Accenture 10-Q 2025-02-28

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the quarterly period ended February 28, 2025

OR

Commission File Number: 001-34448

Accenture plc

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1 Grand Canal Square,

Grand Canal Harbour,

Dublin 2, Ireland

(Address of principal executive offices)

(353) (1) 646-2000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☑

The number of shares of the registrant’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0000225 per share, outstanding as of March 10, 2025 was 678,372,953 (which number includes 52,347,128 issued shares held by the registrant). The number of shares of the registrant’s Class X ordinary shares, par value $0.0000225 per share, outstanding as of March 10, 2025 was 303,318.

Table of Contents

Part I — Financial Information

Consolidated Balance Sheets

February 28, 2025 and August 31, 2024

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.

Consolidated Income Statements

For the Three and Six Months Ended February 28, 2025 and February 29, 2024

(Unaudited)

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The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2024, and with the information under the headings “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2024, as updated in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

We use the terms “Accenture,” “we,” “our” and “us” in this report to refer to Accenture plc and its subsidiaries. All references to years, unless otherwise noted, refer to our fiscal year, which ends on August 31. For example, a reference to “fiscal 2025” means the 12-month period that will end on August 31, 2025. All references to quarters, unless otherwise noted, refer to the quarters of our fiscal year.

We use the term “in local currency” so that certain financial results may be viewed without the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, thereby facilitating period-to-period comparisons of business performance. Financial results “in local currency” are calculated by restating current period activity into U.S. dollars using the comparable prior year period’s foreign currency exchange rates. This approach is used for all results where the functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.

Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) relating to our operations, results of operations and other matters that are based on our current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “aspires,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook,” “goal,” “target,” 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. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that might cause such differences, some of which could be material, include but are not limited to those identified below.

Business Risks

• Our results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions and the effects of these conditions on our clients’ businesses and levels of business activity.

• Our business depends on generating and maintaining client demand for our services and solutions, including through the adaptation and expansion of our services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect our results of operations.

• Risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI could harm our business, damage our reputation or give rise to legal or regulatory action.

• If we are unable to match people and their skills with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, our business, the utilization rate of our professionals and our results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

• We face legal, reputational and financial risks from any failure to protect client and/or Accenture data from security incidents or cyberattacks.

• The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and we might not be able to compete effectively.

• Our ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on our reputation in the marketplace.

• If we do not successfully manage and develop our relationships with key ecosystem partners or if we fail to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

Financial Risks

• Our profitability could materially suffer due to pricing pressure, if we are unable to remain competitive, if our cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if we experience delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels.

• Changes in our level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on our effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

• Our results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

• Our debt obligations could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

• Changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions we make in connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements could adversely affect our financial results.

Operational Risks

• As a result of our geographically diverse operations and our strategy to continue to grow in our key markets around the world, we are more susceptible to certain risks.

• If we are unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with our size, we might be unable to achieve our business objectives.

• We might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

• Our business could be materially adversely affected if we incur legal liability.

• Our work with government clients exposes us to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment.

• Our global operations expose us to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements, and violation of these regulations could harm our business.

• If we are unable to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, or if our services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or we lose our ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, our business could be adversely affected.

• We are incorporated in Ireland and Irish law differs from the laws in effect in the United States and might afford less protection to our shareholders. We may also be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to our incorporation in Ireland.

For a more detailed discussion of these factors, see the information under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2024, as updated in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report or as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Overview

Accenture is a leading global professional se

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During the six months ended February 28, 2025, there were no material changes to the information on market risk exposure disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2024. For a discussion of our market risk associated with foreign currency risk, interest rate risk and equity investment risk as of August 31, 2024, see “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in Part II, Item 7A, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2024.

For additional information regarding our outstanding borrowings, credit facilities and other debt, see Note 9 (Borrowings and Indebtedness) to our Consolidated Financial Statements under Item 1, “Financial Statements.”

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. Based on that evaluation, the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of Accenture plc have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the second quarter of fiscal 2025 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Part II — Other Information

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

The information set forth under “Legal Contingencies” in Note 11 (Commitments and Contingencies) to our Consolidated Financial Statements under Part I, Item 1, “Financial Statements,” is incorporated herein by reference.

For a discussion of our potential risks and uncertainties, see the information under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2024 (the “Annual Report”), as updated below.

The following updates and replaces the risk factors in the Annual Report entitled “Our business could be materially adversely affected if we incur legal liability” and “Our work with government clients exposes us to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment”.

Our business could be materially adversely affected if we incur legal liability.

We are subject to, and may become a party to, a variety of litigation or other claims and suits that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of our business. Our business is subject to the risk of litigation involving current and former employees, clients, ecosystem partners, subcontractors, suppliers, competitors, shareholders, government agencies or others through private actions, class actions, whistleblower claims, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation. Regardless of the merits of the claims, the cost to defend current and future litigation may be significant, and such matters can be time-consuming and divert management’s attention and resources. The results of litigation and other legal proceedings are inherently uncertain, and adverse judgments or settlements in some or all of these legal disputes may result in materially adverse monetary damages, fines, penalties, debarment or injunctive relief against us. Any claims or litigation, even if fully indemnified or insured, could damage our reputation and make it more difficult to compete effectively or to obtain adequate insurance in the future.

We could be subject to significant legal liability and litigation expense if we fail to meet our contractual obligations, contribute to internal control or other deficiencies of a client or otherwise breach obligations to third parties, including clients, ecosystem partners, employees and former employees, and other parties with whom we conduct business, or if our subcontractors breach or dispute the terms of our agreements with them and impede our ability to meet our obligations to our clients, or if our services or solutions cause bodily injuries to our people, clients, or the public or property damage. For example, by taking over the operation of certain portions of our clients’ businesses, including functions and systems that are critical to the core businesses of our clients, by contributing to the design, development, manufacturing and/or engineering of client products, or by providing various operational technology, digital manufacturing and robotics or other industrial automation equipment solutions, and advisory, management and engineering services for infrastructure projects, we may be exposed to additional and evolving operational, regulatory, reputational or other risks specific to these areas, including risks related to data security, product liability, health and safety, hazardous materials and other environmental risks. A failure of a client’s system, product or infrastructure based on our services or solutions could also subject us to a claim for significant damages that could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

In order to remain competitive, we increasingly enter into agreements based on our clients’ contract terms after conducting an assessment of the risk of doing so, which may expose us to additional risk. In addition, the contracting practices of competitors, along with the demands of increasingly sophisticated clients, may cause contract terms and conditions that are unfavorable to us to become new standards in the industry. We may commit to providing services or solutions that we are unable to deliver or whose delivery may reduce our profitability or cause us financial loss. If we cannot or do not meet our contractual obligations and if our potential liability is not adequately limited through the terms of our agreements, liability limitations are not enforced or a third party alleges fraud or other wrongdoing to prevent us from relying upon those contractual protections, we might face significant legal liability and litigation expense and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Moreover, as we expand our services and solutions into new areas, we may be exposed to additional and evolving risks specific to these new areas.

In addition, we engage in platform trust and safety services on behalf of clients, including content moderation, which could have a negative impact on our employees due to the nature of the materials they review. We have been subject to media coverage regarding our provision of these services as well as litigation related to the provision of these services, which may result in adverse judgments or settlements or government inquiries and investigations.

Similarly, we could become the target of litigation or investigations initiated by government authorities or private actors alleging that our activities related to ESG (including diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”)) are anti-competitive, discriminatory or otherwise unlawful.

While we maintain insurance for certain potential liabilities, such insurance does not cover all types and amounts of potential liabilities and is subject to various exclusions as well as caps on amounts recoverable. Even if we believe a claim is covered by insurance, insurers may dispute our entitlement to recovery for a variety of potential reasons, which may affect the timing and, if they prevail, the amount of our recovery.

Our work with government clients exposes us to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment.

