Accenture
Annual Report 2003

Plain-text annual report

Destination: High Performance Annual Report 2003 Annual Report 2003 What does it take to be a true leader in industry or government? How do you maintain that position once you reach it? Accenture has launched a global strategic business initiative to answer these questions and to help our clients achieve lasting leadership. This year’s annual report—Destination: High Performance—explains this initiative in detail, including how we continue to transform our own business to deliver innovation, enabling higher levels of performance for our clients, shareholders and employees. Throughout the report, we showcase clients that already have begun their high-performance journeys and demonstrate how Accenture’s unique combina- tion of consulting, technology and outsourcing capabilities are helping them to get there. Please see “Accenture—At a Glance” starting on the inside cover foldout and continuing on page 31 for more about our company. Contents Accenture—At a Glance . . . . . . Cover Foldout & 31 Letter from the Chairman & CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Financial Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Destination: High Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Accenture as a Corporate Citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Board of Directors and Executive Committee . . . 34 Shareholder Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 About Accenture . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover The Accenture Annual Report 2003 contains several non-GAAP measures that our management believes provide our shareholders with additional useful information. We have identified these measures, our reasons for providing these measures and brief reconciliations to relevant GAAP measures at relevant points throughout this annual report. The non-GAAP measures referred to in this annual report should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to net income as indicators of company performance or as alternatives to cash flows from operating activities as measures of liquidity. For more detailed explanations of the assumptions and methodologies behind these reconciliations, please visit www.accenture.com/investor. All amounts throughout this annual report are stated in US dollars except where noted. All references to years in this annual report, unless otherwise noted, refer to our fiscal years, which end on August 31. About the cover: Designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, the Campo Volantin Footbridge in Bilbao, Spain, is a graceful and dynamic symbol of how ingenuity and expertise combine to create high performance. Leaders know there’s no looking back. They only set their sights higher—miles above the competition—where opportunities become clear. At Accenture, this is the only vantage point we’ve ever known. And we continue to transform our company to achieve even higher performance—for ourselves and for our clients. In a challenging 2003, we met or exceeded key targets, achieving: • $16.1 billion in new bookings. • 2 percent growth in revenues before reimbursements. • $1.05 diluted earnings per share. • $1.3 billion in free cash flow (63 percent growth over prior year). Accenture—At a Glance Accenture is one of the world’s leading management consulting, technology services and outsourcing companies. We help deliver innovation that enables clients to become high-performance businesses and governments. We use our industry and business process knowledge, our service offering expertise and our insight into existing and emerging technologies to identify new business and technology trends. We help clients: • Identify and enter new markets. • Increase revenues in existing markets. • Improve operational performance. • Deliver their products and services more effectively and efficiently. Growth Platforms and Services Underpinning our emphasis on high-performance business are three growth platforms: • Grow business consulting services. • Extend leadership in systems integration and technology services. • Accelerate growth in business process outsourcing services. Services we offer include: • Business consulting. • Systems integration. • Application outsourcing. • IT infrastructure outsourcing. • Business process outsourcing. We are differentiated in the marketplace because we: • Build enduring, trust-based partnering relationships with clients. • Focus on value creation and business outcomes. • Harness deep industry, process and technology expertise and unrivaled large-scale, complex change capabilities. • Seamlessly integrate consulting and outsourcing capabilities across the full life cycle of business transformation. • Leverage our proprietary assets and global delivery network for quality, speed and lower costs. • Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration and teaming. • Attract and develop the best talent. Accenture Quick Facts Our Clients: • We serve 87 of the Fortune Global 100, more than two- thirds of the Fortune Global 500 and government agencies in 24 countries. • Of our top 100 clients in fiscal 2003, 93 have been clients for at least five years. • Of our top 25 clients in fiscal 2003, 20 have been clients for at least 10 years. • All 10 of our top 10 clients in fiscal 2003 have been clients for at least 10 years. Global Presence: More than 110 offices in 48 countries Our People: More than 83,000 worldwide Research & Development: $250 million in fiscal 2003 Training Investment: $391 million in fiscal 2003 (3.3 percent of revenues before reimbursements) Intellectual Property: Have been issued more than 100 patents in the last three years; more than 950 applications pending Heritage: More than 50 years of innovative experience Management Team: Average 24 years of experience with Accenture Our Brand: Ranked 52nd most valuable global brand by BusinessWeek Through Business Process Outsourcing, We Help Our Clients: • Manage benefits administration for more than 800,000 client employees and pensioners. • Manage customer receivables, collecting approximately $30 billion of customer debt in fiscal 2003 alone. • Handle more than 100 million inbound customer calls and process more than 50 million customer bills annually. • Perform more than 29 million electricity and natural gas meter readings annually. Industry-focused Operating Groups Our business is structured around five operating groups, which together comprise 18 industry groups serving clients in every major industry. Our industry focus gives us an understanding of industry evolution, business issues and applicable technologies, enabling us to deliver innovative solutions to clients. Through Business Consulting, Technology & Outsourcing and Business Process Outsourcing, we develop and offer the skills necessary to lead in the marketplace (see page 31). Communications & High Tech • Communications • Electronics & High Tech • Media & Entertainment Financial Services • Banking • Capital Markets • Insurance Government Products Resources Serving these sectors: • Defense • Postal • Education • Revenue • Human Services • Immigration/ Justice/Security • Election Services • Automotive • Health Services • Industrial Equipment • Pharmaceuticals & Medical Products • Retail & Consumer • Transportation & Travel Services • Chemicals • Energy • Forest Products • Metals & Mining • Utilities Business Consulting Technology & Outsourcing Business Process Outsourcing Revenues Before Reimbursements(1) US Dollars in Millions Years Ended August 31 $12,000 10,500 9,000 7,500 6,000 4,500 3,000 1,500 0 Compound Annual Growth Rate 1989-2003=16.3% $11,818 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 (1) This chart reflects revenues before reimbursements. Reimbursements include travel and out- of-pocket expenses and third-party costs, such as the cost of hardware and software resales. Reimbursements are included in revenues, and an equivalent amount of reimbursable expenses is included in cost of services. Reimbursements and reimbursable expenses are separately disclosed in our Consolidated Income Statements. • Provide more than 12 million learning hours in nine languages to more than 400,000 users in 93 countries. • Process 100 million airline passenger reservations and more than 100 million airline passenger boardings annually. Industry Analysts Identify Us as a Leader in: • Business process transformation. • Outsourcing. • IT services. • Customer relationship management. • Supply chain management. • Technology research and development. • Web services. • SAP services. Joe W. Forehand, Chairman & CEO To Our Stakeholders: 2 Evolution. . .change. . .transformation. These concepts are woven deep into the fabric of our culture and are part of what has made Accenture a leader in our industry. For more than a decade, we have continually responded to shifts in the marketplace before our competition. In doing so, we have remained relevant to our clients and have built a vibrant