Finance and Accounting (F&A) has been the most attractive function of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector in 2007. And, Accenture was the leader in this area in Sept. ’07. Microsoft and BT Group both selected Accenture to provide F&A services.
Under the seven-year, $185 million, deal awarded by Microsoft, Accenture will provide F&A and procurement services. This deal initiated in Mar. ’07 and brings together several business processes that Microsoft had previously outsourced among several different providers.
On the F&A side, Accenture is now handling accounts payable, and travel and expense services. Procurement services covered under the contract include category management and order processing.
The deal underscores what has been a growing convergence between the procurement and F&A outsourcing markets. Basic functions such as accounts payable, order processing, and travel/expense have always blurred the line between these two worlds. And now providers are eager to grab both procurement and F&A work from their customers.
Under the terms of another deal with BT Group, Accenture will be responsible for handling high-end accounting functions such as management reporting, financial planning and analysis, month-end close activities and budgeting/forecasting. Accenture will handle the BT project from low-cost delivery centers in India.
This deal will complement its existing relationship with the provider. BT is Accenture’s flagship HR outsourcing customer and the two companies extended an existing deal in 2005 through a new five-year, $614 million contract.
|
The Ten Largest IT Services Deals in September 2007
|
|
Customer
|
Provider
|
Engagement
|
Value ($ mn)
|
Duration (yrs)
|
|
U.S. Air Force Space Command
|
CSC
|
Processing services, support
|
820
|
10 (est.)
|
|
Department of Homeland Security
|
EDS
|
Data-center outsourcing, infrastructure mgmt., support
|
800
|
8 (est.)
|
|
Scotiabank
|
IBM Global Services
|
Data-center outsourcing, helpdesk mgmt., infrastructure mgmt.
|
480
|
5
|
|
North East Lincolnshire Council
|
Capita Group
|
BPO, consulting
|
355
|
12 (est.)
|
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
|
Lockheed Martin
|
Desktop mgmt., helpdesk management., infrastructure mgmt.
|
227
|
10
|
|
NASA
|
SAIC
|
Application mgmt., infrastructure mgmt., support
|
206
|
1 (est.)
|
|
BT Group
|
Accenture
|
Offshore contracting, processing services, BPO - finance and accounting
|
200 (est.)
|
5.5
|
|
Joint Forces Command
|
Lockheed Martin
|
Application development and support, application mgmt., infrastructure mgmt.
|
186
|
5
|
|
Microsoft
|
Accenture
|
BPO - procurement, finance and accounting
|
185
|
7
|
|
Thames Water
|
Wipro Technologies
|
Application mgmt., infrastructure mgmt., offshore contracting
|
130
|
5
|
| Source: Datamonitor |
