Accenture: Difference between revisions

In October 2002, the Congressional [[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]] (GAO) identified Accenture as one of four publicly traded federal contractors that were incorporated in a tax haven.<ref>[http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03194r.pdf Information on Federal Contractors That Are Incorporated Offshore]; United States General Accounting Office; 1 October 2002</ref> The other three, unlike Accenture, were incorporated in the United States before they re-incorporated in a tax haven, thereby lowering their US taxes. Critics such as former CNN journalist [[Lou Dobbs]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Dobbs|first=Lou|title=Exporting America|url=https://money.cnn.com/2004/03/09/commentary/dobbs/dobbs/index.htm|access-date=3 May 2011|publisher=CNN|date=9 March 2004}}</ref> reported Accenture's decision to incorporate in Bermuda was a US [[tax avoidance]] ploy, because they viewed Accenture as having been a US-based company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2004/accenture_06_01_04.html |title=Accenture|publisher=US House of Representatives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070503215542/http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2004/accenture_06_01_04.html|archive-date=3 May 2007}}</ref> The GAO itself did not characterize Accenture as having been a US-based company; it stated that "prior to incorporating in Bermuda, Accenture was operating as a series of related partnerships and corporations under the control of its partners through the mechanism of contracts with a Swiss coordinating entity."<ref name="GAO">{{cite web|title=Information on Federal Contractors That Are Incorporated Offshore|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/100/91572.html|website=gao.gov|publisher=General Accounting Office|access-date=4 December 2017|archive-date=22 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622165349/https://www.gao.gov/assets/100/91572.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 2018, Accenture was asked to recruit 7,500 [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection|Customs and Border Protection]] officers. Under the $297 million contract, Accenture had been charging the US Government nearly $40,000 per hire, which was more than the annual salary of the average officer.<ref name=Lanard>{{cite web |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/06/border-patrol-is-so-desperate-for-new-agents-its-spending-millions-to-help-recruits-finish-their-applications-1/ |title= Border Patrol Is So Desperate for New Agents, It's Spending Millions to Help Recruits Finish Their Applications |first=Noah | last=Lanard |date=14 June 2018 |access-date=19 June 2018}}</ref>  According to a report published by the DHS Office of Inspector General in December 2018, Accenture had been paid $13.6M through the first ten months of the contract. They had hired two agents against a contract goal of 7,500 hires over 5 years. The report was issued as a 'management alert', indicating an issue requiring immediate attention, stating that "Accenture has already taken longer to deploy and delivered less capability than promised".<ref name=Sands>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/10/politics/cpb-hiring-accenture-contract-inspector-general/index.html |title= 'Serious' issues with $297 million CBP hiring contract, internal watchdog says |author =Geneva Sands |date=10 December 2018 |access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> The contract was terminated in 2019.<ref name="CNN-Sands-100405">{{cite news |title=CBP terminates controversial $297 million Accenture contract amid continued staffing struggles |last1=Sands |first1=Geneva |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/05/politics/cbp-terminate-hiring-contract-accenture/index.html |work=CNN |date=5 April 2019 |access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref>