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Accenture company history timeline

1989

The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

A new corporate structure was thus created in 1989, making Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting separate subsidiaries of the same parent company, but a clause in the companies' contract with one another mandated that the more lucrative of the two share its annual profits with the other.

1990

1990 Outlook magazine launched, focused on thought leadership in change management

1991

1991 First firmwide internal news publication, Dialogue, is launched

1992

1992 Mission statement, vision and core values-quality client service, one global network, integrity, stewardship, best people and respect for the individual-are developed and articulated

1992 First Global Management Council formed to ensure that Andersen Consulting leadership was focusing on global issues

1993

1993 The People, Values, Culture initiative is launched to renew our focus on coaching, counseling and leadership

1994

1994 Opening of the Centers for Strategic Technology in Palo Alto, California, and Sophia Antipolis, France.

1997

1997 Consulting partners vote unanimously to pursue arbitration of differences with the audit and tax divisions

Andersen Consulting initiated a split with Arthur Andersen in 1997, but the split was delayed by years of legal wrangling.

1998

1998 The firm refreshes its brand with the debut of the "A to the power of C" logo, with the exponent conveying a sense of energy and high-tech savvy

1999

1999 The firm conducts its first live global broadcast, introducing new CEO Joe Forehand to all employees

2000

In August 2000, as a result of the conclusion of arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce, Andersen Consulting broke all contractual ties with AWSC and Arthur Andersen.

Accenture is included in the Forbes Global 2000 ranking for the first time

Horizon 2000 strategic planning process is launched, with more than 200 partners laying the groundwork for long-term success

Opening of our first SMART Store 2000™ in Chicago—providing a unique environment to explore innovative solutions for consumer packaged goods and retailing

2000 Kim Petersen, a Norwegian employee, wins internal contest to come up with a new name for the company—selecting Accenture for "accent on the future"

2000 Accenture and Microsoft create Avanade, a joint venture helping Global 2000 clients optimize Microsoft investments

2001

2001 Accenture launches its new name on January 1, and strategic imperatives are announced—bold growth, great place to work, and operational effectiveness

On 1 January 2001, Andersen Consulting adopted its current name, "Accenture". The word "Accenture" is derived from "Accent on the future". The name "Accenture" was submitted by Kim Petersen, a Danish employee from the company's Oslo, Norway office, as a result of an internal competition.

2001 April - Accenture's 2,300 partners vote overwhelmingly in favor of an initial public offering

2001 July 19 - Accenture is listed on the NYSE under the symbol "ACN" and immediately ranks among the 200 largest companies on the exchange

On 19 July 2001, Accenture's initial public offering (IPO) was priced at $14.50 per share, and the shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange; Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley served as its lead underwriters.

2001 Accenture increases its stake in Avanade, its joint venture with Microsoft, from 50 percent to 78 percent

2001 The firm establishes its Code of Business Ethics

2002

An initial set of TV spots were released at the start of the campaign in February 2002, and a second round of commercials headlined a September 2002 campaign update.

In October 2002, the Congressional General Accounting Office (GAO) identified Accenture as one of four publicly traded federal contractors that were incorporated in a tax haven.

2002 Accenture is included in the Fortune Global 500 for the first time

2002 Accenture is named one of Interbrand's "Best Global Brands," ranking 53rd, with a brand value of $5.2 billion

2003

The campaign ran through August 2003, leveraging an estimated budget of $70 million.

Steinberg, Brian. "Media & Marketing—Advertising: Accenture Ads Tee Off with Tiger; Consultancy Starts Effort with Golfer in the Hopes of Taking Share from IBM." Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2003.

2003 Included on Working Mother's "100 Best Companies" list for the first time

2004

2004 Accenture is included in the Financial Times' FT 500 ranking for the first time

2004 Bill Green is named CEO, succeeding Joe Forehand, who retains the chairman role

2005

2005 Accenture hosts first annual International Women's Day celebrations

2005 Accenture is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Global Index for the first time

2005 Accenture Career Framework is launched, defining career paths and professional growth opportunities for all people

2005 Senior Executive career model is implemented, replacing the partnership model

2006

2006 Launched diverse supplier development program

2007

2007 Accenture is included on Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for the first time

2007 Global policy on environmental responsibility is launched

2008

2008 Accenture is included in the Ethisphere Institute's "World's Most Ethical Companies" list for the first time

2009

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

2009 Accenture is included in CR Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens list for the first time

Accenture was named to Universum’s 2010 World’s Top 50 Most Attractive Employers, ranking in the top 25 on both Business and Engineering lists. It was announced as a Top 20 highest performing tech company in 2009.