company where people want to work. In fact, our business—at its simplest level—has two dimensions: our clients and our people. We are committed to delivering quality and value to our clients, and we are very proud of the clients we serve. We work with many of the world’s largest companies, including 87 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500. In fiscal 2003, approximately 49 percent of our revenues before reimbursements came from companies and government entities outside the Fortune Global 500. We also are committed to developing a diverse talent pool, the very best in our industry. I am proud of our more than 83,000 employees—they are the true change The time has come for us to raise the bar in our industry once again. We believe that the best way to deliver on our commitments to our shareholders is by helping our clients become high-performance businesses. agents who rise to the challenges in the marketplace and in our internal business each day. Their resiliency and ability to embrace change is remarkable. Not surprisingly, change is upon us. Although we are proud of our marketplace success and track record of delivering innovation, quality and results to our clients, the time has come for us to raise the bar in our industry once again. We believe that the best way to deliver on our commitments to our shareholders is by helping our clients become high- performance businesses. And, we believe we have the right business model and growth platforms to position us for long-term growth. over the prior fiscal year. We ended the fiscal year with a strong fourth quarter, growing revenues before reimbursements 12 percent in US dollars and 5 per- cent in local currency. This was our first double-digit increase in quarterly revenues before reimbursements since our initial public offering and our first positive local currency growth in five quarters. Also, new book- ings remained strong in fiscal 2003 at $16.1 billion. We continued to grow our outsourcing business significantly—by 37 percent in US dollars and 32 percent in local currency over last year—bringing outsourcing to 30 percent of total revenues before reimbursements, up from 23 percent in fiscal 2002. Results and Accomplishments In our second full year as a public company, we achieved solid performance, despite one of the worst economic downturns of the last three decades. Revenues before reimbursements for fiscal 2003 were $11.8 billion, an increase of 2 percent in US dollars and a decrease of 4 percent in local currency Our diluted earnings per share in fiscal 2003 were $1.05, compared with $0.56 in fiscal 2002. In fiscal 2002, losses on investments and restructuring costs reduced earnings per share by $0.35. Excluding those charges, diluted earnings per share in fiscal 2003 increased 16 percent over the prior fiscal year. Opera- ting income for the fiscal year was $1.55 billion, or 13.1 percent of revenues before reimbursements. This was a 12 percent increase over the prior fiscal year. 3 Performance Relative to 2003 Targets Key Metric 2003 Target 2003 Actual Performance New Bookings $16.0 billion $16.1 billion Growth in Revenues Before Reimbursements Diluted Earnings Per Share 0-2 percent 2 percent $1.05 $1.05 Free Cash Flow $1.0 billion $1.3 billion I am particularly pleased with our cash flow growth and our strong balance sheet. Operating cash flow was $1.5 billion. Free cash flow, defined as operating cash flow net of property and equipment additions of $212 million, was $1.3 billion, up $501 million from the prior year. Also, we ended the year with $2.4 billion of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash. We achieved a 73 percent return on invested capital(1) for fiscal 2003, which would rank Accenture No.1 relative to the companies in the S&P 100. Finally, we are committed to generating industry- leading EVA®(2), which was 9.5 percent of revenues before reimbursements for fiscal 2003. Our financial results have strengthened Accenture’s shareholder value during a period of economic uncer- tainty, and we continue to outperform our industry. In addition to our financial accomplishments, we achieved several notable recognitions last year. Fortune magazine ranked Accenture America’s third “most admired” company in our industry, and we 4 improved our position to 52nd in BusinessWeek’s ranking of the 100 most valuable global brands. Last year, we put a spotlight on diversity, and I was proud to accept, on behalf of our company, the 2003 Catalyst Award for our innovative approaches Notes: (1) Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) is equal to the tax-adjusted operating income divided by total average capital. Accenture believes that reporting ROIC provides investors with greater visibility of how effectively Accenture uses the capital invested in its operations. Note that ROIC is not a measure of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles. Accenture’s Return on Invested Capital for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2003, is defined as Operating Income of $1.551 billion, adjusted by the annual effective tax rate of 35.1 percent, which equals $1.007 billion, of which the product is then divided by the average capital of $1.381 billion, yielding a 73 percent ROIC metric. Average capital is defined as the sum of Shareholders’ Equity, Minority Interest, Short-Term Debt and Long-Term Debt from the Balance Sheets at August 31, 2002, and August 31, 2003, and that entire sum divided by 2 to obtain the average of $1.381 billion. (2) EVA represents Economic Value Added. Accenture believes reporting EVA results provides investors with greater visibility of economic profit. EVA is not a measure of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles. Accenture’s EVA for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2003, is defined as Operating Income of $1.551 billion less $411 million of capital charges, $15 million of option expense and $2 million of invest- ment gains. EVA of $1.127 billion divided by $11.818 billion of revenues before reimbursements yields a 9.5 percent EVA metric. EVA® is a registered trademark of Stern Stewart & Co. Our financial results have strengthened Accenture’s shareholder value during a period of economic uncertainty, and we continue to outperform our industry. to recruiting and advancing women. We also were recognized as one of Working Mother magazine’s 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers. During fiscal 2003, we invested $391 million in training to ensure we equip our people with the skills to compete in a rapidly changing market. Our leadership development program, which builds on the idea of “leaders teaching leaders,” has been an enormous success, with more than 1,700 of our partners having participated to date. We are now expanding this program to our other executive levels. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our employees for their energy and for their commitment to serving our clients and helping us run a world-class company. Looking ahead, I believe we have sound fundamentals, including a strong balance sheet, a commitment to controlling costs, good business prospects and the right people—all of which will help us fuel growth and maintain our market leadership. Enabling High Performance The other key to growth is our business strategy. We are continually on a journey to evolve our strategy and raise the bar in our industry. Our strategy has always been rooted in what our clients tell us is most important to them—and that is to help them look for ways to create sustainable value for their customers, employees, shareholders and citizens, in a volatile environment. Quite simply, we help our clients achieve not just incremental improvements through projects or programs, but also improvements in overall business outcomes. Today, we are taking our strategy to the next level with the idea of helping our clients become high- performance businesses. High-performance businesses are leaders. They see opportunity amidst chaos. They put insight into action. And they have the courage to change before change is thrust upon them. High performance is about closing the gap between what an organization currently is achieving and what it has the potential to achieve. So, we are bringing 5 our insight to clients to help them identify gaps and opportunities, then plan courses of action that will enable them to perform at the highest level. In our conversations with business leaders—and in testing this idea with clients—we found there is not only a demand for enabling high performance, but also that the market views Accenture as the most credible provider in our industry. We are committed to developing a clear understanding of what makes an organization truly high performing. There are a few key factors behind this demand for high performance. In the coming years, leaders will need to manage more things more precisely, with a narrower margin for error than ever before. More specifically, they will be called upon to manage seemingly paradoxical values—like having a flexible workforce while also building employee loyalty; or driving global change imperatives throughout the company while also empowering local management; or having a willingness to enter new markets, while also creating a disciplined culture of risk management. 