentoring programs, celebrations and networking opportunities to support the success of our more than 80,000 women around the globe.
• Corporate Citizenship: Accenture’s people are serious about giving back and the company supports their energy, enthusiasm and passion to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Skills to Succeed, the company’s corporate citizenship initiative, inspires its people and gives them the opportunity to make a measured and sustained impact in communities around the world. Accenture’s new global online volunteering tool, myCorporateCitizenship, makes it easier than ever for its people to contribute to the Skills to Succeed goal of equipping 250,000 people with the skills to get a job or build a business.

“We believe in empowering our people to discover their talents and challenge themselves with interesting work and specialized training opportunities,” said Michael Scimo, Managing Director – Human Capital & Diversity, North America. “Our people are key to Accenture’s success and we’re honored to be recognized once again by FORTUNE as an employer of choice.”

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Accenture announced recently that it has awarded Dress for Success Worldwide US$78,000 to develop content and materials for 10 new skills workshops to be delivered in 10 cities across the United States. This grant is part of Accenture’s Skills to Succeed initiative, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been positioned in the “Leaders” quadrant of Gartner, Inc.’s recently published “Magic Quadrant for Global Financial Management Consulting Services.”

Gartner assessed 10 financial management consulting service providers for their Magic Quadrant.

“Our finance clients face many challenges today with ongoing market volatility, evolving regulations, and talent shortages so we appreciate being recognized in this way by Gartner, which we feel is an indicator of our capabilities that help finance executives realize their improvement objectives,” said Paul Boulanger, managing director, Accenture Finance & Enterprise Performance. “Ultimately, we help our clients deliver solutions that enable finance to create more value for the enterprise.”

Among the factors weighted heavily by Gartner in this analysis of Accenture and other providers are the providers’ market understanding, innovation; geographic strategy; market responsiveness and track record; and customer experience.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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The United Bank of India (UBI) has signed an agreement with Accenture which will provide management consulting advisory services to support the bank’s strategic transformation program.Accenture will advise the bank on ways to develop and optimize its operating model and assist UBI with ways to renew and optimize its more than 1,700 branches, enhance the sales-effectiveness of its branch workforce, and improve and refine its branch footprint.

Under the contract, Accenture also will assist UBI in its talent and human resource strategies by helping to enhance its manpower planning, establish performance management systems that foster meritocracy and by developing a five-year roadmap for developing critical employee skills through training. Accenture also will help the bank identify ways to increase adoption of digital channels such as online banking and social media.

Piyush Singh, managing director of Accenture’s financial services operating group in India commented:

“The customer experience determines the success of all financial institutions,” he said. “By envisioning a more effective customer-led — rather than product led — channel strategy, UBI shows strong foresight. It is one of the few public sector banks in India to seek to transform itself in this way, and we are proud to collaborate with the bank in its journey.”

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The U.S. Department of the Navy has awarded Accenture Federal Services two contracts totaling more than $30 million to continue to support the Navy’s drive toward financial auditability.

Accenture was awarded a three-year, $25.5 million contract to work with six commands and the United States Marine Corps to provide comprehensive audit readiness services. Work will include review of business processes, internal controls and related systems to support improved business operations at Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Sea Systems Command, the Navy’s Assistant for Administration, Field Support Activity, Office of Naval Research, Naval Research Laboratory and the Marine Corps.

Accenture’s federal business serves every cabinet-level department and 20 of the largest federal organizations. The U.S. federal portfolio spans across clients in civilian, defense, intelligence and public safety agencies. Accenture Federal Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, a U.S. company, with offices in Arlington, VA

“Ensuring that all internal financial controls provide accurate information will help the Navy meet all federal and Department of Defense guidelines toward auditability. This is a critical initiative that assists Navy leaders by improving the quality and reliability of financial data and securing the effectiveness of their ERP systems,” said Vince Vlasho, who leads Accenture’s work with the U.S. Navy.

Accenture also was awarded a three-year, $5.37 million Financial Information Systems Control Audit Manual (FISCAM) contract to evaluate the design and operating effectiveness of IT general computer controls and business process automated controls for the Navy Enterprise Resource Planning system.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Junior Achievement (JA) today announced that Accenture has awarded Junior Achievement a grant of US$1.1 million to help the organization develop a new work readiness program that will enable high school students across the United States to gain the skills necessary to secure employment and build a career plan. During its first year of implementation, the program is expected to reach approximately 85,000 students.

Students who participate in this program will gain vital career and life skills, including problem solving, critical thinking and conflict management,” said Michael Scimo, North American human capital and diversity lead, Accenture. “We share Junior Achievement’s commitment to educating young people and giving them the skills to connect to the workforce in a meaningful way.”

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. Through its Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship focus, Accenture is committed to equipping 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Junior Achievement (JA) today announced that Accenture has awarded Junior Achievement a grant of US$1.1 million to help the organization develop a new work readiness program that will enable high school students across the United States to gain the skills necessary to secure employment and build a career plan. During its first year of implementation, the program is expected to reach approximately 85,000 students.

Michael Scimo, North American human capital and diversity lead, Accenture commented:

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Consumers are less likely to buy single-function electronic products in the next year, while intentions to buy multi-function devices have increased dramatically, according to a new Accenture (NYSE: ACN) survey. Accenture summarizes these annual survey findings in its new 2013 Global Consumer Electronics Products and Services Usage Report released today.

The percentage of respondents planning to buy multi-function devices in the next year increased significantly, from 16 percent a year ago to 36 percent for desktop and laptop PCs; from 27 percent to 41 percent for smartphones; from 20 percent to 33 percent for HDTVs; and from 16 percent to 23 percent for tablet computers.

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“Insurance companies are looking for advanced technologies that enable them to respond quickly to shifting market demands,” said Michael A. Jackowski, global managing director, Accenture Software for P&C Insurance. “This release includes a number of application performance enhancements such as improved rating and underwriting rules processing, particularly for high volume scenarios common to top tier insurers.”

He was referring to the fact that Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced the availability of Accenture Duck Creek Policy Administration release 5.1, the latest version of its policy administration and rating software platform and a key component of its Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance software suite.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been selected by The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) to implement a patient administration system across nine community health systems and children’s health services for the National Health Services (NHS) in southern England.

“We are delighted to have been selected to help support community and child health service providers across southern England,” said Jim Burke, managing director for Accenture’s health business in the United Kingdom. “With the combination of TPP’s proven and reliable technology and Accenture’s implementation experience, patients of all ages across southern England will see the benefits that connected health can provide.”

Currently, the NHS has more than 120,000 clinicians that are actively using TPP’s SystmOne to access and exchange 26 million records across 2,000 provider practices, 53 children health units, 58 community care organizations and 140 prisons. With this announcement, SystmOne is now being used by its first acute trust and social care clients in England.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), have completed the formation of a joint venture company called Taleris™. Taleris provides airlines and cargo carriers around the world intelligent operations services focused on improving efficiency by leveraging aircraft performance data, prognostics, recovery and planning optimization solutions that will include assets and capabilities from both Accenture and GE.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Aleris leverages GE Aviation’s intelligent operations and ProDAPS predictive analytics technology to analyze data from “tip to tail” sensors for multiple aircraft parts, components and systems and make predictive recommendations to optimize aircraft maintenance and flight operations. Accenture is providing solution architecture and operations systems integration services to Taleris to allow for full integration of intelligent operations solutions for Taleris customers.

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IRONMAN is proud to announce that Accenture and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) are teaming to support eight injured military service members and first responders to race in IRONMAN^® 70.3 California as part of CAF’s Operation Rebound. Additionally, it was announced that Accenture will serve as the title sponsor and CAF will be the official event charity for the race.

Operation Rebound is a CAF program that provides funding and support to permanently injured service members and first responders to help them become active once again and feel whole through the healing power of sport. All IRONMAN 70.3 participants are encouraged to join Operation Rebound’s team and race side-by-side with wounded military. Through their fundraising efforts, CAF’s Operation Rebound participants provide direct financial support, mentorship, Military Medical Center Physical Training (MMCPT) and sports clinics to injured troops and first responders.

Accenture IRONMAN 70.3 California will take place in Oceanside, Calif. on March 30, 2013, where athletes will swim a 1.2-mile course in Oceanside Harbor, cycle a 56-mile bike route through San Clemente State Park and Camp Pendleton, and run 13.1 miles through Oceanside.

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Accenture will provide human resources (HR) business process outsourcing (BPO) services that benefit more than 130,000 Unilever employees in over 100 countries. As part of the renewed contract, Accenture will closely align the services it delivers with Unilever’s Talent Agenda. With the introduction of a number of innovations, the services Accenture provides will focus on delivering business-relevant results in line with Unilever’s key business priorities. They won a new five-year contract with Unilever (FTSE: ULVR)

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By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Usher’s New Look, a non-profit organization founded by Usher Raymond IV, today announced their partnership with Accenture to help New Look reach its goal of training and certifying 50,000 youth as global leaders. The effort reflects Accenture’s Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship initiative.

Through the iLEAD platform, New Look will be able to better track the progress of enrolled students. It will also support developing leaders in schools, raising graduation rates and preparing youth for college and career readiness.The platform will align with national public school, career training and development standards.

“Supporting Usher’s New Look reflects Accenture’s corporate citizenship focus, Skills to Succeed, as well as our belief that technology is a powerful driver of education, training and skills,” said Jorge Benitez, Chief Executive, United States and Managing Director, North America for Accenture. ”We share New Look’s commitment to making a significant, lasting impact on the long-term economic vitality and resilience of individuals, families and communities around the world.”
For more information on Usher’s New Look, please visit www.ushersnewlook.org.  For more information on Accenture and Skills to Succeed, please visit Skills to Succeed.

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According to new research published today by Accenture (NYSE:ACN), 86 per cent of senior executives indicate that access to appropriately skilled workers is essential for economic recovery in the UK. However, more than half say it is difficult to recruit candidates with appropriate skills and nearly a third state that retention of high performers is currently a problem.

