Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
consulting wing of the former Arthur Andersen accounting company back in the
1950s. In 1989, Andersen Consulting split from the accounting side of Andersen
and became a separate business unit, which is why it is cited in this chapter.
The split between the accounting and consulting groups exacerbated internal
political and finance issues between the two sides, which eventually led to a fam-
ous arbitration and a complete divestiture of the consulting organization, which
became a separate company in 2001.
As part of the split, the consulting company needed to stop using any form of
the “Arthur Andersen” name. An internal contest resulted in the name “Accenture”
being selected. It had been submitted by an employee from Denmark.
Also in 2001, Accenture had a successful IPO. Since then, it has grown to more
than 250,000 employees worldwide. Accenture provides consulting and outsource
services to almost 75% of Fortune 500 U.S. companies and about 90% of the
Global Fortune 100 companies.
Accenture is successful due to the universal adoption of computers and soft-
ware by hundreds of major companies that are not necessarily skilled in either
computers or software.
When complex technologies such as computers and software become main-
stays of corporations and government agencies, there is a huge need for expert
consultants who can assist groups that may not have sufficient internal expertise to
be effective. This is a niche that Accenture has managed to dominate. Accenture
is not alone, of course, but it was certainly among the best known by corporate
CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs in every industrialized country.
It is of both social and technical importance that the original Arthur Andersen
accounting company was found guilty of criminal charges due to the way it
audited the Enron books (Enron went bankrupt in 2001 amid a flurry of criminal
investigations). Arthur Andersen voluntarily gave up its license to perform ac-
counting in 2002. Although the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the guilty
finding, by then Arthur Andersen had lost its reputation and most of its employees
and assets.
This was a sad ending for a company whose founder, Arthur Andersen, was a
pioneer in both accounting education and accounting ethics. He was among the
first to provide on-the-job training during business hours. He was also instrument-
al in creating accounting standards and the concepts of generally accepted ac-
counting practices. His personal motto was “think straight, talk straight.” He was
Search WWH ::
Custom Search