Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) is a multinational professional technology services company that provides strategic, tactical, digital, and operational consulting support to clients in more than 200 cities across 120 countries.
Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, the company boasts impressive revenue. For its full fiscal year 2019, the company reported a revenue increase of 5% in U.S. dollars, to $43.2 billion. Earnings per share were $7.36 compared with $6.34 in the previous year. With the announcement, the company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.80 per share.
Accenture currently ranks 279th on the latest Global Fortune 500 list, which lists the 500 largest companies by revenue. It currently employs more than 500,000 people in 120 countries, with nearly one-third of them currently working in India and fewer than 50,000 in the U.S.
The company has many competitors in the consulting industry, including the so-called “Big Three:” McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, Inc., and Bain & Co.
The company now known as Accenture was created in the 1950s as a technology consulting division of now-defunct Arthur Andersen LLP, once one of the Big Five accounting firms. Its break from the parent company was finalized at the start of 2001 when it was renamed Accenture. Arthur Andersen crashed in the Enron scandal the following year.
Key Takeaways
- Accenture PLC ranks 279th on the Forbes Global 500 list of international companies with the largest revenues.
- The company now known as Accenture was created in the 1950s as a technology consulting division of now-defunct Arthur Andersen LLP.
- Its top competitors include McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company.
McKinsey & Co.
McKinsey & Company is a privately-owned management consulting firm that focuses on addressing strategic, organizational, operational, and technological issues. The companies it serves primarily focus on commodities, natural resources, media, and technology. While the company does not divulge the names of its clients, it claims to serve roughly 90 of the top 100 global corporations and more than 80 of the 100 largest U.S.-based companies.
Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) has more than 14,000 employees in 85 offices around the world, making it one of America’s largest private companies, according to Forbes. BCG serves many of the world’s largest companies, mid-sized businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. The firm’s consultants are experts in a wide swath of industries, ranging from financial services to industrial goods. Some of its notable alumni include Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Grammy Award-winning singer John Legend.
Accenture got its start in the 1950s as the business and technology consulting division of Arthur Andersen, then one of the Big Five accounting firms.
Bain & Co.
Founded in 1973, Bain partners with clients that operate in sectors representing 90% of the global economy. The firm has more than 6,000 employees and has worked with thousands of notable regional and local organizations, non-profit groups, governmental entities, and private equity funds. Its clients collectively represent 75% of all global equity capital.