“UK companies should consider re-thinking strategies for finding the skills they need to support growth,” said Aimie Chapple, managing director – Accenture Management Consulting, UK and Ireland. “To address skills shortages at all levels, as well as challenges holding onto existing talent, companies need to better integrate their recruitment, skills development and retention strategies. And it’s clear that British employers need to think more seriously about the long term outlook when hiring talent, and not just the immediate future.”

The survey of 401 senior decision makers in large UK businesses found that recruitment is a challenge at all levels: more than half (58 per cent) of respondents indicate that recruiting entry level workers with appropriate skills is a challenge, while 61 per cent say the same about middle management and 59 per cent say the same about executives. Staff retention compounds the difficulties as 35 percent of executives surveyed indicate retaining high performers and key talent is currently a problem and 35 percent expect it to be a problem in the next two years.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), have completed the formation of a joint venture company called Taleris™. Taleris provides airlines and cargo carriers around the world intelligent operations services focused on improving efficiency by leveraging aircraft performance data, prognostics, recovery and planning optimization solutions that will include assets and capabilities from both Accenture and GE.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced the availability of Accenture Duck Creek Policy Administration release 5.1, the latest version of its policy administration and rating software platform and a key component of its Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance software suite. The new release provides functionality aimed at helping insurers improve account management and underwriting efficiencies, combined with features designed to reduce implementation time and cost.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been selected by The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) to implement a patient administration system across nine community health systems and children’s health services for the National Health Services (NHS) in southern England. Under the multi-million dollar agreement, Accenture and TPP will create a single electronic patient record system that will enable clinicians to access and exchange health information across community, primary and acute care settings.

“We are delighted to have been selected to help support community and child health service providers across southern England,” said Jim Burke, managing director for Accenture’s health business in the United Kingdom. “With the combination of TPP’s proven and reliable technology and Accenture’s implementation experience, patients of all ages across southern England will see the benefits that connected health can provide.”

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United Bank of India (UBI), a leading public sector bank from the East, is embarking on a transformation program to enhance its productivity by harnessing technology and operational changes. UBI has signed an agreement with Accenture (NYSE: ACN), which will provide management consulting advisory services to support the bank’s strategic transformation program.

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United Bank of India (UBI), a leading public sector bank from the East, is embarking on a transformation program to enhance its productivity by harnessing technology and operational changes. UBI has signed an agreement with Accenture (NYSE: ACN), which will provide management consulting advisory services to support the bank’s strategic transformation program.

Accenture will advise the bank on ways to develop and optimize its operating model, with a significant focus on strengthening the bank’s branch network and other customer channels. This will include assisting UBI with ways to renew and optimize its more than 1,700 branches, enhance the sales-effectiveness of its branch workforce, and improve and refine its branch footprint. Accenture also will help the bank identify ways to increase adoption of digital channels such as online banking and social media.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced the availability of Accenture Duck Creek Policy Administration release 5.1, the latest version of its policy administration and rating software platform and a key component of its Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance software suite. The new release provides functionality aimed at helping insurers improve account management and underwriting efficiencies, combined with features designed to reduce implementation time and cost.

• Easily manage account data for large commercial risk quoting and policy processing. New enhancements provide key support for consolidating and maintaining customer information across multiple lines of business, helping to ensure data quality and consistency.
• Quickly access information with an updated user interface highlighted by a new toolbar. An improved, customizable toolbar enables the user to add, manage and complete their tasks at any stage in the policy administration and rating process, thereby facilitating an optimized workflow.

To accelerate Accenture Duck Creek’s global adoption, pre-configured templates for commercial property owner’s products are now available for the UK market. These templates, based on Polaris standards and supporting iMarket connectivity, help to enable rapid implementation of commercial property owner’s line of business with lower cost and lower risk.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has won a new five-year contract with Unilever (FTSE: ULVR) to provide human resources (HR) business process outsourcing (BPO) services that benefit more than 130,000 Unilever employees in over 100 countries and introduce a series of service improvements focused on enhancing the user experience. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

As part of the renewed contract, Accenture will closely align the services it delivers with Unilever’s Talent Agenda. With the introduction of a number of innovations, the services Accenture provides will focus on delivering business-relevant results in line with Unilever’s key business priorities. The program will drive greater efficiencies and an improved user experience. The enhanced contract will include a number of new elements.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been selected by The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) to implement a patient administration system across nine community health systems and children’s hospitals for the National Health Services (NHS) in southern England. Under the multi-million dollar agreement, Accenture and TPP will create a single electronic patient record system that will enable clinicians to access and exchange health information across community, primary and acute care settings.

Currently, the NHS has more than 120,000 clinicians that are actively using TPP’s SystmOne to access and exchange 26 million records across 2,000 provider practices, 53 children health units, 58 community care organizations and 140 prisons. With this announcement, SystemOne is now being used by its first acute trust and social care clients in England.

The Southern Community & Child Health Procurement consortium includes nine NHS community health systems in southern England, which extends from Kent in the East to Cornwall in the West.

Jim Burke, managing director for Accenture’s health business in the United Kingdom comments:

“We are delighted to have been selected to help support community and child health service providers across southern England,” he said. “With the combination of TPP’s proven and reliable technology and Accenture’s implementation experience, patients of all ages across southern England will see the benefits that connected health can provide.”

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), have completed the formation of a joint venture company called Taleris™. Taleris provides airlines and cargo carriers around the world intelligent operations services focused on improving efficiency by leveraging aircraft performance data, prognostics, recovery and planning optimization solutions that will include assets and capabilities from both Accenture and GE.

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By Kalen Smith, Big4 Blogger

Christopher Smith, former manager at Accenture, has recently been elected to the Board of Directors of the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. Smith graduated from the program in 1997 and has become a renowned expert in IT and business development processes.

Elizabeth D. Liddy, Dean of the School of Information Studies, said she looks forward to working closely with Smith. Smith conducted a presentation at an Alumni reception in March and Liddy requested that he join the Board.

Smith has worked for a number of prestigious firms since his resignation from Accenture. He worked with IBM as a lead manager in the enterprise computing division. His position at IBM inspired a passion for venture capital initiatives. He is currently a managing director for the Coral Group. His primary responsibility is assisting firms in various sectors of the IT industry that seek to acquire seed capital for their new ventures.

Smith began his career as an engineer, but has since proven his competencies as a business leader. Liddy said that she is grateful that Smith accepted her offer to join the Board of Directors. He will be joining at the same time as Krista Canfield, manager of corporate communications at LinkedIn.

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Accenture sees strong profits of $698.8 million in quarterly profits for the first fiscal quarter of 2013. The firm also said that its revenue rose by 1 per cent to $7.67 billion and that it expected earnings to be even stronger going forward in 2013. The company raised its revenue guidance for next quarter.

The firm has seen growing demand for its enterprise software solutions and consulting services, which helped both the top line and bottom line.

The firm divides itself into five main groups: communications, media and technology; financial services; health and public service; products; and resources. Of these groups, Products earned the mostrevenue in the first quarter, at $1.7 billion. Financial services was second at $1.56 billion. Accenture defines its “Products” line as including air, freight and travel services; automotive, consumer goods and services, and industrial equipment; infrastructure and transportation; life sciences, and retail.

The Americas remained the company’s largest market by a wide margin, at $3.3 billion, and Europe and the Middle East and Africa second at $2.8 billion. American revenues grew by 10 per cent while EMEA revenues were down slightly. Asian revenues were up 8 per cent.

Despite the company’s history in consulting, that arm of the company saw flat growth while outsourcing rose 13 per cent.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has won a new five-year contract with Unilever (FTSE: ULVR) to provide human resources (HR) business process outsourcing (BPO) services that benefit more than 130,000 Unilever employees in over 100 countries and introduce a series of service improvements focused on enhancing the user experience. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

As part of the renewed contract, Accenture will closely align the services it delivers with Unilever’s Talent Agenda. With the introduction of a number of innovations, the services Accenture provides will focus on delivering business-relevant results in line with Unilever’s key business priorities. The program will drive greater efficiencies and an improved user experience. The enhanced contract will include a number of new elements.

Additionally, Accenture will introduce a more proactive recruiting approach, including the expanded use of social media. Proactive sourcing tools will support more effective, forecasting-led recruiting methods and will result in a broader, more appropriate candidate pool for Unilever.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) reported financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2013, ended Nov. 30, 2012, with record net revenues of $7.2 billion, an increase of 2 percent in U.S. dollars and 5 percent in local currency over the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share were $1.06, an increase of $0.10, or 10 percent, over the same period last year.

Gross margin (gross profit as a percentage of net revenues) for the quarter was 32.8 percent, compared with 31.8 percent for the first quarter last year.  Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the quarter were $1.32 billion, or 18.2 percent of net revenues, compared with $1.27 billion, or approximately 17.9 percent of net revenues, for the first quarter last year.

Operating cash flow for the quarter was negative $109 million, and property and equipment additions were $87 million.  Free cash flow, defined as operating cash flow net of property and equipment additions, was negative $195 million.  Operating cash flow and free cash flow for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 include a discretionary cash contribution of $500 million the company made to its U.S. defined benefit pension plan, which had a net impact, after tax, of $350 million. For the same period last year, operating cash flow was $475 million; property and equipment additions were $81 million; and free cash flow was $394 million.

On Nov. 15, 2012, a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.81 per share was paid to Accenture plc Class A ordinary shareholders of record at the close of business on Oct. 12, 2012 and to Accenture SCA Class I common shareholders of record at the close of business on Oct. 9, 2012. These cash dividend payments totaled $560 million.  This dividend represents an increase of 13.5 cents per share, or 20 percent, over the company’s previous semi-annual dividend, declared in March.

Accenture will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. EST today to discuss its first-quarter fiscal 2013 financial results.  To participate, please dial +1 (800) 230-1059 [+1 (612) 234-9959 outside the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada] approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the call.  The conference call will also be accessible live on the Investor Relations section of the Accenture Web site at www.accenture.com.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced the availability of Accenture Duck Creek Policy Administration release 5.1, the latest version of its policy administration and rating software platform and a key component of its Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance software suite. The new release provides functionality aimed at helping insurers improve account management and underwriting efficiencies, combined with features designed to reduce implementation time and cost.

