Accenture is suddenly facing a string of challenges that seemed unlikely just two years ago. Its stock price is tumbling. Parts of its consulting business are increasingly being automated. Outcome-based billing is beginning to replace the traditional model of charging for human hours. And now, some of the technology companies that Accenture works with are starting to offer services that Accenture has sold for decades.
Accenture’s share price has fallen by about 55 percent from its historical high. More than $100 billion in market value has been wiped out since its post-Covid peak.
That kind of bloodbath in the stock market puts enormous pressure on the company’s executives. Weeks ago, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet made an unusual request to employees. In an internal memo to staff, she wrote: “Our shareholders are counting on us to deliver a strong quarter,”
She asked employees to delay their vacations and keep working through the final weeks of August to help the company deliver a strong finish to its fiscal year.