6 Internally, we are aligning all our capabilities, thought leadership, image and brand initiatives, and training around high performance. This attention allows us to increase the range of issues we can help clients address and increase our focus on business outcomes. Plus, we have begun and will continue global research on what enables organizations to become high- performance businesses. To build awareness for our new “high performance delivered” brand positioning in the marketplace, we launched an integrated marketing program, including a new global advertising campaign featuring world-champion golfer Tiger Woods. To learn more about how we are helping companies become high-performance businesses, I encourage you to read the client stories described in our report. Also, see page 27 for additional details on our global integrated marketing program. Strategy for Growth Underpinning our emphasis on high performance are three growth platforms that represent the capabilities that will help us deliver on our promises to our clients. Revenues Before Reimbursements(1) US Dollars in Millions Years Ended August 31 $11,444 $11,574 $11,818 $9,752 2000 2001 2002 2003 (1) This chart reflects revenues before reimbursements. Reimbursements include travel and out-of-pocket expenses and third-party costs, such as the cost of hardware and software resales. Reimbursements are included in revenues, and an equivalent amount of reimbursable expenses is included in cost of services. Reimbursements and reimbursable expenses are separately disclosed in our Consolidated Income Statements. The first is to grow business consulting. In this area we draw upon our deep industry skills, our large-scale, complex change capabilities, and innovations in our service lines and industry programs to build long- term, trusted relationships that drive client value. Growing this part of our business is critical, and we want to achieve double-digit growth in business consulting over the next three years. We have iden- tified fast-growing areas like supply chain, customer transformation, security, IT optimization, and finance and performance management, in which we can bring innovation to a wide range of clients. For example, we are working with Lloyds TSB to assist it with Basel II regulation compliance. By leveraging its infrastructure with minimal cost, we will help Lloyds TSB manage dramatic regulatory changes over the next five to 10 years. The second growth area is to extend our leadership in systems integration and technology services. We are focused on delivering more innovation and value to the CIO. We want to be the best at delivering technology- enabled business solutions, while also meeting client demands for lower costs in developing and main- taining their technology applications. For example, we have been helping build and support Caterpillar’s new global Dealer Business System by applying the technology skills of our global delivery centers in Manila and Buenos Aires to meet the needs of this long-standing client. We also are leveraging our technology vision to create new innovations and solutions using emerging technologies such as radio frequency identification, mobility and insight technologies. Through information technology outsourcing—including both infrastructure and applications outsourcing—we are not only helping clients reduce operating costs, but also enabling improved enterprise outcomes across a wide variety of business processes. Our third growth platform is to accelerate growth in business process outsourcing, or BPO, a rapidly expanding marketplace in which we have established an early leadership position. BPO uses all of our 7 High-performance businesses are leaders. They see opportunity amidst chaos. They put insight into action. And they have the courage to change before change is thrust upon them. capabilities and extends the market overall for our services. I like to think of BPO as providing “business performance outcomes.” In fiscal 2003, we nearly doubled our BPO revenues before reimbursements. We formalized and expanded our portfolio of BPO businesses, including Accenture Business Services for Utilities—which offers a full suite of outsourced business services at reduced costs to utilities across North America. In just 18 months, Accenture Business Services for Utilities already is providing business services to more than 6 million customers, more than any utility in North America. independent board members in November supports our plan to transition the composition of our board to a majority of independent directors. All of our directors provide valuable oversight and direction to the strategy and management of Accenture. For more information, visit www.accenture.com/governance. Fiscal 2004 promises to be another exciting year for Accenture. Speaking on behalf of our employees around the world, we are motivated and enthusiastic about growing our business and outperforming our competition once again. We have the right strategy, the right people and a bold, new market positioning that will set us apart. The Journey Ahead As we look ahead, we will build on the trusted rela- tionships we have with our clients, our people and all our stakeholders. As part of that accountability, we remain committed to our core values and we take corporate governance very seriously. We are commit- ted to continually enhancing our board of directors and our corporate governance framework to reflect best practices. The addition of our two newest 8 Joe W. Forehand Chairman & CEO December 15, 2003 Financial Highlights Revenues by Operating Group Communications & High Tech Financial Services Government Products Resources Other Total Revenues Before Reimbursements Reimbursements Total Revenues by Area Americas EMEA(2) Asia Pacific Reimbursements Total Total Revenues Before Reimbursements 2003 Percent Change 2002(1) Percent Change 2001(1) Percent Change $ 3,290 2,355 1,582 2,613 1,966 12 11,818 1,579 $13,397 3% 0 20 (3) (2) 20 2% $ 3,182 2,366 1,316 2,696 2,005 9 11,574 1,531 $ 13,105 (2)% (10) 31 3 4 (51) 1% $ 3,238 2,627 1,003 2,624 1,933 19 11,444 1,618 $13,062 15% 12 26 23 16 39 17% 2003 Percent Change 2002 Percent Change 2001 Percent Change $ 5,671 5,353 794 11,818 1,579 $13,397 (3)% 8 2 2% $ 5,836 4,963 775 11,574 1,531 $ 13,105 (5)% 11 (8) 1% $ 6,113 4,484 847 11,444 1,618 $13,062 17% 21 4 17% 2000(1) $ 2,806 2,344 797 2,130 1,661 14 9,752 1,579 $11,331 2000 $ 5,223 3,714 815 9,752 1,579 $11,331 Revenues Before Reimbursements by Consulting and Outsourcing Percent of Total Revenues Before Reimbursements Percent Growth Consulting Outsourcing Consulting Outsourcing 100 80 60 40 20 0 16% 17% 23% 30% 84% 83% 77% 70% 40 30 20 10 0 -10 15% 9% 1% 37% 33% 28% -7% -10% 2000 2001(3) 2002(3) 2003(3) 2000 2001 2002 2003 Notes: (1) 2002, 2001 and 2000 operating group revenues before reimbursements have been restated to conform with current-year presentation. (2) EMEA includes Europe, Middle East and Africa. (3) Consulting revenues before reimbursements in 2001, 2002 and 2003 include other revenues before reimbursements. US dollar amounts in millions for the years ended August 31, 2000-2003. 9 Destination: High Performance It’s not enough to simply rise above today’s challenges. Accenture and its clients are taking business and government to a whole new level. Here’s how. . . The era of “wait-and-see” management is over. Emerging from one of the most bruising economic periods in recent history, leaders in busi- ness and government are brushing off the dust and asking themselves: What does it really take to achieve and sustain high performance? All have been quick to realize that the answer does not lie in simply finding new ways to cut costs or increasing their technology spending. Accenture saw the change coming. We moved early and fast to help our clients find new ways to lead, not merely stay afloat, in this chang- ing environment. For example, Accenture’s bold move into business process outsourcing in the 1990s has been a transforming force for many clients seeking to refocus their businesses. Our ability to consis- tently evolve ahead of the market’s needs is one of our hallmarks and a big reason for our own growth in 2003, despite the major challenges of a sluggish economy. Working with clients around the globe, we have found that the aspira- tion of becoming a high-performance business resonates strongly. Rather than merely dealing with today’s issues—or addressing oppor- tunities one by one—businesses and governments today seek more 10 Destination: High Performance integrated, long-term business solutions to achieve leadership. We believe Accenture is