July 15, 2013

Accenture to Expand Mortgage Industry Capabilities with Acquisition of Mortgage Cadence, a Loan Origination Software Company

Acquisition Will Strengthen Accenture Credit Services and Banking Software Portfolio by Adding Mortgage Origination Technology to Help Lenders Industrialize their Operations

NEW YORK; July 15, 2013 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire Mortgage Cadence, a provider of loan origination software and electronic document management services in the United States. The acquisition will add an advanced technology platform to strengthen Accenture’s mortgage business-process outsourcing (BPO) services and enable the company to provide software to mortgage lenders looking to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, which is subject to customary closing requirements, Mortgage Cadence will become part of Accenture and its software will be incorporated into Accenture Credit Services, a business service within Accenture’s financial services operating group that provides consulting, technology and outsourcing services to financial institutions. Accenture Credit Services will use Mortgage Cadence technology as a core loan-origination platform to process mortgages on behalf of its outsourcing clients. Accenture also will provide the software to lenders on a standalone basis through Accenture Software as part of its banking-software portfolio.

“The U.S. mortgage industry is entering an era in which efficiency, speed and the customer experience will be more crucial than ever in determining winners and losers,” said Terry Moore, global managing director of Accenture Credit Services. “By adding this key mortgage processing asset, we will enhance our end-to-end credit services capabilities and bring a new generation of mortgage processing services to the industry. This offers lenders improved speed-to-market, cycle-time, costs, and productivity.”

“Traditional loan origination technologies have become too complex and cumbersome to meet today’s market demands,” said Michael Detwiler, CEO of Mortgage Cadence. “Because our software is rules-based and highly configurable, it can help lenders accelerate new product introductions, more easily adapt to changing regulatory requirements, and reduce overall cost structures. By combining our technology with Accenture’s mortgage processing and software development capabilities, we can deliver more holistic and advanced solutions that will help lenders compete. We look forward to joining the Accenture team. In addition, I would like to thank our principal investor, Monitor Clipper Partners, for supporting Mortgage Cadence for the last three years with its strategic support and operational expertise, which have proven instrumental to our success.”

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Mortgage Cadence is a privately held company that provides loan origination software solutions for large and mid-sized residential mortgage lenders in the United States. Its portfolio of software supports mortgage origination, processing, underwriting, closing and post-closing with on-premise, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud-based solutions. Mortgage Cadence also offers electronic mortgage document management systems and imaging solutions. The company’s approximately 190 employees in the United States will join Accenture Software under the agreement.

"As the US mortgage industry evolves, leading-edge technology applications for processing loans have taken on tremendous importance in terms of competitive advantage, growth and profitability," said Jim Astorian, managing director, Accenture Software. "This acquisition reflects our continued focus on investing in and developing core software technologies that will help our financial services industry clients succeed in an evolving marketplace."

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 266,000 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.

Accenture Credit Services supports institutions in the residential mortgage, commercial real estate, leasing and automotive finance industries. It is a leading provider of mortgage processing services in the U.S. and serves more than 100 major lending institutions worldwide. Accenture Software combines 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.

About Mortgage Cadence
Mortgage Cadence LLC provides Enterprise Lending Solutions (ELS), which employ an extensive financial services data model wrapped with a native rules engine to deliver data-driven workflow automation tools to mortgage banks, lenders, credit unions, service providers and servicers. Mortgage Cadence has developed enterprise solutions that integrate all functions and data elements required to optimize, manage and score lending performance. The mortgage industry is always shifting to meet demands and minimize risks. Mortgage Cadence’s flexible solutions continue to evolve to meet those needs. To learn more, please visit http://www.mortgagecadence.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: Accenture will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties’ ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture and Mortgage Cadence; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s businesses depend on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s services and solutions, and a significant reduction in such demand could materially affect Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations; if Accenture or Mortgage Cadence 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, Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s business, the utilization rate of Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s professionals and Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; the markets in which Accenture and Mortgage Cadence compete are highly competitive, and Accenture and Mortgage Cadence might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture or Mortgage Cadence could have liability or Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s reputation could be damaged if Accenture or Mortgage Cadence fails to protect client and/or company data or information systems as obligated by law or contract or if Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s information systems are breached; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations and ability to grow could be materially negatively affected if Accenture and Mortgage Cadence cannot adapt and expand their services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings by new entrants; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, Accenture is more susceptible to certain risks; Accenture’s Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations could materially suffer if Accenture and Mortgage Cadence are not able to obtain sufficient pricing to enable them to meet their profitability expectations; if Accenture’s pricing estimates do not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of Accenture performing its work or third parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then Accenture’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be unprofitable; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes Accenture to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s businesses could be materially adversely affected if Accenture or Mortgage Cadence incurs legal liability in connection with providing its services and solutions; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Accenture’s alliance relationships may not be successful or may change, which could adversely affect Accenture’s results of operations; outsourcing services and the continued expansion of Accenture’s other services and solutions into new areas subject Accenture to different operational risks than its consulting and systems integration services; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s services or solutions could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or Accenture and Mortgage Cadence might lose their ability to utilize the intellectual property of others; Accenture and Mortgage Cadence have only a limited ability to protect their intellectual property rights, which may be important to Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s success; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on their reputations in the marketplace; Accenture might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating businesses or entering into joint ventures; Accenture’s profitability could suffer if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful, and Accenture may not be able to improve its profitability through improvements to cost-management to the degree it has done in the past; many of Accenture’s contracts include payments that link some of its fees to the attainment of performance or business targets and/or require Accenture to meet specific service levels, which could increase the variability of Accenture’s revenues and impact its margins; changes in Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s level of taxes, and audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in Accenture’s treatment as an Irish company, could have a material adverse effect on Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations and financial condition; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, Accenture might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if Accenture or Mortgage Cadence is unable to collect its receivables or unbilled services, Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s share price and results of operations could fluctuate and be difficult to predict; Accenture’s results of operations and Accenture’s share price could be adversely affected if Accenture or Mortgage Cadence is unable to maintain effective internal controls; Accenture 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 by Accenture. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture and Mortgage Cadence undertake 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 or Mortgage Cadence’s expectations.

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Contact:

Sean Conway
Accenture
+ 917 452 6444
sean.k.conway@accenture.com