AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-2: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 6/6 · 19/10/2026
Moat56
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
structural advantage · 3/4 · Long client relationships, realized large-contract bookings and achieved specialized workforce development support a substantial accumulated expertise and relationship advantage. Comparative superiority and exclusive assets are not proven.
durability · 2/4 · Relationships exceeding 20 years support persistence, but mobile talent, rapidly changing competitive models and substantial recurring investment requirements make durability conditional.
customer dependency · 2/4 · Ongoing management of systems and business functions supports operational familiarity and possible transition friction. Non-exclusive engagements and broad termination rights limit dependency; longevity does not prove lock-in.
erosion resilience · 2/4 · Workforce development, revenue growth and large-contract wins demonstrate adaptation. Falling interim managed-services bookings and realized acquisition impairments indicate uneven results. AI competition is a disclosed threat rather than demonstrated franchise collapse.
Pricing power56
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
realized pricing · 2/4 · Management reported improvement in some areas in fiscal Q2 2026 and relative stability in Q3. These are observed contract-profitability assessments, not comparable unit-price data, so they support mixed pricing resilience rather than demonstrated premium pricing.
retention · 3/4 · Partnerships lasting at least 20 years with 85% of the top 200 commercial clients and all G7 governments strongly demonstrate sustained engagement. This assesses repeat demand from relationship evidence, not a calculated renewal or revenue-retention rate.
margin resilience · 3/4 · Adjusted operating margin increased from 15.6% to 15.8% in fiscal 2026, while reported operating income also increased. Resilience is demonstrated, although lower optimization costs and cost management contributed, and Asia Pacific operating income declined. This does not isolate pricing power.
contractual freedom · 1/4 · Most contracts permit short-notice cancellation with little or no penalty, consulting commitments are often short, and engagements are generally non-exclusive. Some managed-services termination protection exists, but disclosed terms provide weak support for imposing durable pricing or terms.
Predictability100
Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 100.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 2.38
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 100.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 0.93
Financial strength89
Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- debtFcfGrade
- 100.00
- netDebtEbitGrade
- 100.00
- interestCoverageGrade
- 100.00
- currentRatioGrade
- 54.17
- Debt / FCF (x)
- 0.87
- Net debt / operating income (x)
- -0.24
- Interest coverage (x)
- 37.59
- Current ratio (x)
- 1.43
Capital allocation99
Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
- 41.90
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- -0.96
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 2.94
- cashConversionGrade
- 100.00
Management69
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · Fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $10.9 billion exceeded $8.3 billion returned to shareholders, and nine-month fiscal 2026 operating cash generation increased. However, acquisition spending rose to $4.9 billion, another $5 billion of notes was issued, and acquisition-related impairments demonstrate imperfect allocation outcomes. Cash-flow growth partly reflects payment timing; repurchases alone do not establish value creation.
incentive alignment · 3/4 · Actual zero payouts on the relative-TSR components of two historical award vintages demonstrate consequences for weak shareholder returns. Multi-year performance conditions support alignment. Approved compensation increases and age-based pro rata vesting temper the assessment; complete current ownership and fiscal 2026 payout evidence are missing.
execution · 3/4 · Revenue and operating-income growth, achieved AI workforce expansion and realized large-contract wins demonstrate strong operating execution. This is assessed indirectly from operating outcomes rather than project-level customer results. Uneven bookings, slower smaller-contract spending and acquisition impairments prevent an exceptional assessment.
governance · 3/4 · The disclosed independent board majority, fully independent committees and independent lead director with executive sessions provide strong governance mechanisms. Management reported effective financial controls. The combined chair/CEO role and ongoing DOJ investigation temper confidence; the investigation is not treated as a finding of misconduct.
Evidence
We have long-term relationships and have partnered with 85% of our top 200 commercial clients and all of the G7 for 20 or more years, and have 317 Diamond clients, our largest client relationships.
