June 09, 2014

Accenture Expands its Enterprise Performance Management Capabilities with Acquisition of PureApps


LONDON; June 9, 2014 — Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired PureApps, a UK-based Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) provider that helps clients use financial insight and analysis to improve organizational effectiveness through better cost management and strategy execution. The acquisition will strengthen Accenture’s end-to-end EPM capabilities and enable Accenture to help CFOs transform the finance function using emerging digital technologies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

PureApps specializes in implementing performance management solutions based on the Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management and Oracle Business Analytics range of products. The company enables CFOs to report and analyze enterprise performance, accurately forecast business results and work with business units to transform these insights into action. Its solutions integrate strategy, planning and execution across management and operational systems.

PureApps will be integrated into Accenture’s Finance and Enterprise Performance practice, part of Accenture Strategy. PureApps’s technical capabilities will complement Accenture’s extensive consulting expertise for the finance function, including its global shared services offering. The combination of the two businesses will strengthen Accenture’s presence in the UK EPM market and support clients in Europe, where demand for EPM-related services is strong.

“EPM is experiencing strong growth, driven by the demands of CFOs who are being asked to play a more central role in enhancing the organizational agility of businesses in response to rapidly changing markets,” said Chris Wright, managing director, Finance & Enterprise Performance practice at Accenture Strategy, UK and Ireland. “Success depends on being able to turn strategy into execution more effectively and comprehensive performance management capabilities are critical to achieving that. The combination of Accenture and PureApps’s EPM capabilities demonstrate the value to CFOs of integrating business, technology and function strategies within organizations.”

“Businesses today are looking for solutions that will improve their ability to analyze and act on a vast array of financial, operational, competitive and marketplace information,” said Nick Wyatt, managing director, PureApps. “As part of Accenture, we will be better placed to provide end-to-end enterprise performance management services, help the CFO drive value and support the transformation of the finance function.”

Founded in 1998, PureApps is a privately held company headquartered in Winchester in the UK. The company also has small offices in Benelux.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 289,000 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$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for the company; the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; the company’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions, and a significant reduction in such demand could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if the company is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; the markets in which the company competes are highly competitive, and the company might not be able to compete effectively; the company’s profitability could suffer if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful, and the company may not be able to improve its profitability through improvements to cost-management to the degree it has done in the past; the company’s results of operations could materially suffer if the company is not able to obtain sufficient pricing to enable it to meet its profitability expectations; if the company’s pricing estimates do not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of the company performing its work or third parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then the company’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be unprofitable; the company could have liability or the company’s reputation could be damaged if the company fails to protect client and/or company data or information systems as obligated by law or contract or if the company’s information systems are breached; the company’s results of operations and ability to grow could be materially negatively affected if the company cannot adapt and expand its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings by new entrants; as a result of the company’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; the company’s Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; the company might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating businesses or entering into joint ventures; the company’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; the company’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; the company’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the company’s alliance relationships may not be successful or may change, which could adversely affect the company’s results of operations; outsourcing services and the continued expansion of the company’s other services and solutions into new areas subject the company to different operational risks than its consulting and systems integration services; the company’s services or solutions could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company might lose its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others; if the company is unable to protect its intellectual property rights from unauthorized use or infringement by third parties, its business could be adversely affected; the company’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; many of the company’s contracts include payments that link some of its fees to the attainment of performance or business targets and/or require the company to meet specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the company’s revenues and impact its margins; changes in the company’s level of taxes, and audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in the company’s treatment as an Irish company, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s results of operations and financial condition; if the company is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if the company is unable to collect its receivables or unbilled services, the company’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected; the company’s share price and results of operations could fluctuate and be difficult to predict; the company’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; any changes to the estimates and assumptions that the company makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; the company may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.

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Contact:

Meryl Hanlon
Accenture
+ 44 7760 168-293
meryl.hanlon@accenture.com