The new software can easily manage account data for large commercial risk quoting and policy processing. New enhancements provide key support for consolidating and maintaining customer information across multiple lines of business, helping to ensure data quality and consistency. As well,  it can get products to market faster. Updated product templates assist users with regulatory standards compliance up to 90 days ahead of the content effective date, encouraging first-mover status. The templates include high quality country-wide Insurance Services Office (ISO) and National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) bureau content.

To accelerate Accenture Duck Creek’s global adoption, pre-configured templates for commercial property owner’s products are now available for the UK market. These templates, based on Polaris standards and supporting iMarket connectivity, help to enable rapid implementation of commercial property owner’s line of business with lower cost and lower risk.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been positioned in the “Leaders” quadrant of Gartner, Inc.’s recently published “Magic Quadrant for Global Financial Management Consulting Services.”

The capabilities included in the assessment ranged from finance advisory services, finance transformation strategy and change management, to financial performance improvement, business process improvement, and governance, risk and compliance in the finance function. They also considered the providers’ finance and accounting shared services and outsourcing advisory services; and business application implementation capabilities, such as those tied to business analytics, business intelligence and corporate performance management.

Among the factors weighted heavily by Gartner in this analysis of Accenture and other providers are the providers’ market understanding, innovation; geographic strategy; market responsiveness and track record; and customer experience.

Paul Boulanger, managing director, Accenture Finance & Enterprise Performance commented:

“Our finance clients face many challenges today with ongoing market volatility, evolving regulations, and talent shortages so we appreciate being recognized in this way by Gartner, which we feel is an indicator of our capabilities that help finance executives realize their improvement objectives,” he said. “Ultimately, we help our clients deliver solutions that enable finance to create more value for the enterprise.”

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According to new research published recently  by Accenture (NYSE:ACN), 86 per cent of senior executives indicate that access to appropriately skilled workers is essential for economic recovery in the UK. However, more than half say it is difficult to recruit candidates with appropriate skills and nearly a third state that retention of high performers is currently a problem.

The difficulties with recruiting new staff may be compounded by the fact that the majority of executives who responded are focused on short-term needs when seeking new talent: Four out of five (80 per cent) say businesses consider immediate needs when recruiting new staff, while only 47 per cent consider the economic landscape of the next five years when recruiting and training staff.

The Accenture study also found that 91 per cent of senior executives indicate investing in employees’ skills is essential for their businesses to grow and nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) plan to invest in up-skilling their employees to achieve growth. When asked which three skills are most valuable to the success of their businesses, 61 per cent of respondents identified communication skills, followed by sector-specific technical skills (identified by 40 per cent) and analytics skills (30 per cent).

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As  part of Accenture’s global corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business, the company has awarded KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program), a national network of charter schools, a grant of US$3.3 million to help young people in underserved communities transition from secondary education to higher education and employment.

The three-year grant will support the expansion of the Future Focus program, piloted with KIPP DC during the 2011-12 school year, to deliver skills training, mentoring and internships to nearly 7,000 students across the KIPP network. In addition, the grant will support KIPP Through College programs focused on helping KIPP students and alumni as they progress to and through college, including KIPP’s efforts to establish partnerships with colleges and universities across the United States.

The Future Focus program was established in Washington, D.C., as a joint project of KIPP DC and Accenture. This grant will expand the program in Washington, D.C., and bring it to four additional markets across the United States – Austin, Denver, Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, it will provide pro-bono work in each of the five markets to assist KIPP in developing and customizing skills training programs for each location. Accenture volunteers will help deliver skills training, including developing internship and job shadowing opportunities.

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Accenture and the Accenture Foundations have awarded AAR Japan US$1.15 million to help the organization provide vocational training, business skills and suitable job placements to more than 2,700 persons with disabilities.

“Supporting the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan helps exemplify Accenture’s commitment to building skills and improving the communities in which we live and work,” said Jill Huntley, senior director of corporate citizenship at Accenture. “By fostering workforce diversity, AAR Japan is proving persons with disabilities can effectively participate in, and contribute to, Japan’s economy.”

The award reflects Accenture’s global corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The grant will help persons with disabilities become economically self-sufficient and socially self-reliant and allow AAR Japan to work with local employers to develop appropriate work placements for them.

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Accenture will implement the Human Services suite of products from Accenture Software to support the state’s efforts to meet upcoming federal guidelines, improve customer services, reduce technology costs and integrate eligibility processes across a number of human service and health programs. The products include the Accenture Public Service Platform, the Accenture Benefits Management System and the Accenture Citizen Self-Service Portal.

“Iowa is seizing a great opportunity to build a more integrated eligibility system, to better meet the needs of citizens. The system will improve program integrity, increase productivity of staff and reduce long-term IT costs,” said Julie Booth, Accenture’s managing director for human services for state, local and provincial government in North America.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with over 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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The new Accenture Enterprise Customer System allows banks to create and capitalize on a single customer view to generate greater sales opportunities, as well as bring more visibility and efficiency to operational tasks.

“The Accenture Enterprise Customer System allows banks to gain a single, consolidated view of customers to create more relevant and valuable interactions – in short, delivering better services and experiences to customers across all channels,” said Colin Davies, managing director, Accenture Software. “This 360 degree view of the customer allows banks to provide personalized pricing and relevant value-add offerings more easily and efficiently.”

With the Accenture Enterprise Customer System, banks can reduce operational inefficiencies: Accenture’s unique technology for channel and system integration allows for aggregation of data from disparate systems, for an easily accessible and complete customer information and history without costly data migration.

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“Water and shale gas development: leveraging the US experience in new shale developments” is a new report from Accenture that identifies water as one of the key challenges that make the development of shale gas different from conventional gas.

“Successful oil and gas operators will be those that understand the local water challenges, leverage the learnings from the U.S. plays and develop the right water sourcing, use/reuse, treatment, disposal and supply chain strategy,” said Melissa Stark, managing director and Clean Energy lead for Accenture’s energy industry group. “One key opportunity for new geographies where infrastructure is a challenge is to explore sharing the development of infrastructure, water treatment facilities and the development of the local supply market.

The report points out that there will be increased focus on reducing the water intensity of production processes, and operators can achieve this by delivering efficiencies in operations, and by maximizing opportunities for end-to-end reuse of wastewater and water treatment. As the report notes, there are opportunities to work with treatment suppliers to gain leverage from new water treatment technologies.

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One of the leading telecommunications and ICT service providers in the Netherlands, has selected Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to develop and maintain innovative television services based on the Accenture Video Solution. Financial terms were not disclosed. KPN’s iTV Online Services leverage KPN’s Content Delivery Network (CDN) for content streaming. The CDN provides various business-to-business and consumer services using the latest technology and is built to stringent network standards that translate into improved picture stability and a best-in-class  adaptive streaming services for KPN’s clients.

Under the agreement, Accenture will improve service performance and deliver KPN’s interactive TV service to multiple devices (TV, tablets and smartphones). Using Accenture’s software-based open architecture, KPN is able to offer a unique viewing experience. This new integrated solution will add features to the market leading iTV and iTV Online services that KPN offers to the Dutch retail and wholesale markets.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has signed a ten-year contract with Generali France, the second largest general insurer in France, to manage a portfolio of more than 100,000 individual life insurance policies that Generali France no longer underwrites, markets or promotes. Generali France is one of the main foreign subsidiaries of the Generali Group, Europe’s largest life insurer.

The Accenture Life Insurance Platform, used by more than 40 leading insurers worldwide,is a robust, configurable and scalable software platform that offers life insurance and annuity carriers of all sizes with the ability to automate operational support across the full policy lifecycle. The platform can be implemented out-of-the-box with limited integration efforts or leveraged for more significant transformation projects.

The agreement, signed in February 2012, is designed to maintain superior customer service on behalf of Generali France while lowering operating cost. Accenture will reengineer the insurer’s policy management processes and increase automation through the newly enhanced Accenture Life Insurance Platform, Accenture’s industry-leading life and annuity insurance policy administration software, resulting in enhanced levels of service and greater productivity. The platform has been adapted to the French individual life insurance market, including the French tax regime.

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Consumers say they are turning to a variety of online and offline services to help them make their car-buying decisions because industry websites fail to satisfy their needs, a new global survey by Accenture (NYSE:ACN) reveals.

According to the survey, most respondents (88 percent) also want easier and clearer pricing to help expedite the car-buying process, while 77 percent want dealers to provide them with a simpler way to configure a vehicle. Eighty two percent of the respondents believe that better interactive digital marketing is a must for the auto industry, and 83 percent agree that improved digital media would significantly reduce the time needed to purchase a vehicle. In addition, over three quarters of consumers (76 percent) feel that the auto sector significantly lags other retail industries in the use of digital media tools such as video and 360-degree website tours.

The study polled consumers in both developed and emerging markets. In each of these markets, the level of digital penetration has created an appetite among buyers for using digital channels, illustrating how important it is for auto makers and dealers to tap into the power of mobile devices and the internet.

The post Accenture: Need For Better Customized Online Experience in Automotive appeared first on Big4.com.

Usher’s New Look, a non-profit organization founded by Usher Raymond IV, today announced their partnership with Accenture to help New Look reach its goal of training and certifying 50,000 youth as global leaders. The effort reflects Accenture’s Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship initiative.

The post Accenture: Next Generation of Global Leaders Through iLEAD appeared first on Big4.com.

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has launched a new banking software solution designed to improve customer insights and increase sales for clients in the banking industry. With the new Accenture Enterprise Customer System, banks can create and capitalize on a single customer view to generate greater sales opportunities, as well as bring more visibility and efficiency to operational tasks.

The Accenture Enterprise Customer System creates a comprehensive, real-time view of a banking customer’s relationship and history of interactions, allowing for more informed customer interactions across multiple channels.