Item 1, Business, Clients: relationship longevity and Diamond clients · Filed 16/10/2026
In fiscal 2026, we invested $4.9 billion across 17 strategic acquisitions, $1.0 billion in R&D, and approximately $1.0 billion in learning and professional development, including approximately 46 million training hours.
Item 1, Business: fiscal 2026 acquisitions, R&D and training · Filed 16/10/2026
At the end of fiscal 2026, we had nearly 110,000 skilled AI and data practitioners, exceeding our three-year goal to double our AI and data workforce, through a combination of developing our people and hiring specialized talent.
Item 1, Business: achieved AI and data workforce goal · Filed 16/10/2026
We also delivered a record 129 quarterly client bookings of more than $100 million and $5.9 billion in generative AI new bookings
14.7%
A decrease of 10 basis points from fiscal 2024 operating margin of 14.8%; after excluding the 90 and 70 basis point impact from business optimization costs in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively, adjusted operating margin was 15.6%, an increase of 10 basis points
Free Cash Flow
Cash Returned to Shareholders
$10.9B
Proxy, Our Company: fiscal 2025 large-contract bookings, AI bookings and operating margins · Filed 12/12/2025
Our global approach provides scalable innovation, standardized processes, methods and tools, automation and AI, industry expertise and specialized capabilities, along with cost advantages, foreign language fluency, proximity to clients, and time zone advantages—to deliver high-quality solutions and services.
Item 1, Business, Global Reinvention Centers: issuer description of delivery capabilities · Filed 16/10/2026
Our key 18 ecosystem partners represented approximately 65% of fiscal 2026 revenue, with growth outpacing Accenture overall.
Item 1, Business, Ecosystem Partner Relationships: partner-related revenue · Filed 16/10/2026
Fiscal 2026
Americas
EMEA
Asia Pacific
Total
Revenues
$
36,546,614
$
26,958,994
$
10,677,837
$
74,183,445
Less:
Payroll costs
23,034,530
18,174,946
6,635,594
47,845,070
Non-payroll costs including subcontractor costs (1)
6,451,512
4,576,032
2,035,520
13,063,064
Depreciation and amortization (2)
749,520
601,780
210,510
1,561,810
Business optimization costs (3)
66,749
169,811
70,981
307,541
Operating income (4)
6,244,303
3,436,425
1,725,232
11,405,960
Net assets as of August 31, 2026 (5)
6,683,491
3,725,264
148,084
10,556,839
Property & equipment, net as of August 31, 2026
556,621
508,406
656,625
1,721,652
Fiscal 2025
Revenues
$
35,056,715
$
24,643,957
$
9,972,305
$
69,672,977
Less:
Payroll costs
22,603,084
16,859,804
6,216,464
45,679,352
Non-payroll costs including subcontractor costs (1)
5,917,032
4,000,523
1,709,620
11,627,175
Depreciation and amortization (2)
791,791
560,657
173,014
1,525,462
Business optimization costs (3)
420,469
131,980
62,875
615,324
Operating income (4)
5,324,339
3,090,993
1,810,332
10,225,664
Net assets as of August 31, 2025 (5)
Note 16, Segment Reporting: fiscal 2026 and 2025 revenues, costs and operating income · Filed 16/10/2026
Our competitors include large multinational IT service providers, including the services arms of large global technology providers; offshore IT service providers in lower-cost locations, particularly in India; accounting firms and consultancies that provide consulting, managed services and other IT solutions and services; solution or service providers that compete with us in a specific geographic market, industry or service area, including advertising agency holding companies, engineering services providers and technology start-ups, AI-native companies and software companies that can scale rapidly to focus on or disrupt certain markets and provide new or alternative products, end-to-end solutions, services, or commercial or delivery models; and in-house IT departments of large corporations that use their own resources rather than engage an outside firm, such as global capability centers (“GCCs”).
