Accenture, Ltd.

Accenture, Ltd.

This consulting powerhouse, formerly Andersen Consulting, has its roots in the giant accounting firm Arthur Andersen. The parent firm began to differentiate its consulting operations from traditional auditing in the 1950s, but the consulting side did not see major growth until the 1970s and 1980s. In 1989, the auditing and consulting divisions were designated Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting, respectively, and became separate units of Andersen Worldwide.

Throughout the 1990s, a feud developed between the two halves of Andersen Worldwide. The feud went before an International Chamber of Commerce arbitrator; in 2000, the arbitration proceedings resulted in a complete split between the divisions. Andersen Consulting had to pay Andersen Worldwide $1 billion to sever its ties (less than the parent company claimed it should get). On January 1, 2001, Andersen Consulting became Accenture.

Facts of Interest

  • The salaries of five of its top officers totaled $11.7 million in 2005 — an average of over $2 million each. This compensation does not include large stock options, the value of which is difficult to calculate.


  • Accenture's worldwide sales in 2005 totaled $15.5 billion. Profits totaled $940 million.


  • In 2005, The U.S. General Accounting Office identified Accenture as one of the four largest federal contractors that incorporated offshore tax havens as a way of lowering corporate tax liability (Washington Technology, Feb. 26, 2005).
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