in a unique position to address this need—and, in so doing, raise the bar for performance in our own industry—through our High Performance Business strategic initiative. What Is a High- performance Business? At Accenture, the term “high performance” is both a definitive destination and a continuous quest for sustainable leadership. In our view: High-performance businesses are those that effectively balance today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities. They consistently outperform their peers over a sustained time frame, across busi- ness cycles, industry disruptions and changes in CEO leadership. As many CEOs and companies have discovered, this is not an easy goal to achieve. But those that have reached and maintain this summit are able to deliver significantly higher returns to their shareholders over time. 12 During 2003, we began extensive global research on what makes these high-performance companies tick—both in the context of the industries in which they compete and mastery of those business functions that drive high performance. Based on this ongoing research, we are creating a practical, solutions-oriented framework to help businesses and gov- ernments achieve high performance in any economic environment. While the blueprints for achieving these results will differ from industry to industry—and among various business functions—our research shows that there are several key traits that high-performance businesses possess: • They have unique industry insights, enabling them to distinguish the most powerful drivers of current and future business value. Microsoft, an Accenture client for more than 17 years, is an excel- lent example of this trait, as the company has helped to define the course of information technology for nearly three decades. Most recently, we helped Microsoft to identify new markets and solutions for its Office 2003 software suite. High-performance businesses are those that effectively balance today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities. A History of Leading the Way Accenture has earned a reputation for evolving ahead of market needs. In fact, our history of innovation dates back to 1954 with the installation of the first business application on a computer at General Electric Appliance Park. Our High Performance Business initiative is just the next logical step in our evolution. In the 1980s: Leader in systems integration. Best-in- class delivery of projects, integration of business needs and information technology. Known for flawless execution—delivering solutions on time and on budget. In the 1990s: Leader in business integration—helping clients align their people, processes and technolo- gies with their strategies. Defined the marketplace, building on our flawless execution and focus on business outcomes. Best-in-class delivery of complex, large-scale change programs. In the early 2000s: Leader in value delivery. Tangible outcomes for clients that made a measurable impact on top- and bottom-line performance. Grew business process outsourcing (BPO) business and developed global delivery network. Today: Taking the lead in helping clients become high-performance businesses. Raising the bar again; drawing on previous stages of our evolution. Enabling businesses to outperform their peers, regardless of business or economic conditions. Creating future value. 13 Destination: High Performance High-performance businesses consistently outperform their peers over a sustained time frame, across business cycles, industry disruptions and changes in CEO leadership. • They create decision-making structures and processes that are able to quickly transform insights into action. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) knows how critical this capability is, as it continually strives to find faster, more effective ways to provide more than $14 billion in supplies and services to American armed forces personnel around the globe. Accenture is helping the DLA achieve this goal by streamlining its operations and adopting new technologies to provide life-sustaining essentials to more than 3 million US troops. • They achieve business function mastery through continuous innovation in strategic core competencies. To strengthen its posi- tion as a high-performance business, Dell continues to upgrade its already world-class manufacturing infrastructure. Aiming to “build more systems with less inventory,” Accenture and Dell developed and implemented a supply chain solution that allows Dell to operate on no more than two hours of inventory at a time. Now in place in Dell’s plants around the world, the program paid for itself five times over during its first 12 months of operation. Continued on Page 19 New York City 311 Destination: Breaking Down Bureaucracy in the Big Apple When New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took office, he vowed to bring government closer to the people. It would not be easy for a city that needed 14 pages in the phone book just to list its municipal services. Bloomberg and his team wanted to purge that bureaucracy, creating a single 311 number for New Yorkers to access non-emergency services 24 hours a day. Working closely with the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, Accenture took the nation’s largest 311 project live in just seven months. As a result, New York City residents now need to dial only three digits to obtain the help they need in 171 different languages. Launched in March 2003, the widely praised service expects to field nearly 5 million calls by the end of 2003. 14 NYC 311 is available 24 hours a day to assist callers like Michael Peter Evans. Aided by more than 35 Accenture volunteers, the service even stayed up and running during New York’s August blackout. Wyeth and Accenture are reengineering the pharmaceutical company’s R&D program so that research scientists like Scott Cosmi (left) and Grace Johnston (center), and biologist Thomas Kenney (right), are able to get their new discoveries to patients faster. Wyeth Destination: A New Model for Clinical Research and Development The genomics revolution has the opportunity to change medicine forever—but only if companies learn to change with this revolution. Leading the way, Wyeth has joined forces with Accenture to completely reengineer its research and development process. Results at the global pharmaceutical company have been impressive, including a 400 percent increase in drug discovery productivity over the past three years. In April 2003, Wyeth expanded this groundbreaking relationship by tapping Accenture to manage its clinical data management operations, enabling Wyeth’s clinical staff to focus on more critical functions. The bold move aims to deliver equally bold results, including an 80 percent reduction in clinical trial cycle times and a 30 percent reduction in contracted costs. 17 Nicoletta Cremona shops at La Rinascente in Milan—just one of Gruppo Rinascente’s more than 1,850 retail locations, which include department stores, supermarkets and mega-markets. Destination: High Performance Continued from Page 14 We are creating a sustainable path to growth—one that will lead to an even more exciting and profitable future for all of our stakeholders. • They extend business function mastery through effective out- sourcing and partnering. The City of Copenhagen is focused on improving the services it provides to citizens and employees. By outsourcing its payroll and pensions functions to Accenture, the city has been able to achieve both goals—providing more efficient HR support to its staff, while freeing up valuable time and resources to improve government services in the Danish capital. • They are obsessed with winning the battle for the customer. It’s not easy to stay in tune with the needs of customers in more than 200 countries. So, partnering with Accenture, Samsung undertook a com- prehensive study of its global markets, resulting in a plan to focus marketing investments on specific products and in countries where the potential was greatest. The long-term project not only helped Samsung get closer to its customers, it was instrumental in helping the company become one of the world’s fastest-growing brands. • They use information technology as a tool to innovate, creating more effective business models while simultaneously increasing Gruppo Rinascente Destination: Creating a Strategic Advantage through Business Process Outsourcing Italian retailer Gruppo Rinascente has an eye fixed on growth. But to expand, the €6.1 billion (US$7 billion) company needed to find a way to invest more time and capital on developing extraordinary retail innovations rather than expending them on everyday administrative tasks. Accenture—drawing in part upon the expertise of Accenture Finance Solutions and Accenture HR Services—is helping to make it happen. Working with Gruppo Rinascente, we created a shared-services company to manage many of the retailer’s back-office functions—from accounting and financial reporting to import and transportation management. The new entity, co-owned by Accenture and Gruppo Rinascente, is helping the diversified retail group refocus attention on its core businesses, enhance operating efficiencies and improve the competitive positions of its individual store brands. 