Juan Pedro Moreno, global managing director of Accenture’s banking industry practice commented:

“With decades of experience in the financial services industry, Accenture understands the strategic role of technology in today’s highly competitive banking market,” he said. “Accenture Enterprise Customer System is proof of our continued commitment to drive new innovations in the banking industry and add to our arsenal of tools that help clients better understand customer behaviors to deliver differentiated experiences and drive sales and growth.”

Positive customer experiences are becoming increasingly important in the banking industry, where building trust is essential for most financial institutions. According to a recent report from leading analyst firm Gartner, “External differentiation means developing new customer experiences that support revenue growth and customer retention.¹”

The post Accenture: Customer Insight Software Launched appeared first on Big4.com.

“Water and shale gas development: leveraging the US experience in new shale developments”– identifies water as one of the key challenges that make the development of shale gas different from conventional gas.

The post Accenture: Lessons Learned In Water Management from U.S. Shale Gas Operations appeared first on Big4.com.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust (ANHST) have gone live with SystmOne hospital functionality with Accenture. Together, they have deployed the first SystmOne Patient Administration System (PAS) across three sites, Airedale hospital and two outpatient clinics in Skipton and Ilkley, replacing their old PAS system.

Jim Burke, Managing Director for Accenture’s Health industry group in the UK comments:

“The combination of Accenture’s systems integration experience and TPP’s technology is enabling physicians with access to real-time clinical information and the ability to share information with primary care organisations in the region, as a result improving care delivery across all areas of Airedale,”  he said.“There are few health offerings that can deliver as much value in only six months.”

In late November, the SystmOne PAS was switched on across all wards and departments. Prior to going live, TPP’s in-house deployment specialists migrated more than 400,000 patient records and over one million appointments to SystmOne, which ensured staff were enabled with vital information from day one. TOO and Accenture will remain on hand to shadow progress on the wards and departments over the coming weeks.

Implementing the SystmOne PAS provides staff with the right information to create an efficient and streamlined patient journey through the hospital. SystmOne’s advanced bed management solution with an interactive ward view, allows staff to easily monitor patients all from one place. In addition the implementation of the PAS means that staff no longer look to paper copies of referrals or faxed documents for the most up to date information, for GPs using SystmOne, as it is fully Spine compliant. Following attendance at A&E, clinicians in the hospital can then electronically send full discharge letters to patients’ GPs

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has released updated versions of three software products in the company’s Human Services suite.

• The Accenture Public Service Platform, a service-based technology platform that enables enterprise-wide integration and legacy renewal, has been upgraded in version 4.0 with enhanced security, configuration and administration options.
•  The Accenture Citizen Self-Service Portal version 4.0 provides citizens with improved self-service features, greater visibility into their case/benefit data, and quicker access and updates to their cases. For agencies, the new portal provides more flexible configuration to address policy changes, an enhanced message center to improve case worker and citizen interactions, and enhanced address validation capabilities that reduce error rates. The Self-Service Portal is used by citizens to apply online for benefits, upload verification information, track the status of their applications, manage their benefits online and communicate with their case worker.
• The  Accenture Benefits Management System version 4.0 features improved automated review and approval of e-applications and case changes, and self-service review of existing benefits to improve citizens’ visibility into benefits. It also features new federal interfaces to support regulatory compliance and efficient exchange of data between federal and state governments. The Benefits Management System covers a range of health, public assistance, and social welfare programs across the enterprise, and helps agencies streamline case management, increase worker efficiency, and better serve citizens while reducing costs and error rates.

Learn more about Accenture Software for Public Service and the firm’s human services solutions and focus, Empowering Services, Improving Lives.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR Japan) has announced that Accenture and the Accenture Foundations have awarded AAR Japan US$1.15 million to help the organization provide vocational training, business skills and suitable job placements to more than 2,700 persons with disabilities.

Jill Huntley, senior director of corporate citizenship at Accenture comments:

“Supporting the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan helps exemplify Accenture’s commitment to building skills and improving the communities in which we live and work,” she said. “By fostering workforce diversity, AAR Japan is proving persons with disabilities can effectively participate in, and contribute to, Japan’s economy.”

The award reflects Accenture’s global corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The grant will help persons with disabilities become economically self-sufficient and socially self-reliant and allow AAR Japan to work with local employers to develop appropriate work placements for them.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. Through its Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship focus, Accenture is committed to equipping 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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In 2012, one in five consumers switched companies they buy from, including wireless phone, internet service, and retailers, according to new research released today by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). This marks a five percent increase in switching over 2011 levels. However, the eighth annual Accenture Global Consumer Survey also found that the majority (85 percent) of consumers say the companies could have done something differently to prevent them from switching.

Broken promises are a top area of frustration for consumers, according to the survey:nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents indicate it’s extremely frustrating when a company delivers a different customer service experience from what it promised upfront. Seventy eight percent of consumers say they are likely to switch providers when they encounter such broken promises.

The post Accenture: Consumers Defect in Growing Numbers appeared first on Big4.com.

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has released updated versions of three software products in the company’s Human Services suite.

David McCurley, who leads Accenture’s public sector software business comments:

“Human services agencies and the people they serve still face too many program silos and badly outdated IT systems,” he says.. “Accenture Software allows government organizations to make the best use of their limited budgets and efficiently upgrade or replace legacy systems to better serve citizens in need.”

The 4.0 suite helps government agencies increase efficiency, reduce long-term technology costs, and provide citizens with better self-service features. With even stronger integration across products, and functional and security enhancements, the 4.0 release helps government agencies implement an integrated eligibility system that provides pre-built rules and processes to improve the ability of case workers to deliver high-quality citizen services across different eligibility programs. The suite also includes a portal that provides citizens access to their cases and case worker.

The post Accenture: Enterprise, Eligibility and Portal Software for Public Sector Agencies Enhanced appeared first on Big4.com.

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 19, to discuss its first-quarter fiscal year 2013 financial results. A news release containing these results will be issued before the call.

To participate, please dial +1 (800) 230-1059 [+1 (612) 234-9959 outside the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada] approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the call. The conference call will also be accessible live on the Investor Relations section of the Accenture Web site at www.accenture.com.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and the Accenture Foundations today announced that they have awarded KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program), a national network of charter schools, a grant of US$3.3 million to help young people in underserved communities transition from secondary education to higher education and employment. This grant brings Accenture’s direct support of KIPP to US$3.7 million since 2009.

The three-year grant will support the expansion of the Future Focus program, piloted with KIPP DC during the 2011-12 school year, to deliver skills training, mentoring and internships to nearly 7,000 students across the KIPP network. In addition, the grant will support KIPP Through College programs focused on helping KIPP students and alumni as they progress to and through college, including KIPP’s efforts to establish partnerships with colleges and universities across the United States.

The Future Focus program was established in Washington, D.C., as a joint project of KIPP DC and Accenture. This grant will expand the program in Washington, D.C., and bring it to four additional markets across the United States – Austin, Denver, Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, it will provide pro-bono work in each of the five markets to assist KIPP in developing and customizing skills training programs for each location. Accenture volunteers will help deliver skills training, including developing internship and job shadowing opportunities.

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Half of eurozone-based companies are actively seeking acquisitions within the eurozone in response to the currency and debt crisis, according to new research by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). The survey of 450 business leaders in countries in and outside the eurozone also reveals that although 44 percent have accelerated their investments in emerging markets as a result of the uncertainty, companies in the currency area continue to invest in their eurozone operations.  The research, published in a report: Exploring the Eurozone: take cover or take advantage, covered France, Germany and Spain, as well as China, the UK and the United States.

Eurozone companies are more likely to seek joint ventures (JVs) in the currency area in response to the crisis. Forty-five percent are actively seeking JVs compared to 34 percent of companies outside the eurozone. German companies are most eager (56 percent) followed by Spanish companies (48 percent).

Outside the eurozone, Chinese companies appear keener than those in the US or the United Kingdom to take advantage of the crisis and increase their investments in the currency area, according to the survey. 25 percent of Chinese respondents say they plan to accelerate their investments in the eurozone due to the crisis, compared to three percent of US and 11 percent of UK companies. Seventy-one percent of Chinese respondents are seeking acquisitions in the eurozone or will shortly begin to do so, compared to 20 percent of US and 30 percent of UK companies.

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The majority of U.S. consumers (72 percent) who plan to join insurance exchanges said affordability is the top driver of their healthcare decisions, but only a small portion (30 percent) are willing to change doctors or healthcare settings to reduce costs, according to a new survey of 3,209 people by Accenture (NYSE:ACN).  According to Accenture, while healthcare consumers seek low out-of-pocket healthcare costs, fewer than 20 percent of those surveyed understand the cost of their care in advance or feel they should track and budget healthcare expenses.

The post Accenture: U.S. Consumers Value Healthcare Affordability appeared first on Big4.com.

BBVA and Accenture announced on Tuesday a landmark technology systems upgrade at BBVA Compass. The $362 million project replaces the bank’s core technology infrastructure for all of the bank’s 716 branches in seven states across its Sunbelt footprint. It cuts the time it takes to open a new account to as little as five minutes from 45, and reduces time to market for new products by up to 75 percent.

The Spanish bank’s U.S. subsidiary will be one  of the first real-time processing systems in the U.S. banking industry.

The project marks one of the first successful core banking infrastructure replacements for a major U.S. bank in more than a decade. The new system powers BBVA Compass’ checking and savings, consumer and business lending, and mortgage capabilities – and is fully integrated with its branch and ATM networks, call centers and online and mobile banking services.

By centralizing all of the bank’s customer account information onto a single platform, BBVA Compass employees can provide faster, more comprehensive service to its customers.  The new system provides the bank’s customers with the same information available to the bank through all points of access:  branches, online, phone, ATM or mobile device.  That transparency is expected to provide customers more timely information about their accounts, which offers greater control over their finances.

BBVA Compass was supported by Accenture Core Banking Services, which has helped design and implement core banking systems for more than 200 institutions globally. Its Alnova software platform is an award-winning core banking solution, with more than 100 clients in more than 20 countries. BBVA uses Alnova in nine other countries.

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Under the European Union’s third common energy market directive and the German energy act, Amprion and RWE are required to completely unbundle their procurement process, which until now were shared by the two compnaies. RWE holds a 25.1% share in Amprion. Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been selected by Amprion Ltd., Germany’s largest transmission system operator, to help optimize its procurement function.