Item 1, Business, Competition: generic competitor categories including AI-native providers and internal capabilities · Filed 16/10/2026
There is competition for scarce talent with market-leading skills and capabilities in new technologies, and our people have been directly and will continue to be targeted because of their highly sought-after skills.
Item 1A, Risk Factors: competition for specialized talent · Filed 16/10/2026
dollars)
May 31, 2026
May 31, 2025
May 31, 2026
May 31, 2025
Consulting
$
10.3
$
9.1
13
%
11
%
$
31.5
$
28.8
9
%
6
%
Managed Services
9.1
10.6
(15)
%
(16)
%
30.9
30.5
1
%
(1)
%
Total New Bookings
$
19.3
$
19.7
(2)
%
(3)
New bookings are recorded using then-existing foreign currency exchange rates and are not subsequently adjusted for foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Item 2, MD&A, New Bookings: consulting and managed-services booking changes · Filed 18/06/2026
We compete with a variety of organizations that offer solutions and services competitive with those we offer—but we believe no other company offers the full range of services at scale that Accenture does, which uniquely positions us in a highly competitive market.
Item 1, Business, Competition: management claim about breadth at scale · Filed 16/10/2026
We recorded a total of $923 million under the program, including $628 million of employee severance and $295 million primarily for asset impairments related to the divestiture of two acquisitions in the Americas that are no longer aligned with our strategic priorities.
Note 16, Segment Reporting: completed optimization program, severance and acquisition-related impairments · Filed 16/10/2026
Managed services revenues typically reflect ongoing, repeatable services or capabilities provided to transition, run and/or manage operations of client systems or business functions.
Item 7, MD&A: ongoing managed-services work · Filed 16/10/2026
Longer-term, larger and more complex contracts, such as the majority of our managed services contracts, generally require a longer notice period for termination and often include an early termination charge to be paid to us, but this charge might not be sufficient to cover our costs or make up for anticipated ongoing revenues and profits lost upon termination of the contract.
Item 1A, Risk Factors: termination terms for complex managed-services contracts · Filed 16/10/2026
Our clients typically retain us on a non-exclusive basis.
Item 1, Business, Competition: non-exclusive client engagements · Filed 16/10/2026
The majority of our contracts are terminable by the client on short notice with little or no termination penalties, and some without notice.
Item 7, MD&A, New Bookings: majority of contracts readily terminable · Filed 16/10/2026
Many of our consulting contracts are less than 12 months in duration, and these contracts typically permit a client to terminate the agreement with as little as 30 days’ notice.
Item 1A, Risk Factors: consulting duration and termination rights · Filed 16/10/2026
While the business environment remained competitive, pricing was relatively stable.
Item 2, MD&A, Overview: management reports relatively stable pricing · Filed 18/06/2026
We define pricing as the contract profitability or margin on the work that we sell.
Item 2, MD&A, Overview: pricing defined as contract profitability · Filed 18/06/2026
While the business environment remained competitive, pricing improved in some areas of our business.
Item 2, MD&A, Overview: management reports pricing improvement in some areas · Filed 19/03/2026
Adjusted operating margin for fiscal 2026 was 15.8% compared to adjusted operating margin for fiscal 2025 of 15.6%.
Item 7, MD&A: fiscal 2026 and 2025 adjusted operating margins · Filed 16/10/2026
We strive to adjust pricing as well as drive cost and delivery efficiencies, such as changing the mix of people and utilizing technology, to reduce the impact of compensation increases on our margin and contract profitability.
Item 2, MD&A: intended pricing and delivery-efficiency responses to compensation costs · Filed 18/06/2026
Defined as operating cash flow of $11.5 billion net of property and equipment additions of $600 million, with a free cash flow to net income ratio of 1.4
$8.3B
Defined as share repurchases of $4.6 billion and cash dividends of $3.7 billion.
Proxy, Our Company: fiscal 2025 operating cash flow, capital expenditure, repurchases and dividends · Filed 12/12/2025
(“Accenture Capital”), a wholly owned finance subsidiary of Accenture plc, issued $5 billion aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes on October 4, 2024, and issued $5 billion aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes on July 10, 2026.