19 Destination: High Performance productivity. Singapore Airlines has always sought to maximize the Internet. But over time, its Web presence mushroomed into 39 regionally managed websites, creating challenges. Accenture helped Singapore Airlines consolidate e-commerce efforts in one global site, offering customers vastly improved service and support, contributing to significant growth in online sales over the past two years. The traits of high-performance businesses are illustrated in the client stories—from a cross section of industries and geographic locations— throughout this section of our annual report. These stories are a small sample of the many ways that Accenture is helping companies and governments move to higher levels of performance. Taking High Performance to a Higher Level Our work to date only represents the earliest phases of our High Performance Business initiative. We know that the true drivers of high performance are far more complex than a handful of common leader- ship traits. To unlock these secrets for our clients—and to define what Continued on Page 25 London Stock Exchange JSE Securities Exchange South Africa Destination: Expanding Revenue Opportunities on a Global Scale Despite turbulent financial markets, the London Stock Exchange continues to find new ways to grow and strengthen its position as a leading provider of equity market services. A good example: Working with Accenture, the Exchange launched its new Data-X information service in 2003, creating a valuable new revenue stream by selling deeper and richer real-time and historical data to customers worldwide. Accenture also helped the London Stock Exchange expand its global footprint by sharing its electronic trading platform with the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa. Through an innovative technology solution developed by Accenture and client professionals on both continents, the Johannesburg-based JSE is now able to deliver world-class trading capabilities to South African companies and financial markets, while providing a source of increased revenue to the London Stock Exchange. 20 Built on Microsoft’s .NET framework, Data-X enables the London Stock Exchange to create new information products at less cost. Operating expenses are half those of a traditional mainframe solution. BC Hydro Destination: Transforming the North American Utility Industry BC Hydro is a mid-sized utility with big ideas. The Vancouver-based company signed a landmark outsourcing contract with Accenture in 2003 that is designed to save the electric utility an estimated CDN$250 million (US$187 million) over 10 years and improve the services it provides to customers. As part of the agreement, BC Hydro and Accenture formed Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership to provide a wide variety of back-office functions— including customer service, procurement and office management services—to BC Hydro and other North American utilities. The pioneering new entity will enable these companies to focus sole attention on managing their core utility businesses, delivering greater value to shareholders and customers at a considerably reduced cost. 22 BC Hydro and Accenture have joined forces to help North American utilities improve service and reduce costs. Here, Accenture Business Services employee Patty Frederick collects data from BC Hydro’s residential meters. A breakthrough supply chain solution enables Toshiba to respond swiftly to the needs of global chip customers— from toy makers to computer manufacturers. Semiconductor advances enable people like Charles Champion to catch up on e-mail from anywhere. Destination: High Performance Continued from Page 20 We will not only be defining the destination. . .we also will be providing the road map to get there. it takes for businesses to consistently outperform their peers over time—we are directing our research far deeper. Over the coming year, we will invest significant capital and resources into global research to: • Define the specific characteristics of high-performance businesses within each of the 18 industry groups we serve. • Forecast potential changes within each industry and how these changes may affect long-standing businesses and new competitors. • Analyze the best practices of high-performance companies and define the characteristics of mastery for major business functions. • Identify new opportunities for innovation by applying leading- edge practices from one industry (or function) to another. • Examine the makeup of “high strivers”—businesses and govern- ments that have not yet reached high-performance status, but are well on their way to achieving that goal. Through this intensive effort, we will not only be defining the destination— what constitutes high performance for a particular industry or function— we also will be providing the road map to get there. Toshiba Destination: Global Supply Chain Mastery to Create a Global Advantage The semiconductor business runs on speed. To gain an edge, Toshiba—Japan’s No. 1 chip- maker and a global technology leader—sought an innovative solution to an industrywide conundrum: How do you provide faster, more reliable chip delivery to customers without driving up cash-consuming inventories? Working with a team of technology partners, Toshiba and Accenture created Global One— a breakthrough supply chain solution that has enabled Toshiba to provide real-time response to market needs while keeping production and inventories lean. In addition to providing 24/7 ordering and order-tracking capabilities to customers, Global One has successfully reduced Toshiba’s delivery time for chip orders and has drastically slashed average days of inventory. 25 Destination: High Performance For example, our initial research into the health care industry identified five distinct capabilities for high-performance health-plan companies that had been leaders in their markets from 1990 to 2003. The study now is being used to help point the way for Accenture health-plan clients who wish to break into the same tier of elite performers. Similarly, through our investigations into supply chain management, we deter- mined that companies that have mastered this crucial function, based on a variety of criteria, achieved a premium of 7 percent to 26 percent over their peers in market capitalization, depending on their industry. Aligning Our Resources to Deliver High Performance We are aligning all of our global resources behind the High Performance Business strategic initiative. We believe the depth and breadth of our organization coupled with our industry insight and business function expertise enable us to take on the kinds of broad- scale, integrated challenges that delivering high performance entails. To seize this opportunity, we are focusing on our three growth platforms: 1) We will continue to grow business consulting services. In every field of endeavor, there are the timid, and there are the tigers. Go on. Be a Tiger. Inside the mind of every high performer is a relentless urge to improve, to innovate, to prevail. To see how we help high-performance businesses reach their goals, visit accenture.com • Consulting • Technology • Outsourcing Tiger Woods, a name synony- mous with high performance, is the centerpiece of Accenture’s new global advertising campaign and a symbol of our new brand positioning focused on high performance. 26 2) We will extend our leadership in systems integration and technology services. 3) We will accelerate growth in business process outsourcing services— the fastest-growing area of our business for the past three years. The capabilities required for success in these growth platforms are crucial to the delivery of high performance. We believe that few, if any, of our competitors can match our ability to effectively integrate these skills on behalf of clients worldwide. In addition, our ongoing research—plus our experience with clients—will enable us to expand our offerings of products and services, and to deliver innovation to clients in new ways. As we have done successfully in the past, we will seek to “industrialize” these offerings and services so they can be implemented in a high- quality manner as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Through compelling thought-leadership programs, we also will find new ways to engage and involve our clients in rich and ongoing dialogues about high performance to raise awareness and to uncover new opportunities to create value. (See “Research and Innovation” on page 28.) Our ongoing research— plus our experience with clients—will enable us to expand our offerings of products and services, and to deliver innovation to clients in new ways. Go on. Be a Tiger. As we continue to raise the bar for ourselves and our clients, we again are taking the Accenture brand to the next level with a global integrated marketing program focused on high-performance business. This initiative includes thought- leadership publications, global events and sponsorships, and international conferences. The linchpin of this initiative is an advertising campaign featuring Tiger Woods. Research shows that executives believe the name Tiger Woods is synonymous with high perfor- mance, strength and mastery. The campaign’s theme—”Go on. Be a Tiger.”