2010

Accenture was named to Universum’s 2010 World’s Top 50 Most Attractive Employers, ranking in the top 25 on both Business and Engineering lists.

2010 Accenture and the Accenture Foundations commit to contributing more than $100 million in cash and services over three years to support corporate citizenship

2010 Initial goals are established for new Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship initiative

2011

2011 Global brand campaign takes "High performance.

2011 Pierre Nanterme becomes CEO, succeeding Bill Green, who remains chairman of the board

2012

The firm's Horizon 2012 strategic planning initiative is launched

2013

2013 Careers at Accenture is launched, enabling employees to develop more specialized skills and to have greater transparency about career opportunities

2013 Mortgage Cadence, a leading provider of SaaS-based mortgage processing software, is acquired

2014

2014 Accenture Connected Learning is launched, providing employees with a broader range of physical and virtual learning environments

2014 OMNETRIC joint venture is formed with Siemens to provide smart grid solutions

2015

2015 Accenture and Amazon Web Services create new business group to help clients migrate to the cloud

2016

2016 Accenture Strategy combines human insight with artificial intelligence to create Symphonologie: The music of business

2016 Accenture continues to invest in digital, cloud and security capabilities with new acquisitions around the world: IMJ Corporation, Japan.

2016 Accenture is proud to be recognized on Fortune's "Change the World" list for using our patented biometric technology, in partnership with the UN, to help refugees regain their identities

2016 Accenture's new cybersecurity R&D lab in Israel is a key milestone in our cybersecurity expansion and leadership, adding to our global lab network in the United States, China, France, India and Ireland

2016 Accenture joins forces with SAP to accelerate development of SAP S/4HANA, fast-tracking customer journeys to digital businesses

2017

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

2017 Pace of acquisitions accelerates as Accenture acquires SinnerSchrader, OCTO Technology in digital, Phase One in cloud, Arismore in security, and SolutionsIQ in New IT

2017 Accenture launches The Dock in Dublin, a multidisciplinary research and incubation hub where our “Innovation Architecture” comes to life

2018

According to a report published by the DHS Office of Inspector General in December 2018, Accenture had been paid $13.6M through the first ten months of the contract.

Accenture releases Technology Vision 2018 highlighting the “Intelligent Enterprise Unleashed”—including the shifting role of the enterprise in society

2018 Accenture ranks No.

2018 Accenture reaches milestone market capitalization of $100 billion

2019

In February 2019, contractors from Accenture's Austin, Texas, location who performed content moderation tasks for Facebook wrote an open letter to Facebook describing poor working conditions and a "Big Brother environment" that included restricted work breaks and strict non-disclosure agreements.

Chief Financial Officer David Rowland was named as the interim CEO. In July 2019, Julie Sweet, previously CEO of Accenture North America, was named the new chief executive officer of the firm, effective September 2019.

2019 Accenture Interactive boosts its Experience Agency capabilities with acquisition of Droga5, innovative New York-based creative agency

2019 Accenture ranks No.

2020

On 7 January 2020, news sources reported that Accenture had agreed to acquire Symantec's 300-person cybersecurity services division from Broadcom.

In February 2020, Accenture announced that it plans to shut down its media auditing by the end of August.

In September 2020, Accenture committed $3 billion and created a division called Accenture Cloud First.

As of 2020, we've made 18 consecutive appearances on the list of Fortune's "World's Most Admired Companies". And that's just the beginning.

2020 Accenture announces changes to its growth model and Global Management Committee

2021

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

2021 Accenture launches 360° Value Reporting Experience to enhance transparency for all stakeholders

2021 Julie Sweet adds title of chair of the board and David Rowland retires

2021 Technology Vision 2021 highlights widening digital gap in pandemic, key role for “experts at change” in compressed transformations

2022

2022 Technology Vision 2022 focuses on the metaverse; Accenture launches new Metaverse Continuum business group

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1989
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Accenture competitors

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Deloitte1845$50.2B334,80026,556
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Experis US Inc-$3.2B10,0012
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