Top bar

About POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database (FCMD)

The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »

Ranking: 83

Accenture

Accenture, formerly known as Andersen Consulting, is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. The company divides its operations into five principal operating groups: communications and high technology, financial services, government, products, and resources. With more than 126,000 employees in 48 countries, Accenture generated net revenues of $15.55 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005.

Federal Contract $: $ 968.0m

Total Number of Instances: 6

Total Misconduct dollar amount: $ 77.6m

Instances of Misconduct

1. False Claims On Hardware, Software & Technology Services Sales

In April 2007, the United States intervened in a False Claims Act whistleblower suit filed by Norman Rille and Neal Roberts alleging that Accenture solicited and provided improper payments and other things of value on information technology contracts with government agencies. They alleged that Accenture and its purchasing subsidiary, Proquire, LLC, received kickbacks from or offered kickbacks to other companies (including Sun Microsystems, IBM and Hewlett-Packard) also involved in government IT contracts from the late 1990s to the present. In September 2011, Accenture paid $64 million to settle the lawsuit. See related IBM instance, "'Alliance Benefits' Alleged Kickback Scheme" and Computer Sciences Corporation instance, "‘Alliance Benefits’ False Claims Settlement."... more»

2. Colorado Unemployment Insurance System Contract

In 2002, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment awarded Accenture a contract to re-engineer the state's unemployment insurance system. The system was supposed to be online in 2004, but by December 2005, Accenture had only completed three of five subsystems, and the two largest components were still incomplete. The state declared Accenture to be in breach of the contract and launched confidential negotiations with the company to resolve the matter. Accenture and the state mutually agreed to terminate the contract. Accenture refunded $8.2 million of the $35.7 million the state paid for the system up to that time, and the state withheld the remaining payments.... more»

3. Colorado Voter Registration System Contract

In 2004, the Colorado secretary of the state awarded Accenture a contract to design a centralized voter registration system. According to the Rocky Mountain News, the system wasn't working as advertised, and a package of reworked software provided to the secretary of state's office "did not meet the state's expectations." The state and Accenture mutually agreed to terminate the contract in December 2005, and Accenture refunded $2 million for unfinished work. According to Accenture's response to POGO, "Accenture delivered a new release of the voter registration application within a timeframe that would’ve allowed Colorado to meet the HAVA deadline but it was never downloaded and tested by the state."... more»

4. U.S. Marine Corp. Global Supply Chain and Maintenance System Contract

In July 2005, the U. S. Marine Corps entered into a six-month, $4.5 million contract with Accenture to design and implement a new global supply chain and maintenance system. Subsequently, according to Federal Computer Week, Accenture did not meet some of the contract's requirements, terms and conditions, such as failing to deliver substantial documentation in support of the system's detailed design review phase and not complying with cost, schedule, and performance baselines and risk assessments for the next phase of the program. The Marine Corps issued a stop work order in December 2005 and a termination-for-cause letter in January 2006. According to Accenture's response to POGO, "In January 2006, the Marine Corps partially terminated Accenture's contract for cause. However, the USMC rescinded the termination for cause, modified the contract in scope, and elected not to exercise the contract's build, test and deploy option."... more»

5. Wyoming Voter Registration System Contract

In February 2004, the state of Wyoming contracted with Accenture to design a centralized voter registration system pursuant to the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Accenture failed to meet the January 1, 2006 HAVA deadline, and in March 2006, the state and Accenture agreed to terminate the contract. Accenture refunded most of the state’s payments.... more»

6. Texas Health and Human Services Commission Contract

In June 2005, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) awarded Accenture a contract to operate an integrated eligibility determination system for state health and welfare programs. After receiving numerous complaints about the system, the legislature requested an audit by the state comptroller. Among the comptroller’s findings: the project was running behind schedule and $100 million over budget, Accenture did not meet its performance requirements, and there were delays and inaccuracies in processing health insurance applications. The comptroller recommended terminating the contract, which the HHSC did in March 2007. According to its response to POGO, Accenture disputes the accuracy of the comptroller's report, claiming it "relied on outdated information and ignored significant performance improvements made by the Accenture team in areas such as staff training, application processing and call center operations."... more»