—recognizes the aspi- rations of our clients to become high-performance businesses, and presents Accenture as the ideal partner to help clients achieve and sustain success. Just as the ads challenge leaders to boldly take their businesses to new levels of performance, Accenture has led the industry in marketplace positioning. In 2003, our second full year doing business as Accenture, we were ranked as BusinessWeek’s 52nd most valuable global brand. We are widely credited as the leader in professional services marketing, beginning with our first “image initiative” in 1989, which aggressively used all media, including television advertising. We were the first consulting company to reach our target audience through global adver- tising. And, in 2000-2001, our company accomplished the largest rebranding and reposi- tioning initiative undertaken by a professional services company. 27 Destination: High Performance Mapping Our Own Road to High Performance Accenture is also on its own journey to achieve high performance. So, as we conduct research on behalf of clients, we also are continuously evaluating the best ways to invest our own resources to consistently deliver the greatest value to our stakeholders. We believe our pursuit of high performance will: • Enable us to increase global revenues and achieve higher margins. • Provide us with the potential for developing deeper and stronger client relationships. • Position Accenture distinctly in the marketplace, further differenti- ating us from our technology-centric competitors. • Help us create value-added offerings and intellectual property that will continue to distinguish us from commodity suppliers. • Create the competitive advantage we need to consistently outper- form our peers—both in the marketplace and in market valuation. While this journey is continuing to evolve, we are very clear about our destination. Through our High Performance Business strategic initiative, we are creating a sustainable path to growth—one that will lead to an even more exciting and profitable future for all of our stakeholders. Research and Innovation—Keys to Delivering High Performance through one-to-one briefings, High performance is a dynamic tank of visionaries and business global conferences, forums and goal, demanding new tools, leaders—is one of the contribu- publications. In 2003 alone, technologies, knowledge and tors to this activity. Accenture Accenture employees led the solutions. In 2003, Accenture Technology Labs, our technology creation of more than 100 invested $250 million in research research and development orga- original research studies, books and innovation programs to nization that has a 16-year track and bylined articles on subjects create and commercialize record of turning technology ranging from silent commerce insights and offerings. innovation into business results, and information insight to also plays a key role in this area. how to maximize the value of This work enables clients to business process outsourcing. have access to innovative, patent-protected technology solutions and prototypes. Through this focused effort, we gain knowledge of how new and emerging technologies can be harnessed to create innovative business solutions for our clients. The Accenture Institute for High Performance Business—our think Through our thought-leadership program, we share our insights with clients and opinion leaders 28 Accenture Technology Labs professionals help clients maximize technology innovation to improve productivity and discover new sources of growth. Here, consultant Chris Weseloh works with an in-vehicle telematics proto- type that demonstrates how drivers can use voice commands to perform real-time diagnostics on their automobiles. Accenture as a Corporate Citizen Accenture is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen by working as part of the societies in which we operate, helping improve the way the world works and lives. We seek to make a difference by using our resources and the enabling power of technology to enhance education and enterprise and to bridge cultural divides. We work closely with charities, governments, and the non- profit and development sectors by applying our skills and capabilities to address specific challenges and by providing financial support. Accenture continually is seeking to develop innovative ways to leverage its resources. • Enablis is a not-for-profit organization we established in partnership with Hewlett-Packard and Telesystem Ltd., with support from the Canadian government, to channel business knowledge, technologies and finance to support local enterprise and achieve sustainable development. To read more, visit www.enablis.org. • Accenture Development Partnerships is a not-for- profit group that provides Accenture professionals to carry out projects in developing countries and transi- tional economies at reduced costs. This arrangement makes such services more affordable for develop- ment organizations. For example, Accenture Development Partnerships has been working in Namibia with the African Development Foundation and its local partner NamDef. The team has worked with NamDef to develop tools to help small- and medium-sized enterprises—including textile produc- ers, tourism organizations and an ostrich farm— compete in national and global markets. To read more, visit www.accenture.com/adp. • New Sector Alliance provides experienced Accenture staff to mentor business school students in the United States and Europe and team with them to deliver consulting assistance to charities and non-profit organizations. For example, Accenture volunteers teamed with MIT students from the Sloan School of Management to help the “Jumpstart” charity improve its strategy for identifying college students who can help at-risk preschool children make good use of early learning programs. To read more, visit www.accenture.com/newsector. At the time of the Accenture initial public offering in 2001, Accenture partners made a significant endowment 30 of Accenture shares to fund a global giving program. In addition, Accenture implemented a local giving program in each country in which we operate. In 2003, we took a major step in focusing these activities through the creation of the Accenture Corporate Citizenship Council, which seeks to maximize the value and impact of our corporate citizenship activities. We seek to make a difference by using our resources and the enabling power of technology to enhance education and enterprise and to bridge cultural divides. In addition to these global initiatives, Accenture people around the world are engaged at a local level in a wide range of community initiatives. For example: • Accenture staff in South Africa helped fund the work of an SOS Children’s Village clinic to care for children infected with HIV. • In Ireland, Accenture people helped stage the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games for 7,000 athletes with learning disabilities. • Accenture professionals in Nigeria helped run a week-long residential course aimed at exposing young Nigerians to important business skills. • Accenture professionals in Brazil developed a website—Estrelas do Amanha (Tomorrow’s Stars)— to allow teachers from across the country to share best practices. • In the United States, 210 Accenture employees from our Philadelphia office worked with teachers, students and parents to improve schools and facilitate learning. Looking to the future, we are committed to finding new ways to combine funding with the skills and experience of our people to make positive impacts in the communi- ties in which we live and work. Our relationship with WorldLinks is an excellent example of this thinking in action. In a pilot project in India, Accenture professionals helped the WorldLinks charity set up school-based com- puter labs and make them financially sustainable by transforming them into thriving community “telecenters” in the evenings. Such initiatives have the potential to make a positive impact on bridging the digital divide. Accenture—At a Glance: Enablers of High Performance (continued from Cover Foldout) Capability Groups Our capability groups—Business Consulting and Technology & Outsourcing—build world-class skills and capabilities; develop knowledge capital; and create, acquire and manage assets to help clients achieve business goals. Our technology businesses provide specialized technology and infrastructure capabilities focused on particular technology platforms. Global Technology Solutions—Builds, deploys and main- tains solutions focused on application development, systems administration and software maintenance. Includes Avanade, an Accenture business that builds customized, scalable solutions for complex electronic business and enterprise infrastructures based on Microsoft’s enterprise platform. Business Consulting Capability Group Customer Relationship Management—Helps companies acquire, develop and retain more customers, increase the value of these customer relationships and enhance the economic value of their brands. Finance & Performance Management—Helps clients create finance and business performance management capabilities to drive improved profitability. Human Performance—Creates and implements strategies to solve human resources, workforce and culture change issues crucial to operational success. Strategy & Business Architecture—Helps clients develop strategies to deliver current earnings and position them- selves for the future. Supply Chain Management—Helps clients improve perfor- mance by applying leading-edge approaches to operating model design, sourcing and procurement, demand planning, manufacturing, product design and fulfillment. Accenture Customer Contact Solutions (a BPO solution unit)—Helps clients enhance revenue and improve service levels while reducing the cost of sales and service by targeting critical dimensions of customer interaction. Outsourcing & Infrastructure Delivery—Provides full- service outsourcing solutions, from technology infrastruc- ture to applications and business process outsourcing. Business Process Outsourcing Accenture BPO businesses and solution units develop and deliver business process outsourcing services, helping clients achieve higher performance at lower costs. We provide clients immediate access to best-in-class processes and proven, scalable services delivered through our global network of delivery centers. BPO Businesses Accenture Business Services for Utilities—Offers out- sourced business services to North American utilities. Accenture eDemocracy Services—Provides comprehensive services to election agencies and private-sector entities. Accenture Finance Solutions—Offers outsourced financial management services to help clients streamline financial management and improve working capital and cash flow. Accenture HR Services—Offers outsourced human resources services to enable higher levels of employee performance, productivity and satisfaction at a lower cost. Accenture Procurement Solutions (a BPO solution unit)— Offers outsourced procurement services to help clients improve sourcing and reduce procurement costs. Accenture Learning—Improves workforce productivity and performance through outsourced transformational learning solutions. Technology & Outsourcing Capability Group Technology & Research—Designs, builds and deploys complex technology solutions; our technology research and development includes Accenture Technology Labs. Global Business Solutions—Leads our packaged software development efforts around application suites such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Siebel and Oracle; provides capabilities such as enterprise resource planning, enterprise integration, data warehousing and prepackaged business solution delivery. Connection to eBay—Offers end-to-end services enabling manufacturers, distributors and retailers to liquidate unsold inventory and build significant sales channels on eBay®. Navitaire—Offers the airline industry a variety of business services, including reservations, revenue protection, pas- senger revenue accounting and revenue management. Solutions Assurance Vie (S.A.V.)—Provides outsourced life insurance policy design and management services. 31 Consolidated Income Statements Consolidated Income Statement 2003 Percent of Revenues Before Reimbursements Consolidated Income Statement 2002 Percent of Revenues Before Reimbursements 100% 13 113 60 13 73 14 14 1 101 12.0 (3) 0 0 0 9 4 5 (3) 2% $ 11,818 1,579 13,397 100% 13 113 $ 11,574 1,531 13,105 64 13 77 12 11 0 100 13.1 0 0 0 0 14 5 9 (5) 4% 7,508 1,579 9,087 1,459 1,300 — 11,846 1,551 10 20 32 — 1,613 566 1,047 (549) $ 498 $ $ 1.06 1.05 $ 1,047 — — $ 1,047 $ $ 1.06 1.05 468,592,110 996,754,596 6,897 1,531 8,428 1,566 1,616 111 11,720 1,385 (321) (3) 15 (9) 1,068 491 576 (332) $ 245 $ $ $ $ $ $ 0.57 0.56 576 69 284 929 0.93 0.91 425,941,809 1,023,789,546 Revenues: Revenues before reimbursements Reimbursements Revenues Operating Expenses: Cost of services: Cost of services before reimbursable expenses Reimbursable expenses Cost of services Sales and marketing General and administrative costs Restructuring costs Total operating expenses Operating Income Gain (loss) on investments, net(1) Interest, net Other income (expense) Equity in losses of affiliates Income Before Taxes Provision for taxes Income Before Minority Interest Minority interest Net Income Earnings Per Share: Basic Diluted Adjusted Income Before Minority Interest Adjusted Earnings Per Share: Basic Diluted Weighted Average Shares: Basic Diluted 32 Earnings Per Share Adjusted to Exclude 2002 Restructuring Costs and Loss on Investments, Net Income Before Minority Interest as Reported Add Back: Restructuring costs, net of tax Add Back: Loss on investments, net of tax Consolidated Balance Sheets August 31, 2003 August 31, 2002 Assets Current Assets: Cash and cash equivalents Restricted cash(2) Receivables from clients, net Unbilled services Other current assets Total current assets Non-Current Assets: Investments Property and equipment, net Other non-current assets Total non-current assets Total Assets Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity Current Liabilities: Short-term debt Accounts payable Deferred revenues Accrued payroll and related benefits Other accrued liabilities Total current liabilities Non-Current Liabilities: Long-term debt Other non-current liabilities Total non-current liabilities Minority Interest Shareholders’ Equity $ 2,332 83 1,416 829 377 5,037 33 650 739 1,422 $ 6,459 $ 46 573 677 974 1,081 3,351 14 1,416 1,430 884 794 $ 1,317 79 1,331 774 551 4,052 85 717 625 1,427 $ 5,479 $ 63 450 544 1,140 1,130 3,327 3 1,191 1,194 519 439 Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity $ 6,459 $ 5,479 Notes: (1) The 2002 net loss on investments includes a charge for investment writedowns related to the disposal of substantially all our minority ownership interests in our venture and investment portfolio. (2) Restricted cash represents cash available to the Accenture Stock Employee Compensation Trust for open-market share repurchases that will be used to fund equity-based awards for Accenture employees. US dollar amounts in millions for the years ended August 31, 2003 and 2002, except share and per share data. All amounts throughout this annual report are stated in US dollars except where noted. The complete text of Accenture’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2003, including financial statements, footnotes and auditor’s report, can be viewed via the Internet through the Investor Relations section of our website at: www.accenture.com/investor. 33 Board of Directors Executive Committee Joe W. Forehand Chairman & CEO Accenture Steven A. Ballmer Chief Executive Officer Microsoft Corp. Dina Dublon (2,4) Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Karl-Heinz Floether Group Chief Executive- Financial Services Accenture William L. Kimsey (1) Former Chief Executive Officer Ernst & Young Global, Ltd. Kedrick D. Adkins Chief Diversity Officer Detroit Robert I. Lipp (3, 4) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Travelers Property Casualty Corp. Blythe J. McGarvie (1) President Leadership for International Finance, LLC Raúl E. Alvarado Operating Group Chief Operating Officer-Products Los Angeles Jorge L. Benitez Managing Partner-HR Matters & Change Programs and Global People Advocate Miami Sir Mark Moody-Stuart (2, 4) Chairman Anglo American plc R. Timothy Breene* Chief Strategy Officer Boston Joel P. Friedman Business Process Outsourcing- Chief Operating Officer Accenture Masakatsu Mori Chairman-Accenture Japan Accenture William D. Green (4) Chief Operating Officer- Client Services Accenture Carlos Vidal Chair-Partner Income Committee Accenture Dennis F. Hightower (2,3) Former Chief Executive Officer Europe Online Networks S.A. Wulf von Schimmelmann (1, 3) Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Postbank AG Stephan A. James Chief Operating Officer- Capabilities Accenture (1) Audit Committee (2) Compensation Committee (3) Nominating & Governance Committee (4) Finance Committee Patrick M. Byrne Managing Partner-Supply Chain Management Washington, D.C. Kevin Carnahan Managing Partner-Financial Services, Core Europe Frankfurt Gianfranco Casati Managing Partner-Products, Europe; Geographic Council Chair-Italy, Greece, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Country