Our clients include national, provincial, state and local governmental entities. Our government work carries various risks inherent in the government contracting process. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Government entities, particularly in the United States, often reserve the right to audit our contract costs and conduct inquiries and investigations of our business practices and compliance with government contract requirements. U.S. government agencies, including the Defense Contract Audit Agency, routinely audit our contract costs, including allocated indirect costs, for compliance with the Cost Accounting Standards and the Federal Acquisition Regulation. These agencies also conduct reviews and investigations and make inquiries regarding our accounting, information technology and other systems in connection with our performance and business practices with respect to our government contracts. Negative findings from existing and future audits, investigations or inquiries, or failure to comply with applicable IT security, supply chain or other requirements, could affect our future sales and profitability by preventing us, by operation of law or in practice, from receiving new government contracts for some period of time, or result in other adverse consequences described in the following paragraphs. In addition, if the U.S. government concludes that certain costs are not reimbursable, have not been properly determined or are based on outdated estimates of our work, then we will not be allowed to bill for such costs, may have to refund money that has already been paid to us or could be required to retroactively and prospectively adjust previously agreed to billing or pricing rates for our work. Negative findings from existing and future audits of our business systems, including our accounting system, may result in the U.S. government preventing us from billing, at least temporarily, a percentage of our costs. As a result of prior negative findings in connection with audits, investigations and inquiries, we have from time to time experienced some of the adverse consequences described above and may in the future experience further adverse consequences, which could materially adversely affect our future results of operations.

• If a government client discovers improper or illegal activities in the course of audits or investigations, or alleges that such conduct occurred, we may become subject to various civil and criminal penalties, including those under the civil U.S. False Claims Act, and administrative sanctions, which may include termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspensions or debarment from doing business with other agencies of that government. The inherent limitations of internal controls may not prevent or detect all improper or illegal activities.

• On January 21, 2025, an executive order was issued requiring U.S. federal contractors to certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws. A violation of these or similar federal or state orders, laws or regulations, may expose us to penalties and sanctions discussed above and jeopardize our ability to continue to do work with the U.S. federal government and certain state governments, which may materially adversely affect our future results of operations.

• U.S. government contracting regulations impose strict compliance and heightened disclosure obligations. From time to time we have made required or voluntary disclosures to the government in connection with our government contracting work. Disclosure is required if certain company personnel have knowledge of “credible evidence” of a violation of federal criminal laws involving fraud, conflict of interest, bribery or improper gratuity, a violation of the civil U.S. False Claims Act or receipt of a significant overpayment from the government. Failure to make required disclosures could be a basis for suspension and/or debarment from federal government contracting in addition to breach of the specific contract and could also impact contracting beyond the U.S. federal level. Reported matters may also lead to audits or investigations and other civil, criminal or administrative sanctions, including those described above. For example, after Accenture Federal Services (“AFS”) made a voluntary disclosure to the U.S. government, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) initiated a civil and criminal investigation concerning whether one or more employees provided inaccurate submissions to an assessor who was evaluating on behalf of the U.S. government an AFS service offering and whether the service offering fully implemented required federal security controls. This matter could subject to us to adverse consequences, including those described in this risk factor.

• Government contracts are subject to heightened reputational and contractual risks compared to contracts with commercial clients. For example, government contracts and the proceedings surrounding them are often subject to more extensive scrutiny and publicity. Negative publicity, including an allegation of improper or illegal activity, regardless of its accuracy, may adversely affect our reputation.

• Terms and conditions of government contracts also tend to be more onerous and are often more difficult to negotiate. For example, these contracts often contain high or unlimited liability for breaches and feature less favorable payment terms and sometimes require us to take on liability for the performance of third parties.

• Government entities typically fund projects through appropriated monies. While these projects are often planned and executed as multi-year projects, government entities usually reserve the right to change the scope of or terminate these projects for lack of approved funding and/or at their convenience. Elections, changes in government or political developments, including government closures or shutdowns, budget deficits, shortfalls or uncertainties, government spending reductions or other debt constraints have resulted and could in the future result in our projects being reduced in price or scope, delayed or terminated altogether, which also could limit our recovery of incurred costs, reimbursable expenses and profits on work completed prior to the termination. Furthermore, if insufficient funding is appropriated to the government entity to cover termination costs, we may not be able to fully recover our investments.

