World consulting and know-how powerhouse Accenture has introduced collectively 5 of its enterprise traces right into a single, built-in unit known as Reinvention Providers.
To be led by present Americas chief Manish Sharma, Reinvention Providers – successfully advisory – will from September convey collectively Accenture’s current Technique, Consulting, Music, Expertise, and Operations traces right into a mixed enterprise.
The announcement follows Accenture’s third quarter monetary report, which, regardless of being up by 7 % year-on-year for a tally of $17.7 billion, delivered the second consecutive quarter of decrease than anticipated bookings, in line with analysts, down by 7 %.
“As we speak, our shoppers want extra worth quicker,” mentioned CEO Julie Candy. “These adjustments to our development mannequin will enable us to ship that and proceed to scale our enterprise by being a fair stronger engine of reinvention that extra quickly delivers the ability of GenAI. We’re writing the playbook for tips on how to be probably the most AI-enabled, client-focused skilled providers firm on this planet.”
Whether or not the agency is writing the ‘playbook’ is debatable. Within the face of ongoing enterprise and financial headwinds which proceed to stifle demand for consulting, virtually each main world tech consultancy and every of the Large 4 have tilted their advisory divisions away from conventional administration choices and in direction of AI.
Within the Australian context, that features strikes from PwC and KPMG, which noticed the lack of roughly 500 consulting jobs following earlier cuts, whereas the native branches of Deloitte and Ernst & Younger have additionally not too long ago executed organisational overhauls impacting their advisory divisions in keeping with manoeuvring from their world dad and mom.
And like their counterparts downunder, the massive consultancies are actually dealing with elevated strain and a federal spending backlash within the US, the place most derive the majority of their revenues – or, within the case of Accenture, which is ‘domiciled’ in Eire, near half of its now $65 billion world take.
“We proceed to see a considerably elevated degree of uncertainty within the world atmosphere as in comparison with 2024,” Candy mentioned through the third quarter earnings name. “In each boardroom, in each trade, our shoppers aren’t dealing with a single problem. They’re dealing with every part without delay: financial volatility, geopolitical complexity, and altering buyer behaviour.”
Reinvention Providers
The upcoming consolidation of its enterprise traces hasn’t include a job-loss caveat as but – though the agency has already shaved its headcount by 10,000 over the previous quarter from a current peak of 800,000 – however has triggered a senior management reshuffle.
Manish Sharma, who was the CEO of the Americas, has been succeeded by present world Chief Operations Officer (COO) John Walsh, who in flip will probably be succeeded by Americas COO Kate Hogan, with a sequence of line bosses reporting to Sharma. These received’t embrace present consulting and know-how world chiefs Jack Azagury and Karthik Narain, who’ve “determined to depart to pursue different alternatives”.
Australian-born Music CEO David Droga will in the meantime hand over to Ndidi Oteh to tackle the vice chair position.
One other ‘Aussie’ nonetheless enters the image, with College of Expertise Sydney enterprise and accounting graduate Jason Dess to take over from Azagury as consulting CEO. Presently world CFO & Enterprise Worth chief, Dess spent three and a half years with Deloittein Australia throughout two stints earlier than decamping with the agency to Canada in 2005.
Accenture’s newest pivot towards AI follows the $3 billion, three-year world funding the agency dedicated in direction of the rising know-how in 2023. Since then, Accenture has signed a $700 million AI three way partnership with Telstra, whereas final 12 months launching a generative AI studio in Australia and bolstering its native experience.