Managing Director-Italy Milan Cherine Chalaby Managing Partner-Business Process Outsourcing and Corporate Development, Europe London Lai Yong Chee Regional Managing Director- North Asia Beijing Yew Chye Ching Regional Managing Director- South Asia Kuala Lumpur David Clinton President-Accenture HR Services London Martin I. Cole Managing Partner-Outsourcing & Infrastructure Delivery Hartford Joellin Comerford* Group Director-Sales Development New York William C. Copacino* Group Chief Executive- Business Consulting Boston Pamela J. Craig* Group Director-Business Operations & Services New York Kevin J. Dixon Operating Group Chief Operating Officer- Government Brisbane Juan Domènech Managing Partner- Government, Europe, Latin America, Africa Barcelona Robert N. Duelks Managing Partner-Financial Services, North America New York Vernon J. Ellis International Chairman London Eddy J. Fikse Partner-Resources, North America Dallas Karl-Heinz Floether* Group Chief Executive- Financial Services Frankfurt Joe W. Forehand* Chairman & CEO Dallas Mark Foster* Group Chief Executive- Products London 34 John G. Freeland Managing Partner-Customer Relationship Management New York David R. Hunter* Group Chief Executive- Asia Pacific Sydney James E. Murphy Global Managing Director- Marketing & Communications New York Thomas J. Skelly Geographic Council Chair- United States Chicago Robert N. Frerichs Operating Group Chief Operating Officer- Communications & High Tech Los Angeles Roger Ingold Managing Partner-Products, Latin America and Geographic Council Chair-Latin America São Paulo Joel P. Friedman Business Process Outsourcing- Chief Operating Officer San Francisco Stephan A. James* Chief Operating Officer- Capabilities Dallas Benoît Génuini Managing Partner-Resources, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Country Managing Director-France Paris William D. Green* Chief Operating Officer- Client Services and Country Managing Director- United States Boston Stanley J. Gutkowski Managing Partner- Government, United States Washington, D.C. James Hall Managing Partner- Technology & Research London F. Edwin Harbach Managing Partner- Client Satisfaction & Quality Miami Jon Harrington Managing Partner- Communications & High Tech, United States, East and Canada New York Gregg G. Hartemayer* Group Chief Executive- Technology & Outsourcing Chicago David L. Hill Managing Partner- Products, Consumer & Industrial, Americas Chicago José Luis Manzanares* Group Director-Client Service Operations Madrid Michael J. May Managing Partner-Strategy & Business Architecture and Managing Partner- Thought Leadership New York Michael G. McGrath* Chief Risk Officer Palo Alto Carol E. Meyer Managing Partner- Investor Relations New York David Milner Managing Partner-Financial Services, Service Lines and Market Maker-Financial Services London Frank B. Modruson Chief Information Officer Chicago Masakatsu Mori Chairman-Accenture Japan Tokyo William F. Morris Geographic Council Chair- Canada and Country Managing Director, Canada Montreal Tohru Murayama Regional Managing Director-Japan and Country Managing Director-Japan Tokyo Ralf Naef Managing Partner-Financial Services, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Geographic Council Chair-Austria, Switzerland, Germany Zurich Jean-Marc Ollagnier Managing Partner-Financial Services, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Geographic Council Chair-France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg Paris Jesus Olmedilla Managing Partner- Communications & High Tech, Europe and Latin America Madrid Thomas H. Pike Operating Group Chief Operating Officer-Resources New York David B. Rich Managing Partner- Communications & High Tech, United States, West Dallas Gill Rider* Chief Leadership Officer London Stephen J. Rohleder* Group Chief Executive- Government Washington, D.C. Douglas G. Scrivner* General Counsel and Secretary Palo Alto Markku Silén Managing Partner- Communications & High Tech, Nordic and Geographic Council Chair-Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland Helsinki Thomas K. Spann Managing Partner-Products, Health & Life Sciences, North America Philadelphia David C. Thomlinson* Group Chief Executive- Resources London Philip Toomey Operating Group Chief Operating Officer- Financial Services London Carlos Vidal* Chair-Partner Income Committee; Managing Partner-Financial Services, South Europe, Central Europe, Latin America, Middle East, South Africa; Geographic Council Chair-Spain, Portugal, Africa and Country Managing Director-Spain Madrid Diego Visconti* Group Chief Executive- Communications & High Tech Milan Ian Watmore Geographic Council Chair- United Kingdom, Ireland and Country Managing Director- United Kingdom Manchester Jackson L. Wilson, Jr.* Chief Executive-Business Process Outsourcing Dallas Harry L. You* Chief Financial Officer Dallas * Also a member of the Management Committee and an Executive Officer of Accenture 35 Shareholder Information Stock Listing Accenture Class A common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ACN. Registrar and Transfer Agent Branch Transfer Agent: National City Bank Dept. 5352 Corporate Trust Operations P.O. Box 92301 Cleveland, OH 44193-0900 Bermuda Transfer Agent: Reid Management Ltd Hamilton, Bermuda Shareholder Services Accenture’s branch transfer agent, National City Bank, provides services to registered shareholders. National City Bank can be contacted in the following ways: National City Bank Dept. 5352 Corporate Trust Operations P.O. Box 92301 Cleveland, OH 44193-0900 Telephone: +1 800 622 6757 Fax: +1 216 257 8508 E-mail: shareholder.inquiries@nationalcity.com Hearing-impaired shareholders with access to a telecommunication device (TDD) can communicate directly with National City Bank by calling +1 800 622 5571 (toll free) or +1 216 257 7354. Shareholders residing outside the United States should call +1 216 257 8663. 36 Investor Relations Investors and securities analysts may contact: Carol Meyer, Managing Partner–Investor Relations Accenture 1345 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10105 Telephone: +1 917 452 4578 Fax: +1 917 527 6126 E-mail: investor.relations@accenture.com Investor Relations Hotline: +1 877 ACN 5659 in the United States and Puerto Rico; +1 703 797 1711 outside the United States and Puerto Rico Corporate Communications News media and industry analysts may contact: Roxanne Taylor, Partner–Corporate Communications Accenture 1345 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10105 Telephone: +1 917 452 5106 Fax: +1 917 527 5387 E-mail: roxanne.taylor@accenture.com Available Information Our website address is www.accenture.com. We make available free of charge through the Investor Relations section of our website (www.accenture.com/investor) our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Printed copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K are also available free of charge upon request from our Investor Relations group. We also make available through our website other reports filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act, including our proxy statements and reports filed by officers and direc- tors under Section 16(a) of that Act, as well as our Code of Business Ethics. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Business Ethics and charters of the committees of our Board of Directors may also be found through the Corporate Governance section of our website (www.accenture.com/governance). We do not intend for information contained in this annual report or on our website to be part of the Annual Report on Form 10-K. About Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting, tech- nology 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 more than 83,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated revenues before reimbursements of US$11.8 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2003. Its home page is www.accenture.com. Forward-looking Statements and Certain Factors that May Affect Our Business—We have included in this report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act relating to our operations and results of operations that are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections. Words such as “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in these forward- looking statements. This document makes descriptive reference to trademarks that may be owned by others. The use of such trademarks herein is not an assertion of ownership of such trademarks by Accenture and is not intended to repre- sent or imply the existence of an association between Accenture and the lawful owners of such trademarks. . d e l c y c e r e b n a c d n a r e p a p d e l c y c e r n o d e t n i r p s i 3 0 0 2 t r o p e R l a u n n A e r u t n e c c A e h T . a t n a l t A / I A E : n g i s e D Copyright © 2003 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture. 

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