• The new U.S. administration has begun efforts to reduce federal spending and the size of the federal workforce under the guidance of the Department of Government Efficiency. As a result of these efforts, many new procurements have been delayed or canceled. In addition, the General Services Administration (GSA) – the U.S. federal procurement agency – has instructed all federal agencies to review their contracts with what it has identified as the 10 highest-paid consulting firms contracting with the U.S. federal government, which includes Accenture Federal Services. The agencies were directed to identify the contracts that they plan to maintain and those that are not “mission critical and provide substantive, imperative technical support,” which will be terminated. These and similar spending reductions and contract reviews have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in contract terminations, delays in new procurements, and reductions in price and contract scope, all of which could have a material impact on Accenture Federal Services’ results of operations and financial condition.

• Political and economic factors such as pending elections, the outcome of recent elections, changes in leadership among key executive or legislative decision makers, revisions to governmental tax or other policies and reduced tax revenues can affect the number and terms of new government contracts signed or the speed at which new contracts are signed, decrease future levels of spending and authorizations for programs that we bid, shift spending priorities to programs in areas for which we do not provide services and/or lead to changes in enforcement or how compliance with relevant rules or laws is assessed.

• Our ability to work for the U.S. government is impacted by the fact that we are an Irish company. We elected to enter into a proxy agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense that enhances the ability of our U.S. federal government contracting subsidiary to perform certain work for the U.S. government. The proxy agreement regulates the management and operation of, and limits the control we can exercise over, this subsidiary. In addition, legislative and executive proposals remain under consideration or could be proposed in the future, which, if enacted, could place additional limitations on or even prohibit our eligibility to be awarded state or federal government contracts in the United States or could include requirements that would otherwise affect our results of operations. Various U.S. federal and state legislative proposals have been introduced and/or enacted in recent years that deny government contracts to certain U.S. companies that reincorporate or have reincorporated outside the United States. While Accenture was not a U.S. company that reincorporated outside the United States, it is possible that these contract bans and other legislative proposals could be applied in a way that negatively affects Accenture.

The occurrences or conditions described above could affect not only our business with the particular government entities involved, but also our business with other entities of the same or other governmental bodies or with certain commercial clients, and could have a material adverse effect on our business or our results of operations.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Purchases of Accenture plc Class A Ordinary Shares

The following table provides information relating to our purchases of Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares during the second quarter of fiscal 2025.

(1)Average price paid per share reflects the total cash outlay for the period, divided by the number of shares acquired, including those acquired by purchase or redemption for cash and any acquired by means of employee forfeiture.

(2)Since August 2001, the Board of Directors of Accenture plc has authorized and periodically confirmed a publicly announced open-market share purchase program for acquiring Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares. During the second quarter of fiscal 2025, we purchased 2,437,313 Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares under this program for an aggregate price of $884 million. The open-market purchase program does not have an expiration date.

(3)As of February 28, 2025, our aggregate available authorization for share purchases and redemptions was $5,034 million which management has the discretion to use for either our publicly announced open-market share purchase program or the other share purchase programs. Since August 2001 and as of February 28, 2025, the Board of Directors of Accenture plc has authorized an aggregate of $54.1 billion for share purchases and redemptions by Accenture plc and Accenture Canada Holdings Inc.

(4)During the second quarter of fiscal 2025, Accenture purchased 1,562,601 Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares in transactions unrelated to publicly announced share plans or programs. These transactions consisted of acquisitions of Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares primarily via share withholding for payroll tax obligations due from employees and former employees in connection with the delivery of Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares under our various employee equity share plans. These purchases of shares in connection with employee share plans do not affect our aggregate available authorization for our publicly announced open-market share purchase and the other share purchase programs.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Trading Arrangements

The table below summarizes the terms of trading arrangements adopted or terminated by our executive officers or directors during the second quarter of fiscal 2025. All of the trading arrangements listed below are intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c).

(1) Each plan will expire on the earlier of the expiration date or the completion of all transactions under the trading arrangement.

Exhibit Index:

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 20, 2025