Accenture management check
ACN · Information Technology · IT Consulting & Other Services · CEO Julie Spellman Sweet
Filings as of
4 good · 1 to watch · 2 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $117, against $251 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.28 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.4% of net income$29.6m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $7.8bn of net income.
- Flag
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 0.5 years of payThe CEO holds 55,498 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.5 years of pay. 6 insiders sold $4.6m in the last six months and none bought. 16 of 19 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.5% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 3.0% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
6 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Ms. Sweet. 6 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2023.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 0 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 64 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 85 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | 0 | 47 | |
| Dilution | 56 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 95 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in IT Consulting & Other Services, by management score. Accenture is 47th of 73 in its sector.
- 15IBMIBM86
- 158ITGartner72
- 363ACNAccenture57
- 364FFIVF5, Inc.57
- 371COHRCoherent Corp.56
- 410CTSHCognizant52
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed December 12, 2025. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ms. Sweet | $29.6m | $16.6m | $6.5m | $117 | $251 | $7.8bn |
| 2024 | Ms. Sweet | $24.9m | $19.7m | $7.5m | $151 | $205 | $7.4bn |
| 2023 | Ms. Sweet | $31.6m | $28.9m | $9.7m | $141 | $148 | $7.0bn |
| 2022 | Ms. Sweet | $33.7m | $28.9m | $11.1m | $123 | $111 | $7.0bn |
| 2021 | Ms. Sweet | $23.1m | $37.4m | $9.2m | $142 | $129 | $6.0bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Operating income. Its other key measures: Relative total shareholder return, Earnings per share.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Julie Spellman Sweet (Chair and CEO) held 55,498 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Oct 20, 2026, roughly $13.4m at that filing's price.
6 insiders sold $4.6m in the last six months and none bought. 16 of 19 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldJoel UnruchGeneral Counsel/Corp Secretary · 10b5-1 plan$1.7mJul 30, 2026
- SoldRyoji SekidoCo-CEO Asia Pacific$1.4mOct 22, 2026
- SoldAtsushi EgawaCo-CEO Asia Pacific · 10b5-1 plan$863kApr 30, 2026
- SoldCatherine Kiernan HoganChief Operating Officer · 10b5-1 plan$414kOct 12, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jan 28, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 17, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jun 20, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 19, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jun 11, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 31, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 27, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jan 28, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $26.0bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 75% of net income, and $9.0bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $50.5bn | $61.6bn | $64.1bn | $64.9bn | $69.7bn |
| Net income | $5.9bn | $6.9bn | $6.9bn | $7.3bn | $7.7bn |
| Stock-based pay | $1.3bn | $1.7bn | $1.9bn | $1.9bn | $2.1bn |
| Buybacks | $3.7bn | $4.1bn | $4.3bn | $4.5bn | $4.6bn |
| Dividends | $2.2bn | $2.5bn | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 646m | 643m | 639m | 636m | 632m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.