“Accenture looks forward to working with Amprion to further optimize its procurement processes,” said Andreas Wisser, a senior executive in Accenture’s Utilities industry group. “This agreement should enable Amprion to focus more on its core business: the upgrading and operation of its high voltage network.”

Accenture will be responsible for managing the purchase of all goods and services for Amprion, from negotiations with suppliers to the review and settlement of invoices, in order to improve processes and lower total costs. Accenture will also provide a procurement help desk capability.

The post Accenture: Procurement Function Awarded appeared first on Big4.com.

Faced with delays and budget overruns – which can add billions to total project costs – mining and metals companies could significantly reduce the cost of large capital projects by improving planning and addressing workforce shortages, according to Accenture (NYSE: ACN) research on capital projects delivery in the mining and metals industries.

Accenture research estimates that metals and mining expenditures for capital projects will reach more than U.S. $140 billion in 2012¹, and between U.S. $1 trillion and U.S. $1.5 trillion during the period from 2011 to 2025². Even with the current downturn in commodity prices, long-term demand for minerals and metals, driven by economic growth and social development throughout the world, continues to spur investment in mining and metals. With $100 – $200 billion in annual spend, the impact of project delivery overruns on individual companies and the industry as a whole is enormous.

The research was based on 31 interviews with mining and metals executives with responsibility for capital projects around the world. Less than a third (30 percent) of the respondents report staying within 25 percent of approved budgets for all projects, and less than a fifth (17 percent) said they completed all projects within a 10 percent budget range.

The post Accenture: Mining and Metals Companies Could Save Billions on Capital Projects appeared first on Big4.com.

Accenture will be launching a joint venture with GE Aviation. Named Taleris, the new operation will offer operations services that increase operational efficiency by using aircraft performance data and other optimizing solutions developed within the new firm. The firm is expected to be launched in early 2013, after regulatory approval. The size of the investment from either firm was not disclosed.

Taleris will be led by Mitch Cline as Chief Operating Officer, who will be in charge with developing the infrastructural solutions for the aviation industry that Taleris will offer.

“Airlines are seeking more effective and efficient ways to utilize next generation technologies and this new joint venture will allow us to respond by combining the strengths of intelligent operations, predictive analytics, and recovery solutions to integrate and optimize airline operations,” said Cline of Taleris’s goal.

Taleris hopes to offer a variety of software applications for the aviation industry, such as new analytics tools and remote access solutions, which will be developed from Accenture’s software work.

GE Aviation will allow Taleris to use its operations solutions and ProDAPS predictive analytics technology to analyze aircraft systems and components, while Accenture will provide software solutions for Taleris customers. Taleris will also take on the planning and recovery business from Navitaire, another Accenture company that has worked in the airline industry by offering software solutions for quite some time.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), have agreed to form a new joint venture company called Taleris™. Taleris will provide airlines and cargo carriers around the world intelligent operations services focused on improving efficiency by leveraging aircraft performance data, prognostics, recovery and planning optimization solutions that will include assets and capabilities from both Accenture and GE.

Taleris will leverage GE Aviation’s intelligent operations and ProDAPS predictive analytics technology to analyze data from “tip to tail” sensors for multiple aircraft parts, components and systems and make predictive recommendations to optimize aircraft maintenance and flight operations. Accenture will provide the solution architecture and operations systems integration to fully integrate intelligent operations solutions for Taleris customers. Taleris will also be assuming the planning and recovery business and technologies from Navitaire, an Accenture company that provides a wide range of technology services and solutions for the airline industry.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.  The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012.

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By Kalen Smith, Big4 Blogger

A new report from Accenture has found that the European debt crisis is encouraging many more companies to take advantage of acquisitions in the region. They are going to be looking for new opportunities to take advantage of economic growth throughout the region.

According to Mark Spelman, managing director of Accenture’s strategy division, the Eurozone still holds promise for businesses over the long-term. Many businesses are acquiring new divisions so that they can take advantage of growth prospects throughout the region after the crisis subsides.

Accenture said that it surveyed more than 450 companies across the world, almost all of whole had more than a billion in revenues. More than half of German and Spanish companies plan to engage in a merger in the Eurozone.

Experts claim that there are signs that the region’s debt crisis may be resolved soon. However, the country’s economic situation is another cause for concern. A recent report has shown that consumer confidence throughout the region dropped to the lowest it has been since the beginning of 2009. The Eurozone has also officially entered a new recession, which causes concerns for people living in the area.

Nevertheless, multinational businesses remain encouraged that the debt crisis will be resolved and the economy will turn around soon.

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BBVA said that it expects other banks in the U.S. to adopt the technology that is commonplace throughout much of the rest of the world, and it wants to be the first to implement to service to maintain a market advantage. “We realized that there is an opportunity in the banking industry here in the United States mainly because of technology. By the time these other banks will be ready to move, we will have leadership,” he told reporters at Bloomberg Businessweek.

BBVA operates retail banks in 716 branches across the southwest, including many states with growing Spanish-speaking populations. The bank said it will spend $362 million on implementing the system, and it will retain Accenture as its primary consultant on the project.

Accenture also believes that this might encourage American banks to make the shift to real-time banking. “A number of banks are looking at core replacement,” said Bruce Voelker, Senior Managing Director for Financial Services at Accenture. “It’s hopefully one that will start a trend.”

The post Accenture to Help Introduce Real-Time Banking to the U.S. appeared first on Big4.com.

Faced with delays and budget overruns – which can add billions to total project costs – mining and metals companies could significantly reduce the cost of large capital projects by improving planning and addressing workforce shortages, according to Accenture (NYSE: ACN) research on capital projects delivery in the mining and metals industries.

Accenture research estimates that metals and mining expenditures for capital projects will reach more than U.S. $140 billion in 2012¹, and between U.S. $1 trillion and U.S. $1.5 trillion during the period from 2011 to 2025². Even with the current downturn in commodity prices, long-term demand for minerals and metals, driven by economic growth and social development throughout the world, continues to spur investment in mining and metals. With $100 – $200 billion in annual spend, the impact of project delivery overruns on individual companies and the industry as a whole is enormous.

The research was based on 31 interviews with mining and metals executives with responsibility for capital projects around the world. Less than a third (30 percent) of the respondents report staying within 25 percent of approved budgets for all projects, and less than a fifth (17 percent) said they completed all projects within a 10 percent budget range.

The post Accenture: Mining and Metals Companies Could Save Billions appeared first on Big4.com.

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been named as a Leader in Business Intelligence Services Providers by Forrester Research, Inc.

The post Accenture: Named A Leader in Business Intelligence Services Providers appeared first on Big4.com.

In Britain, a scandal is brewing over the effective tax rates paid by Accenture and Capgemini on their UK operations. In recent years, both firms have paid between 1 and 3.5 per cent in taxes on their profits on British operations, despite a standard tax rate for corporations of 25 per cent in the country.

In 2011, Accenture paid £2.8 million ($4.48 million) in taxes on profits of £82 million. Accenture also paid no taxes in 2009 and 2010, then the company experienced £180 million in profits.

Accenture has several accounts with the United Kingdom, and provides the country’s HM Revenue & Customs office with technical support and computer systems support. Among its contracts with the HM R&C, Accenture has a £9.6 million contract with the department to provide technical support.

Capgemini paid £308,000 in taxes on £38 million in profits in 2011, and is the lead firm on the HM R&C’s Aspire contract, an £8 billion project designed to improve the IT infrastructure and collections abilities of the UK government.

Speaking on the findings, Margaret Hodge, a Member of Parliament and Chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee for the UK Government, said: “It is absolutely absurd if HMRC are doing business with companies that are not paying their fair share of tax.”

While Capgemini has not responded to the findings, an Accenture spokesperson has been quoted as saying, “Accenture pays tax in accordance with the tax legislation of each country in which it operates.”

The post While Helping UK Collect More Taxes from Others, Accenture, Capgemini Pay Less than 4% Tax appeared first on Big4.com.

Accenture has opened an Innovation Center for Financial Services in Beijing that showcases world-leading business and technology innovations designed to support strategic growth and transformation for large banks, capital markets firms and insurers in China and the Asia-Pacific region.

The centerpiece of the Innovation Center is the “Next Generation Bank” – a suite of retail banking technology innovations ranging from mobile, analytic and social media to new branch designs, payments innovations and biometric solutions. The center, which is part of Accenture’s newly launched Beijing Technology Lab, offers a new venue for financial industry executives to access some of Accenture’s best thinking on innovations that help increase market share, reduce costs and create new competitive advantage within Asia’s rapidly growing financial services industry.

“As China’s major banks shift focus from commercial banking to the burgeoning opportunities in consumer retail banking, they will need proven technologies to compete and win in these markets,” said Albert Chan, head of Accenture’s banking practice in Greater China. “What our Next Generation Bank shows is how new financial technology innovations can create a compelling customer experience with incredible scalability and efficiencies.”

The post Accenture: ‘Innovation Center for Financial Services’ in Beijing appeared first on Big4.com.

BBVA and Accenture announced on Tuesday a landmark technology systems upgrade at BBVA Compass, giving the Spanish bank’s U.S. subsidiary one of the first real-time processing systems in the U.S. banking industry.

The project marks one of the first successful core banking infrastructure replacements for a major U.S. bank in more than a decade. The new system powers BBVA Compass’ checking and savings, consumer and business lending, and mortgage capabilities – and is fully integrated with its branch and ATM networks, call centers and online and mobile banking services.

The post Accenture: Major Banking Technology Upgrade in United States appeared first on Big4.com.

Accenture announced recently that it has awarded scholarships from the Accenture American Indian Scholarship Fund to six American Indian students from across the United States.

Randy Willis, senior executive sponsor of Accenture’s American Indian employee resource group and member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe commented:

“By supporting educational achievement and leadership for these young men and women, they will acquire the skills to begin a successful, long-term career and make a difference in their communities,” he said. “These six students have excelled academically and demonstrate the leadership skills and personal commitment required to give back to the American Indian community.”

These scholarships will help the students to continue their undergraduate education and reflects Accenture’s corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business.

Established in 2004, the Accenture American Indian Scholarship Fund helps to support high-achieving American Indian and Alaska Native students pursuing a degree in technology and/or business. Criteria for scholarships include academic excellence, leadership ability, a commitment to American Indian culture and community and proof of enrollment in a federally recognized American Indian/Alaskan Native tribe.

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According to new research by Accenture (NYSE: ACN), half of eurozone-based companies are actively seeking acquisitions within the eurozone in response to the currency and debt crisis. The research, published in a report: Exploring the Eurozone: take cover or take advantage, covered France, Germany and Spain, as well as China, the UK and the United States. Ninety-six percent of responding companies have revenues of at least $1bn and more than half report revenues of at least $5bn.

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Accenture Federal Services  has received a five-year contract from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to create identity management and credentialing system processes to verify and manage millions of identities for those working at sensitive, secure areas throughout the U.S. transportation system.

The first program to be transitioned will be the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). TWIC is used to secure the nation’s maritime transportation system by providing biographic and biometric identification credentials, such as fingerprints, for personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas of regulated facilities and vessels.

Transportation workers are dependent on a secure, timely and cost-effective credential to work at airports, sea ports and other sensitive transportation areas. The new system aims to provide a customer-friendly enrollment function, creating a system that allows TSA to streamline the credentialing process for applicants through a single channel.

Multiple programs exist to issue credentials and manage identities today for transportation workers, including workers at airports, driver’s licenses to transport hazardous materials and separate identifications for maritime workers.

This new process will consolidate these programs into one system over time, improve credentialing for new and existing transportation sector workers, increase consistency of information across multiple programs and provide improved customer service to applicants.

“This new identity management and card production capability tool will connect people and information to help facilitate secure travel and trade,” said Ken Lawhorn, who leads Accenture’s work at TSA.

The post Accenture: Contract Awarded for Identity Management and Credentialing System appeared first on Big4.com.

The Partnership for New York City Fund and Accenture (NYSE:CAN) announced the search for top financial technology innovators who will work with global financial institutions to bring their ideas to market in the nation’s financial capital.

“Technology innovation is one of the most important levers of change in the financial industry: it can deepen customer relationships, reduce risks and costs, and create new opportunity,” said Bob Gach, global managing director of Accenture’s Capital Markets practice. “Accenture is delighted to continue in its third year co-sponsoring and running this important program. We are proud of the Lab’s success in helping New York City develop its financial technology ecosystem and of the strong value it delivers to supporting institutions.”

Winning companies will be part of the FinTech Innovation Lab, a 12-week program that helps early- and growth-stage financial technology innovators accelerate product development and gain exposure to top-level financial industry executives. Applications are available at www.fintechinnovationlab.comand are due by December 19, 2012.

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Italian companies have improved their level of carbon disclosure, according to a report published today by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN), which reveals that nearly half of Italy’s largest companies are disclosing their carbon and emissions performance.

Despite this, just five firms set long-term goals to be reached by 2020. Of the total, 90 percent of the targets are set for 2015, but 40 percent of these are expected to be reached by the end of 2012.

The top ten firms making up the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) this year improved their scores by seven points. Last year the top ten came from five sectors. This year they represent seven (Consumer Goods, Energy, Finance, Materials, Industry, Information Technology, and Public Services). Twenty scored more than CDP’s ‘high scorer’ benchmark of 70, up from 13 in 2011.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has been selected by Amprion Ltd., Germany’s largest transmission system operator, to help optimize its procurement function and improve its competitive positioning in a rapidly changing market.

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Accenture has announced it is expanding its global network of Innovation Centres for SAP® solutions with the opening of a new centre in Centurion, South Africa. In particular, the Accenture Innovation Centre for SAP solutions in Centurion is focused on innovating new solutions for growth industries, such as telecommunications, utilities, mining, banking, public sector, automotive, consumer goods and retail.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced recently that Southern Trust has selected Accenture Duck Creek Policy Administration and Billing software as its core commercial lines rating, policy processing and billing system. The software suite will enable Southern Trust to more efficiently and profitably manage their current book of business, along with positioning them for growth. Southern Trust writes commercial lines in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Southern Trust, founded in Macon, GA in 1968, is a commercial lines carrier offering competitively priced quality insurance products through a network of over 200 independent insurance agents in Georgia and Tennessee. Southern Trust is rated A (Excellent) by the A.M. Best Company, the oldest and most experienced insurance rating organization in the world.

Accenture Software combines deep technology acumen with industry knowledge to develop differentiated software products. It offers innovative software-based solutions to enable organizations to meet their business goals and achieve high performance. Its home page is www.accenture.com/software. For P&C Insurance software, its home page is www.accenture.com/pcsoftware.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is listed as a “vendor to watch” based on evaluation of its transportation industry expertise and a focus on mobility in the recently published Gartner Market Trends: Mobile Ticketing for Public Transportation, Worldwide, 2012.

Patrice Massat, global lead for Accenture’s Infrastructure and Transportation industry group comments:

“Accenture is an industry pioneer, with extensive experience of e-ticketing and mobility solutions as well as insight into device suppliers, which allows us to design solutions for both open payments and open architectures.”

The new report assesses the deployment of mobile ticketing and the migration to open fare systems, two important trends in public transportation. It examines the opportunities for traditional and nontraditional transport technology providers that are being generated by these trends.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Nearly three out of four (72 percent) of consumers aged 20-40 in the United States and the United Kingdom use mobile devices while in-store to compare prices, but the majority leave before making a purchase, according to a study by Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Interactive. The research also shows that while consumers in this age group are concerned about online privacy, they will permit retailers to track their shopping behavior to personalize their shopping experience.

The survey shows that the consumers surveyed by Accenture Interactive are extremely interested in having a more personalized shopping experience, despite their concern for privacy protection. Sixty-four percent say they would be receptive to receiving text messages when visiting a store informing them of offers that match their past shopping interests, and 60 percent strongly agree that it is acceptable to receive advertisements on their smartphone if they opt into them.

When asked to make a choice, 64 percent of respondents say it is more important that companies present them with relevant offers against only 36 percent who say companies should stop tracking their website activity. At the same time, however, 88 percent strongly agree or agree that companies should give them the flexibility to control how their personal information is used to tailor their shopping experience.

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A new report assesses the deployment of mobile ticketing and the migration to open fare systems, two important trends in public transportation. It examines the opportunities for traditional and nontraditional transport technology providers that are being generated by these trends. Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is listed as a “vendor to watch” based on evaluation of its transportation industry expertise and a focus on mobility in the recently published above mentioned report,  Gartner Market Trends: Mobile Ticketing for Public Transportation, Worldwide, 2012.

The move toward both mobile and open fare management is examined by the report, as well as the scale of adoption of mobile ticketing. It examines technology trends and outlines the areas where mobile ticketing can deliver value in the public transportation industry.

Michael J. Wilson, Head of Accenture’s Public Transportation practice in North America comments:

“We are pleased to be recognized by Gartner as we work with our clients to identify their issues using a strategic research-based approach backed up by strong technical delivery capabilities that drive better business outcomes, he said. “Accenture’s public transportation expertise, combined with experience in implementing large mobility projects involving significant back-end integration and large-scale deployment – were drivers for our inclusion in the report.”

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced recently that Southern Trust has selected Accenture Duck Creek Policy Administration and Billing software as its core commercial lines rating, policy processing and billing system.

“We need a modern technology system with a track record of fast, successful implementations to support both our current needs and our future expansion roadmap,” said Eric Russett, Vice President, Southern Trust. “With Accenture Duck Creek software, we’ll be able to more easily support and configure all of our commercial lines of business on a single platform while also benefiting from a future-proof architecture that positions us for growth.”

Accenture’s award-winning policy and claims software offers carriers an integrated suite of software with modules that can be implemented individually or as part of a broader migration strategy. The combined software enables insurers of all sizes to benefit from a flexible suite of P&C software to configure products, transact lines of business and process claims.

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According to new research from Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Half of U.S. consumers are likely to make a small luxury purchase in the next six months, including 53 percent who are likely to purchase specialty food or drinks, 48 percent to purchase luxury clothing and 48 percent to purchase luxury personal care products.

“As consumers show an increasing willingness to splurge on luxury, retailers and brands can build loyalty by offering a strategic selection of smaller-ticket luxury items to complement their more significant products,” said Tom Jacobson, managing director of the Accenture Pricing & Profit Optimization practice. “Consumers want a taste of luxury in their everyday lives, and are willing to spend a little extra for the experience, but the emphasis is on small items. They may think twice about purchasing a new handbag, but shop for a wallet as an alternative.”

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Italian companies have improved their level of carbon disclosure, according to a report published today by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN), which reveals that nearly half of Italy’s largest companies are disclosing their carbon and emissions performance.

“Italian companies have significantly improved their transparency on their emissions performance and their growing commitment to disclosure will help reduce financial risks and improve their standing with investors and insurers,” said Danilo Troncarelli, of Accenture. “More importantly, better quality measurement of emissions performance will drive more advanced forms of emissions management that will positively impact the bottom line.”

This year companies were all scored by IMQ, the Italian Institute for the Quality Mark, Italy’s certification body and a European leader in conformity assessments. IMQ rated companies according to their climate change transparency with the best disclosers entering CDP’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).  Companies were also assessed according to the scale and quality of their emissions reductions and strategies, and ranked according to performance bands. The best performers enter CDP’s Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI). The indices are used by investors to assess corporate preparedness for national emissions regulation and to guide investment decisions.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) recently announced that it is working with SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to help global oil and gas companies improve their operational performance and increase efficiencies with upstream solutions.

Cooperation between Accenture and SAP will be centered initially on leveraging SAP applications, including SAP Upstream Operations Management and SAP Production and Revenue Accounting, to address the needs of integrated digital oilfield operations.

