Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired REPL Group (“REPL”), a U.K.-based technology consultancy specializing in solutions for supply chain, workforce management, store operations and retail customer experiences. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

· Number of entries increases by 46% compared to 2020 with large, small and medium sized firms all supporting the industry’s key awards event
· Most popular categories are individual categories including Young Consultant of the Year, Rising Star and Team Leader Consultant of the Year
· New categories include exceptional support and delivery during COVID-19 to both a client and by an individual consultant ...

For the third year running, Mason Advisory has been named as one of the UK’s Leading Management Consultancies in three categories, in Financial Times’ special report today (18th February).

According to the, Accenture Technology Vision 2021, technology was a lifeline during the global pandemic – enabling new ways of working and doing business, creating new interactions and experiences, and improving health and safety.

PA Consulting’s head of cybersecurity, Elliot Rose, discusses the SolarWinds breach and how organisations must tighten their security to avoid software supply chain attacks.

Jeremy Klingel, energy and utilities expert at PA Consulting, discusses bitcoin power consumption requirements and ensuring there are clean and efficient energy sources available during peak periods.

Inframation News discusses how PA Consulting is growing its infrastructure team with three hires to target new sectors.

Ross Smith, US utility practice lead at PA Consulting, and Andy McKenna, energy and utilities expert at PA Consulting, discuss Andy’s return to PA.

Only by working together can governments, scientists, businesses, and the public unleash the power of biology for good while effectively managing the risks, write Matthias Evers and Michael Chui in Project Syndicate.

Deloitte is donating 5,000 of its laptops to UK schools, charities and families. The pledge, announced by Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive at Deloitte North and South Europe, is in response to the growing digital skills gap and the COVID-19 pandemic.

European companies that accelerate both their digital and sustainability transitions are likely to recover faster and emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, according to a new report from Accenture.

- Market to recover quickly – with forecasted growth of 7% in 2021
- Strong demand for compliance with regulation work to continue
- Fee rates set to fall – say over 60% of tax advisory clients...

- CFOs’ optimism rises to a 12-year high, according to latest Deloitte survey...

2021 UK & Global economic outlook: lowest number of births in the UK since records began predicted; first decline in London`s population this century: global & UK turning point in the fight against climate change.

Honored with ‘Supplier of the Year’ and ‘Outstanding Technology Provider’ Awards...

London’s IPO market proves resilient in 2020 despite COVID-19 and Brexit-related uncertainties, with the pipeline looking strong in 2021...

Generali Group and Accenture have created a joint venture — Group Operations Service Platform (GOSP) — that will leverage cloud technologies and shared technology platforms to accelerate the insurance group’s innovation and digital strategy.

- This year 295 secondary offerings raised £38 billion to 4 December 2020 versus £22 billion in 2019;
- There were 212 secondary offerings for the same period (1 Jan 2019 – 4 Dec 2019)..

Our firm is excited to announce that McKinsey was recently named a Leader, the highest category ranking we can receive, in The Forrester Wave™: Digital Business Transformation Services, Q4 2020.

- Within the TMT sector, the high-tech industry is growing fastest,
- with consulting revenues expected to rise 11%
- Greater regulatory scrutiny is driving consulting demand
- The wider TMT consulting market is forecast to grow 2% in 2020 to just over US$14bn
- However, fee rates are coming under increasing pressure, with clients seeking “COVID discounts”...

With lockdown lifted in England and the UK returning to tiered restrictions, most non-essential retailers have reopened their doors in time for critical Christmas trading. Despite the prospect of a scaled back festive period, new analysis from PwC shows UK shoppers are still preparing to spend £384 each on Christmas presents and celebrations.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has nominated Beth E. Mooney for election to the Board at Accenture’s annual general meeting of shareholders on Feb. 3, 2021. Ms. Mooney, 65, was chairman and CEO of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), one of the 20 largest U.S. banks, based on assets, for nine years prior to her retirement in May 2020. She will be listed as a director nominee in Accenture’s 2020 proxy statement, which is scheduled to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission next week.

PA has announced that Jacobs, the global technical and professional services leader, has signed an agreement to invest in PA for a 65% shareholding in the company. The transaction, which values PA at £1.825 billion and is expected to close by the end of calendar Q1 2021 subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder consent, sees current shareholder The Carlyle Group exit its stake in PA.

Inversis, a reference company in Spain that provides outsourcing and technology solutions for investment services for global financial institutions, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN), a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security, have reached an agreement to develop an outsourcing solution to help financial institutions across Europe manage their financial asset distribution processes. Accenture will transform Inversis’ technology platform in the initial phase of the agreement.

Two thirds (68%) of business leaders used automation to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research from Deloitte on robotic and intelligent automation.

-UK public servants see biggest shift to remote working compared to European counterparts, and over half now want to continue working from home post Covid-19
-A third (37%) of UK public servants say their IT hindered their ability to respond to the crisis
-58% say that a remote delivery model can maintain or improve quality of service -Modern/faster computers, improved applications and better infrastructure cited for upgrades...

Deloitte’s Manchester practice confirmed today that it has signed a deal with WeWork to occupy 35,000 sq ft of office space in Manchester city centre.

