Leading Revenue Agencies Employ Risk Management Strategies and Customer-Centric Philosophy to Achieve High Performance, Accenture Report Finds

RESTON, Va.; Feb. 26, 2007 – Innovative revenue agencies have learned to organize around managing risk and to adopt a customer-centric view as a means to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, according to a report by Accenture (NYSE: ACN) released today.

In the report, Revenue Innovation: Driving High Performance, Accenture presents leading-edge practices identified through research conducted with leading revenue agencies around the world.

The report identifies the distinguishing characteristics of innovative revenue agencies around the world and highlights five findings that can help agencies chart a course toward high performance.

These characteristics include the operational strategies, organization structures, business processes, channel strategies, business applications and technologies that set the innovators apart from other revenue agencies.

According to the report, revenue agencies looking to achieve high performance will do so by delivering the optimum balance of better outcomes with greater cost-effectiveness, a measurement that Accenture calls “public service value.”

The report found that high-performing revenue agencies are:

1) Using marketing campaigns and other activities to improve public understanding of tax requirements and perceptions of fairness to encourage voluntary compliance. Through this outreach they are creating their revenue “brand.”

2) Taking an increasingly targeted and proactive approach to collections and compliance. These agencies are using risk models and management strategies to help detect non-compliance and mitigate undesirable outcomes.

3) Putting a customer-centric philosophy into practice by providing greater convenience to taxpayers, streamlining the filing and payment processes, and integrating service delivery around taxpayer needs.

4) Harnessing advanced customer relationship management processes to dramatically improve both the quality and responsiveness of their service. Leading agencies are implementing sophisticated customer contact centers designed to provide proactive assistance to taxpayers.

5) Using rigorous performance metrics and tapping into shared services and outsourcing to continuously refine their operations and redeploy resources for a greater return. High performing agencies are improving both processes and technology to support a new services-oriented attitude.

“Heightened stakeholder demands, coupled with tighter budgets, complex legislation and regulatory reforms, are forcing governments to deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively,” said C. Ann Rettie, managing director of Accenture’s Government Revenue practice. “By analyzing trends in revenue management, our report demonstrates that innovation has – and will continue to be – a key driver of public service value.”

“Just as financial services firms in the private sector push the envelope regarding technology-based innovation compared to other vertical industries, revenue agencies are clearly leading the way for other government organizations to follow,” said Gene Leganza, vice president of Forrester Research. “Revenue agencies have set the gold standard for embracing citizen-friendly approaches to fulfilling their tax collection mission while constantly improving their business model to reduce operating costs.”

Accenture’s experience in the tax and revenue industry includes work with 50 government agencies worldwide and the implementation of 23 integrated tax systems since 1987, including 17 in the United States.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With approximately 146,000 people in 49 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$16.65 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2006. Its home page is www.accenture.com.