“Today, many decisions and processes of global oil and gas companies are located in isolated silos across the organization,” said Michael Wendell, head, Industry Business Solutions, SAP. “For example, revenue processes may be held in one system, cost processes in another, root-cause analysis in yet another. Through this cooperation with Accenture – our long-term teaming partner in the oil and gas industry – we aim to help eliminate these silos and better enable real-time decision making and execution of upstream operations activities across multiple dimensions of an organization. This will help oil and gas companies to better understand the true impact on operations, helping deliver more value to upstream operations.”

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“Today’s digital-savvy, mobile-enabled consumers expect seamless, real-time interaction with their service providers,”  Michael A. Costonis, a managing director in Accenture Property and Casualty Insurance Services recently said. “For P&C insurers, that means reducing settlement times and enabling policyholders to interact with them about the progress of their claims when and where they want. A modern core claims system is essential to achieving all of these objectives.”

A large majority (85 percent) of claims executives at U.S. property and casualty (P&C) insurance companies see their claims systems as lacking the flexibility and modernity needed to address consumers’ evolving needs, according to an Accenture (NYSE: ACN) survey of U.S. claims executives.

Half (54 percent) of those surveyed say their core claims systems are more than five years old and almost one-third (32 percent) of respondents say they rely on more than five different applications to process claims.

Also according to the survey, a large majority of executives (83 percent) believe their claims systems are not modern and flexible enough to allow them to change the systems’ behavior and business rules without intervention from the IT department.

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Although the details as far as data collection, governance and even methodology are still being worked out, forward thinking companies like Accenture know the Internet in general and social media specifically hold the key to new realms of biosurveillance. John Matchette, who leads Accenture’s Public Safety agency work, recently spoke to Big4.com about the company’s new contact with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“The mission here of course is to protect America’s welfare,” he said, adding that there were a broad range of health threats that could affect the country including terrorist threats and any emerging pandemics. Last Thursday, Accenture announced a $3 million, one-year contract which will aid the Office of Health Affairs (OHA) with its biosurveillance capabilities using social media analytics.

Public Health Trends

Biosurveillance is the monitoring of public health trends and unusual occurrences, relying on pre-existing, real-time health data and Accenture has been charged with creating a pilot program that will take data from social networking and social media sites to help the OHA respond to a variety of crises and emerging threats.

“What we’re looking at here is a new way to diagnose emerging health concerns in a way that’s not being done,” Matchette said adding that the developing pilot project would be an additive to existing programs. He mentioned any new biosurveillance capabilities are not being developed to replace some exiting programs like BioWatch which checks the air for anthrax and other pathogens.

Real Time Information

The new project will look at getting more real time information through the very social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and blogs that have become part of people’s everyday lives.

“We’re going to take an Accenture collaboration platform that allows you to go out and collect a lot of data and then run analytics on top of it,” Matchette said adding there were many sources of data that could be incorporated to look for emerging health threats. He also stressed the scope of the project was large and would derive trends and a baseline from millions of inputs.

“The first thing to do is establish a baseline for what normal looks like,” he told Big4.com. “Once you’ve done that, you continue to refine that by looking at what is posted on blogs and Facebook and Twitter (as well as other social media platforms.)” There are standard interfaces that can be used here.

By having people input their own information, Matchette says, deviations from this baseline and emerging trends are noticed quicker than if the same data was collected by people checking into emergency rooms with symptoms or using other more traditional methods. There are several different applications here including identifying biological attacks and even more common situations like flu outbreaks.

“It all happens in real time with standard interfaces that already exist,” he said. “This is a very special case where we’re trying to use these interfaces to enhance public safety and improve health.”

Monitor available signals

The immediate plans for the new biosurveillance pilot don’t include data collection of any kind.

“Our plans right now are not to collect data and store it,” Matchette said. “What we’re trying to do right now is monitor available signals. The exciting thing about this is the ability to have something up and running very quickly that is of value and use to the nation.”

Accenture has worked with the Department of Homeland Security since its establishment in 2001.

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According to new research from Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Half of U.S. consumers are likely to make a small luxury purchase in the next six months, including 53 percent who are likely to purchase specialty food or drinks, 48 percent to purchase luxury clothing and 48 percent to purchase luxury personal care products.

The study also found that showrooming, or viewing a product in a store and then going online to make the purchase, plays an important role in luxury purchases. In the past six months, one in five consumers visited a store to experience a luxury product in person and then purchased the product online.

Additionally, the study found that having access to special deals and bargains through group membership shopping sites has invited more luxury purchases. Among the 23 percent of consumers who have bought luxury goods and services from an online group that offers exclusive discounts to members, 58 percent say these sites have increased their luxury spending.

The Accenture survey identified a number of differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers when it comes to luxury shopping. More than a third (35 percent) of Millennials indicated their likelihood to purchase luxury goods is up over the past year, while nearly half (46 percent) of Baby Boomers indicated their likelihood to purchase luxury goods has decreased in the past year.

Among those consumers who said they are not likely to purchase luxury goods, the majority of Millennials indicated they cannot afford the prices, while the majority of Baby Boomers indicated that luxury is not important to them or not worth the cost.

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The SEC is a regulatory agency charged with protecting investors and overseeing the U.S. financial securities markets, including securities exchanges, securities brokers and dealers, investment advisors and mutual funds. It  has awarded Accenture Federal Services a five-year, $13 million contract for major architectural improvements and redesign of its three public websites, online tools used most frequently by the public, and the agency’s employee intranet.

Work under the contract includes improvements and upgrades to the SEC’s Investor.gov, which helps investors conduct background checks on investment professionals and firms, understand key financial documents and learn to identify fraudulent offers. Improvements also will be made to the SEC’s employee intranet – used by more than 3,800 internal users on the SEC network.

Combined, the SEC portals receive more than 35 million visits a day and average 450 million visits per month.

Accenture’s federal business serves every cabinet-level department and 20 of the largest federal organizations. The U.S. federal portfolio spans across clients in civilian, defense, intelligence and public safety agencies.

Ed Meehan, who leads Accenture’s federal civilian agency portfolio commented:

“The SEC strategy has been to leverage its resources wisely to create the greatest operational efficiencies and reduce life cycle costs. The redesign and enhancements to SEC.gov and its other portals will create a more robust and integrated system that is safe and secure, yet flexible to support evolving content,” he said.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced today that Southern Trust has selected Accenture Duck Creek Policy Administration and Billing software as its core commercial lines rating, policy processing and billing system. Accenture’s award-winning policy and claims software offers carriers an integrated suite of software with modules that can be implemented individually or as part of a broader migration strategy. The combined software enables insurers of all sizes to benefit from a flexible suite of P&C software to configure products, transact lines of business and process claims.

Southern Trust will also use Accenture Duck Creek Templates, a pre-configured insurance product deployment solution for Insurance Services Office (ISO) based commercial lines and National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) based workers’ compensation products. The templates are designed to support rapid implementation and ongoing maintenance of these lines of business with lower cost and risk.

Michael A. Jackowski, global managing director of Accenture Software for P&C insurance commented:

“We are pleased that our software was selected by Southern Trust as a key component of their move to a modern technology platform,” he said. “Their mission is to provide best-in-class service to their agents and customers, and they understand that our software enables streamlined and efficient policy and billing processing, as well as increased service levels.”

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According to a report published today by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN), nearly half of Italy’s largest companies are disclosing their carbon and emissions performance.

Climate change is taking on greater importance on the agendas of publicly listed companies, with an increasing number of firms (95 percent from 61 percent in 2011) reporting that they have entrusted climate-change management to their boards. The report also shows that over half of companies (58 percent) set reductions targets, which includes seven of 8 utilities respondents and 4 out of 6 from the industrials sector.

Analysis by CDP and Accenture of a sample of 33 of the 46 companies showed that the annual savings that could be achieved from their emissions reductions targets could reach €630 million and out of the total number of emission reduction initiatives, more than half have a payback period of less than three years.

This year companies were all scored by IMQ, the Italian Institute for the Quality Mark, Italy’s certification body and a European leader in conformity assessments. IMQ rated companies according to their climate change transparency with the best disclosers entering CDP’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).  Companies were also assessed according to the scale and quality of their emissions reductions and strategies, and ranked according to performance bands. The best performers enter CDP’s Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI). The indices are used by investors to assess corporate preparedness for national emissions regulation and to guide investment decisions.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced it is expanding its global network of Innovation Centres for SAP® solutions with the opening of a new centre in Centurion, South Africa.

The Accenture Innovation Centre for SAP solutions in Centurion is focused on innovating new solutions for growth industries, such as telecommunications, utilities, mining, banking, public sector, automotive, consumer goods and retail.

The centre will also house a critical skills and training facility, incorporating the Accenture Academy for SAP solutions. Accenture will develop a pipeline of priority technology skills, taking in hundreds of university graduates as interns who will become professionals certified in SAP solutions. The Accenture Innovation Centres for SAP solutions bring together Accenture’s functional and industry expertise with the latest SAP technologies, including the SAP HANA® platform and mobility and cloud solutions. Supported by teams of professionals from Accenture and SAP, the centres provide clients with process-specific business solutions, thought leadership around existing and emerging SAP solution-based technology, and the industrialisation of the resulting solution, content and delivery methods.

The South African centre joins Accenture’s global network of innovation centres in the U.S., Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, France and India. These innovation centres leverage the skills and expertise at locations across the Accenture Global Delivery Network, Accenture Technology Labs and the Accenture Global Talent and Innovation Network.

The centre will also house a critical skills and training facility, incorporating the Accenture Academy for SAP solutions. Accenture will develop a pipeline of priority technology skills, taking in hundreds of university graduates as interns who will become professionals certified in SAP solutions. The Accenture Innovation Centres for SAP solutions bring together Accenture’s functional and industry expertise with the latest SAP technologies, including the SAP HANA® platform and mobility and cloud solutions. Supported by teams of professionals from Accenture and SAP, the centres provide clients with process-specific business solutions, thought leadership around existing and emerging SAP solution-based technology, and the industrialisation of the resulting solution, content and delivery methods.