Note 10, Borrowings and Indebtedness: senior note issuances in 2024 and 2026 · Filed 16/10/2026
Net proceeds from the offerings are being used for general corporate purposes, including repayment of outstanding commercial paper borrowing and funding acquisitions.
Note 10, Borrowings and Indebtedness: stated use of financing proceeds · Filed 16/10/2026
The Company’s performance with respect to total shareholder return over a three-year period was at the 3rd percentile among the companies in our peer group as of August 31, 2025, and this was directly reflected in our chair and chief executive officer’s realizable pay over the same period, which was at the 16th percentile among such companies, as the relative total shareholder return component of our Key Executive Performance Share awards granted on January 1, 2022 and January 1, 2023 both paid out at 0%.
Proxy, Executive Compensation: realized pay and zero relative-TSR component payouts · Filed 12/12/2025
As a result, it approved increases in the form of equity compensation, and a majority of such additional values granted under the Key Executive Performance Share Program, under which vesting of awards is tied to meeting performance objectives related to operating income results and relative total shareholder return, in each case, over a 3-year performance period.
Proxy, Executive Compensation: approved equity compensation increases and performance conditions · Filed 12/12/2025
Provisional age-based vesting means that if a participant voluntarily terminates their employment after reaching age 50 and completing eight years of continuous service (or with respect to awards granted while a participant was a senior managing director, fifteen years of continuous service), the participant is entitled to pro rata vesting of their award at the end of the applicable three-year performance period based on the portion of the performance period during which they were employed.
Proxy, Executive Compensation: provisional age-based vesting conditions · Filed 12/12/2025
Our governance practices and policies include the following, among other things:
Board Structure and Independence
Independent Board
All of our current directors are independent except for our chair and chief executive officer.
Proxy, Corporate Governance Practices: director independence and combined chair/CEO · Filed 12/12/2025
100% independent Board committees
Each of our four committees consists solely of independent directors.
Proxy, Corporate Governance Practices: independent committees · Filed 12/12/2025
We have an independent Lead Director of the Board who has comprehensive duties that are set forth in the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, including leading regular executive sessions of the Board, where independent directors meet without management present.
Proxy, Corporate Governance Practices: independent lead director and executive sessions · Filed 12/12/2025
Based on its evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Item 9A, Controls and Procedures: management conclusion on internal controls · Filed 16/10/2026
AFS is responding to an administrative subpoena and cooperating with DOJ’s investigation.
Note 15, Commitments and Contingencies: ongoing DOJ investigation · Filed 16/10/2026
While we continue to experience demand for these services, we also continue to see a slower pace and level of client spending, particularly for smaller contracts with a shorter duration.
Item 2, MD&A, Overview: slower spending on smaller short-duration contracts · Filed 18/06/2026
dollars)
May 31, 2026
May 31, 2025
Change
Net cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities
$
9,268
$
7,560
$
1,708
Investing activities
(3,452)
(1,248)
(2,204)
Financing activities
(7,091)
(1,673)
(5,417)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
(39)
(11)
(27)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
$
(1,313)
$
4,627
$
(5,941)
Amounts in table may not total due to rounding
Item 2, MD&A, Liquidity and Capital Resources: nine-month cash flows · Filed 18/06/2026
Operating activities: The $1,708 million increase in operating cash flows was primarily due to higher net income, higher accruals for certain compensation payments reflected in accrued payroll and benefits, and the timing of vendor accruals and payments in accounts payable and other current and non-current liabilities.
Item 2, MD&A: operating cash-flow growth partly reflects accrual and payment timing · Filed 18/06/2026
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, we purchased 17,494,585 Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares under this program for an aggregate price of $2,300 million.
Item 5, Share Repurchases: actual fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 repurchases · Filed 16/10/2026