Accenture has launched a new immersive engagement and investment program targeting emerging technology software startups to help fill strategic innovation gaps for the Global 2000. Called Project Spotlight, the exclusive Accenture Ventures program represents a new approach to engaging with the global software startup community.

- Twice as many under-35s want permanent flexible working post-pandemic, compared to over-55s;
- Almost half of over-55s have returned to offices in some capacity, compared to a third of under-35s;
- Whilst half of all office-based workers had never worked from home before COVID-19, three-quarters want regular remote working patterns in future;
Office return policies reveal polarisation, with most employees either already back or not expecting to return until 2021 or later.

Launches “Let there be change” Campaign and New Company Purpose, Created with Droga5.

Amid the Disruption and Uncertainty, Dealmakers Increasingly See Alternative Deals—such as Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances, and Corporate Venturing—as Effective Ways to Access New Capabilities and Reduce Risk.

Roz Lawson joins PA Consulting (PA), the consultancy that’s bringing ingenuity to life, as a partner. She will help lead the build-out of PA’s end-to-end commercial offering for leading Life Sciences clients.

Building a more inclusive economy and closing the racial wealth gap will require getting many more Black professionals into fields like investment.

Commenting on the latest labour market figures from the ONS, Debapratim De, senior economist at Deloitte, said: “The furlough scheme has been very effective in cushioning the blow from the pandemic to the labour market. But cracks are beginning to show, with unemployment rising – particularly among younger workers - and redundancies hitting their highest level in almost eight years. “Although growth has bounced back in the third quarter, the recovery is likely to be slow and uneven, with a sharp rise in unemployment almost unavoidable once the furlough scheme ends.” To view more market comments from Deloitte please CLICK HERE..

It’s been said that the question isn’t “if” another global health crisis will arise but “when.” And as leaders around the world look to reenergize organizations amid the ongoing effects of this one, a new group has already united to ensure we’re better prepared for the next.

Creative consultancy ACNE expands in Europe amidst a global downturn. “The Swedish way is clearly in demand” says Victor Press and David Olsson, co-founding Partners of ACNE.

Bain & Company has signed an agreement with Advantage Group International to integrate Advantage’s data into Bain’s market leading FrontViewSM product.

-The global risk & cybersecurity services market grew by over 10% in 2019 -Cybersecurity consulting equates to over a third of the entire non-cyber risk services market -Sixty-three percent of clients say that their use of risk-related services is increasing as a result of the COVID-19 crisis...

Accenture has agreed to sell a majority stake in its Bit2win business to the current Bit2win business’ management team and GELLIFY Digital Investment S.r.l.

Accenture has been strongly positioned as a Leader in both Market Impact and Vision & Capability in Everest Group’s inaugural Salesforce Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2020 report.

The Asian American experience in the United States has been marked by a basic contradiction. Part of the country’s tapestry since the 1800s, they comprise nearly 6 percent of the U.S. population and are a powerful economic force: 2 million Asian American businesses generate $700 billion in annual GDP and employ around 3.6 million people. But as our new report COVID-19 and advancing Asian American recovery finds, this cohort has historically been overlooked despite their wide-ranging contributions to U.S. society.

Wil Schoenmakers, global head of consumer products & manufacturing at PA Consulting, discusses PA’s collaboration with San Francisco-based food tech startup Treasure8. Timothy Childs and Derk Hendriksen from Treasure8 are also quoted.

Accenture in Italy has completed the acquisition of Turin-based boutique systems integrator PLM Systems. Terms of the transaction, which Accenture announced on May 19, 2020, were not disclosed.

Long before the pandemic there was widespread concern about how our social care system would cope with the demands of an ageing society and a looming shortfall in the care workforce. By 2035, one study estimates the social care sector will need an extra 800,000 workers to meet demand.

Accenture has been selected to work with the Bank of England to renew the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service to support resilience and innovation in payments and settlements in the U.K.

Analysis of furloughed workers by sector highlights the need for short-term support for at-risk workers as well as upskilling in the longer-term...

- The Times Consultant of the Year and winner of Thought Leader Consultant of the Year goes to Louise Ellis, Arup
- Project of the Year, sponsored by Deltek, is awarded to EY with The Metropolitan Police Service
- Award winners highlight how industry is driving forward the sustainability agenda and improvements in vital public services across the country
- 7 individual winners celebrated with Young Consultant of the Year going to Anju Jacob, Deloitte and Outstanding Achievement Award going to Anna Somaiya from KPMG for her work in promoting diversity and inclusion in the industry...

- 49% staggering return based on individual health risks
- Quarter basing return on local infection rate
- 44% of companies plan to reduce office space
- Half of companies slash travel & expenses budgets in cost-saving exercise
- Third of professionals expecting changes to office layout.

● Although COVID-19 is likely to disrupt the market this year, the all-important technology consulting market will fare better than other types of consulting during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a contraction of just 4% expected
● The dominance of technology consulting in the US also means the US market will contract less than most other consulting markets globally...

The COVID-19 Economics Monitor is produced by Deloitte’s Economics and Markets team. It features a changing set of charts and tables illustrating key economic themes from the COVID-19 crisis and our forecasts for UK GDP growth over this year and the next.