The South African centre joins Accenture’s global network of innovation centres in the U.S., Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, France and India. These innovation centres leverage the skills and expertise at locations across the Accenture Global Delivery Network, Accenture Technology Labs and the Accenture Global Talent and Innovation Network.

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In his new capacity as managing director of In-Memory Solutions, Dr. Alexander Zeier  will work with Accenture clients to develop in-memory solutions, provide sales support to global industry teams in leveraging in-memory technology, and provide ongoing thought leadership.  He will also serve as director of programs for the SAP HANA® platform within the Accenture Innovation Center for SAP® solutions.

Since March 2012, Dr. Zeier has been a Visiting Professor in Residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), lecturing and conducting research around innovative enterprise applications and business process optimizations that leverage in-memory technology or SAP HANA. He was also deputy chair, Enterprise Platform and Integration Concepts, at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany, focusing on real-time, in-memory enterprise systems and RFID technology.

Dr. Zeier has been working with SAP technologies and solutions for over 20 years. Prior to joining Accenture, he was responsible for SAP’s first large in-memory application, and was a pivotal part of the development of SAP HANA, SAP’s platform for real-time analytics and applications. He holds ten patents related to in-memory technology and applications for enterprise systems, and is co-author with Hasso Plattner of the recently published book, “In-Memory Data Management – Technology and Applications.”

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today unveiled a new version of its Accenture Foundation Platform for Oracle (AFPO). AFPO is a unique accelerator that includes documentation, day one deliverables and quick start virtual machine images, along with access to a skilled team of resources, to reduce risk and cost while improving project quality. It can be delivered all at once or in stages, on-site, hosted, or as a cloud solution.  The new version also features rapid configuration and implementation capabilities for SOA/BPM integrated with Oracle WebCenter Portal, Oracle WebCenter Content, Oracle Business Intelligence, Oracle Identity Management and Oracle ADF Mobile.

AFPO version five also reduces the amount of time needed to plan, analyze, and design portal and collaboration architectures. Companies will increasingly need to leverage SOA and BPM underneath portal technology to maximize employee collaboration and effectiveness—getting the right information to the right user across the complexity of enterprise systems and data silos.

AFPO version five also delivers a starter kit for Oracle SOA Suite which builds upon the integration methodology, leading practices and extended tooling contained within the Oracle Foundation Pack. The combination of the AFPO starter kit and Foundation Pack jump-start and streamline Oracle SOA Suite implementation initiatives, helping to reduce the risk of deploying new technologies and making architectural decisions, so clients can ultimately reduce cost, risk and the time needed for an implementation.

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A series of new reports, Sustainable Energy for All: The Business Opportunity outlines business action across 19 industry sectors. They highlight how businesses can create value by supporting the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which aims to expand energy access worldwide, improve energy efficiency and increase the share of renewables.

Fifty percent of the recommended actions within the reports focus on energy efficiency, 38 percent on renewable energy use and 12 percent on access to energy. The five most common priority actions identified across all sectors were driving energy efficiency in operations as well as through energy efficient products and services; the use of renewable energy in operations; reusing waste streams; and engaging in stakeholder engagement and advocacy.

The UN Global Compact and Accenture have complied the information and they also identify two major challenges:  the lack of global policy and regulatory solutions, and the subsequent need for sectors to introduce industry-wide standards that provide governments with a framework to support. Meanwhile, the high level of risk associated with the recommended actions is also identified, and incorporates suggestions that the creation of new financing mechanisms and instruments will be required by both the public and private sectors.

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Crum & Forster has selected Accenture to develop new software for them. They will use the software as a major component of their rating and policy processing system for commercial lines, specialty lines and workers’ compensation. The new system will enable Crum & Forster to quickly and easily launch and maintain products, and increase operational efficiencies by streamlining policy administration processes.

The Duck Creek Policy Administration software and  Accenture Duck Creek Templates are pre-configured insurance product deployment solutions for Insurance Services Office (ISO) based commercial lines and National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) based workers’ compensation products. Going forward, the templates will enable the rapid implementation and maintenance of these lines of business.

Accenture’s award-winning policy and claims software offers carriers an integrated suite of software with modules that can be implemented individually or as part of a broader migration strategy. The combined software enables insurers of all sizes to benefit from a flexible suite of property & casualty (P&C) software to configure products, transact lines of business and process claims.

Michael A. Jackowski, global managing director of Accenture Software for P&C insurance commented:

“We are pleased to be working with Crum & Forster and supporting their growth initiatives,” he said. “The flexibility and rich functionality of our policy administration software suite, including our industry-leading rating solution, will allow them to provide an enhanced user experience for both underwriters and agents.”

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The Partnership for New York City Fund and Accenture (NYSE:CAN) have announced the search for top financial technology innovators who will work with global financial institutions to bring their ideas to market in the nation’s financial capital.

The FinTech Innovation Lab is entering its third year of operation. Since 2010, it has provided a dozen technology entrepreneurs with mentoring and access to more than 30 leading bank CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, venture capitalists and technology luminaries. The six companies in last year’s program deployed 20 proofs-of-concept at participating financial institutions. Winning companies will be part of the FinTech Innovation Lab, a 12-week program that helps early- and growth-stage financial technology innovators accelerate product development and gain exposure to top-level financial industry executives. Applications are available at www.fintechinnovationlab.com and are due by December 19, 2012.

In September, Accenture launched the affiliated FinTech Innovation Lab London, which is modeled on the successful New York program. It is supported by many of the same financial institutions – with the addition of HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, and others – and by the Mayor of London and other civic bodies. Entrepreneurs that are chosen to participate in either the New York or London Lab may gain access to supporting financial institutions in both cities.

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According to the recently published IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Oil and Gas Professional Services 2012 Vendor Assessment¹ by IDC Energy Insights, a line of business of International Data Corporation (IDC), Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is positioned as a Leader in providing business consulting, IT consulting, systems integration, IT outsourcing, and managed services to oil and gas companies globally.

The IDC MarketScape report evaluated the offerings and capabilities of 10 oil and gas services providers and evaluated them based on potential key strategy measures for success in two primary categories: current capabilities and future strategy. Based on the IDC MarketScape evaluation, Accenture is positioned as a Leader among vendors included in the assessment, with a strong strategic combination of capabilities for success in today’s oil and gas industry. Accenture is also described as having the right strategic initiatives to maintain and grow its capabilities in the future.

The new report assesses the capabilities and strategies of many of the leading professional service firms in addressing the specific needs of the oil and gas industry. In particular, the report evaluated professional service firms according to their success in providing offerings in industry segments including upstream, midstream, downstream and energy trading and risk management.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded Accenture Federal Services a $3 million, one-year contract to help the Office of Health Affairs (OHA) enhance its biosurveillance capabilities using social media analytics.

Biosurveillance is the monitoring of public health trends and unusual occurrences, relying on pre-existing, real-time health data – data that is publicly available and easily obtained. Because of the vast amount of data and information available and readily shared through social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs) and the rapid pace information is shared, collecting and understanding information from these channels is critical.

Accenture will work with OHA to develop a social media analytics pilot that will manage, link and analyze data from social media networks in real time to better inform and protect the public in the event of a national health emergency such as an infectious disease outbreak or a biological attack.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US $27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012.  Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has completed its acquisition of NewsPage Pte Ltd (“NewsPage”), based in Singapore. The company is a leading provider of integrated distributor management and mobility software for the consumer goods industry in emerging markets.

The NewsPage technology will be added to “Accenture Perfect Sales.” This service enables consumer goods companies to improve their retail execution by helping to increase their operational efficiencies, sales performance and data visibility. Accenture Perfect Sales combines skills, assets, software platforms and processes to focus on specific consumer goods industry issues.

Fabio Vacirca, managing director of Accenture’s Consumer Goods & Services industry practice commented:

“Acquiring NewsPage reinforces our position as a leading provider of integrated sales software for the consumer goods industry,” he said. “By integrating NewsPage’s technology into the successful Accenture CAS software platform we will be able to offer consumer goods companies the ability to manage efficiently all of their sales processes on a single platform, across mature and emerging markets.”

The acquisition was originally announced on Aug. 30. Approximately 128 NewsPage employees based in Singapore, China, India and Malaysia are joining Accenture as a result of the acquisition. NewsPage will become a part of Accenture Software, the company’s dedicated software business.

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Accenture has finished its acquisition of NewsPage, a Singapore-based firm offering distribution and mobility solutions. The firm announced its plans to acquire the firm on August 30th, as it hopes to expand its presence in emerging market distributor software.

Accenture Consumer Goods and Services Managing Director Fabio Facirca said that the acquisition allows the company to strengthen its position in the emerging market consumer market. “By integrating NewsPage’s technology into the successful Accenture CAS software platform we will be able to offer consumer goods companies the ability to manage efficiently all of their sales processes on a single platform, across mature and emerging markets,” he said.

Accenture has offered software solutions across verticals, including distribution management and mobility software. NewsPage’s technology will be incorporated into Accenture Perfect Sales, a service that allows consumer goods companies to improve their retail sales execution by making operations more efficient and driving sales performance higher.

“Our software delivers real value for our clients and enables them to achieve business outcomes that drive revenue and growth,” said Colin Davies, Managing Director of Accenture Software.

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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has unveiled an enhanced version of its claims management software platform, Accenture Claim Components, designed to help property and casualty (P&C) insurers process claims more quickly and efficiently and improve customer satisfaction.

John Del Santo, global managing director of Accenture’s Insurance practice comments:

“The impact of the claims function on insurers’ market perception, customer loyalty, and overall profitability is significant,” he said. “The upgraded Accenture Claim Components helps them meet this challenge by providing unmatched configuration flexibility, addressing changing consumer expectations and optimizing claims outcomes. Our claims software is used by insurers that have tens of thousands of claims handlers and by smaller organizations with only few hundreds professionals. In both cases, we are focused on taking our clients to the next level of claims performance.”

Among the new features included are the upgraded Accenture Claim Components that provides support for packaging multiple claim types from the same loss, which allows for the consolidation of previously separate claims into a single folder.  This gives adjusters greater control over complex claims while enabling more efficient processing and better customer service.