Accenture to shift incorporation to Ireland (to put a smiley face on tax dodging)

[onehandle]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture Ltd plans to change its place of incorporation to Ireland from Bermuda, following an exodus of large multinational companies to Europe as the U.S. government plans to tighten tax rules.

Accenture said on Tuesday it does not expect any material change in its financial results or tax treatment, but said Ireland will provide economic benefits. Its board unanimously approved the move.

"A member of the European Union, Ireland offers a sophisticated, well-developed corporate, legal and regulatory environment," Accenture Chief Executive William Green said in a statement. A company spokesman said Accenture is also moving because of continued criticism of companies incorporated in Bermuda.

Several large companies incorporated in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are eyeing a shift to Europe in search of more favorable tax treatment and other benefits. This comes ahead of U.S. legislation aimed at tightening rules that allow firms to defer tax payments on overseas profits if earnings are plowed back into foreign subsidiaries.

Read more: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090527/tc_nm/us_accenture_ireland_1

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Accenture is one of the corporations that has a mailbox in a building in Bermuda and calls it their "headquarters." This building contains over 22,000 "corporate headquarters."

This is nothing but PR CYA.

FYI: Several years ago Accenture's CEO said in a meeting of partners that their main business is now outsourcing. Since then they have been setting up outsourcing centers in Asia and have convinced many companies to outsource hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

[MADem]

1. Weren't they ARTHUR ANDERSON, of ENRON fame???

Now, what, are they goin' ta come at us with an Irish Spring accent and some stars, moons and shamrocks in a cereal bowl full o' sweet surprises?

Always after me Lucky Charms!!!!

[MaineDem]

2. Yes, indeedy. Arthur Anderson.

Now they're like Phillip Morris; they have a nice cutesy name.

[onehandle]

3. They were a spin off company. They sued to sever ties with AA just before AA went down in flames.

They were either very lucky, or had inside information.

[Baby Snooks]

5. Or were simply part of the plan...

Someone really had it in for Ken Lay since Enron really was not insolvent. Someone simply wanted the assets. Particularly the contract for the pipeline in Afghanistan. That no one talks about. And of course the assets were quickly sold off before any true value could be determined. As always, the trail leads back to the Bushes.

The trail is there for all to see. People just don't want to see it.

What better way to prevent someone from Arthur Andersen from exposing the truth but to discredit them?

That's the way the Bushes work. Always have, always will.

Someone wanted the assets of Enron. Particularly the contract for the pipeline in Afghanistan. The way someone wanted the oil of Iraq. The trail is there for all to see. People just don't want to see it.

[WriteDown]

10. Big difference between Arthur Anderson accounting...

and Arthur Anderson consulting. Just saying.

[MADem]

16. What's the big difference? Do either exist anymore? Which one (if not both) worked for ENRON? nt

[wileedog]

17. Accenture (Anderson Consulting) didn't work for Enron

And Arthur Anderson the parent company went belly up after the scandal.

[MADem]

20. I guess there's not a big difference, then. One was a buncha cheating bums

who worked for a corporate buncha pig-crooks, the other is a buncha cheating bums who take jobs and tax revenues offshore.

[joeglow3]

21. I worked for Andersen

Please explain how we were a bunch of "cheating bums."

[MADem]

23. I was referencing the cheating bums who gundecked the Enron accounts.

Or are you suggesting that didn't happen?

[joeglow3]

25. Here is my understanding

Enron made use of special purpose entities to keep some of their investments off the books. This was done in accordance with GAAP. Andersen was aware of these, but, again, they were in accordance with GAAP, so there was little Andersen could do. The only thing I can see that they could have done is issued a qualified opinion, but I don't know if there was any cheating with that.

As for what Andersen was convicted of (obstruction of justice), anyone with a brain who followed the case knew the fix was in, even though no laws were broken. As bittersweet as it was, at least the SCOTUS ruled this way eventually.

[slackmaster]

30. The fact that you spelled the name correctly proves it to my satisfaction

I was at AC in the mid-90s. The office I worked for was run by very immoral, dishonest people. The techies were good, in fact some of the best I've ever worked with. But the bosses were scum.

[slackmaster]

29. Yes, big difference

One was a bunch of crooked accountants, the other a bunch of crooked consultants.

[NOW tense]

4. I looked at their web page

Accenture has been part of the fabric of the aerospace and defense industry for over two decades. Our involvement in the industry began with designing solutions to serve the Cold War military and heavily regulated commercial aviation markets of the 1980s. Today, as deregulation, globalization and military transformation create a new set of industry challenges, Accenture continues to deliver leading insights and solutions in aerospace and defense.


Client Successes

We use our management consulting, systems integration and outsourcing services to help our global aerospace and defense clients become high performance businesses.

http://www.accenture.com/Global/Services/By_Industry/Aerospace_and_Defense/default.htm

[slackmaster]

31. Why did the chicken cross the road?

Deregulation of the chicken's side of the road was threatening its dominant market position. The chicken was faced with significant challenges to create and develop the competencies required for the newly competitive market. Andersen Consulting, in a partnering relationship with the client, helped the chicken by rethinking its physical distribution strategy and implementation processes. Using the Poultry Integration Model (PIM), Andersen helped the chicken use its skills, methodologies, knowledge, capital and experiences to align the chicken's people, processes and technology in support of its overall strategy within a Program Management framework. Andersen Consulting convened a diverse cross-spectrum of road analysts and best chickens along with Andersen consultants with deep skills in the transportation industry to engage in a two-day itinerary of meetings in order to leverage their personal knowledge capital, both tacit and explicit, and to enable them to synergize with each other in order to achieve the implicit goals of delivering and successfully architecting and implementing an enterprise-wide value framework across the continuum of poultry cross-median processes.

The meeting was held in a park-like setting, enabling and creating an impactful environment which was strategically based, industry-focused, and built upon a consistent, clear, and unified market message and aligned with the chicken's mission, vision, and core values. This was conducive towards the creation of a total business integration solution. Andersen Consulting helped the chicken change to become more successful.

[mopinko]

6. their business always was fucking up business.

my ex worked for them for quite a while. (AA) they did a lot of the dirty work for corps wishing to "downsize" etc.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

7. In short, a company of Bob-Bob pairs. -nt

[OhioChick]

9. .......

:rofl:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. Heh. The world is divided between those who get that reference and those who don't. -nt

[slackmaster]

32. I call them the Borg

They infiltrate organizations with people who end up staying there far longer than originally planned, at outrageous billing rates.

My billing rate was $165 per hour. My salary was about $35,000 per year. Do the math.

[peacetalksforall]

8. All people who are not rich should boycott Ireland. (as much as I love it for

what they were). What is with European countries helping to screw the little peole of the United States? Can anyone tell me?

1.) Ireland is supposed to be one of the countries who allowed rendition flight fuel stops.

3.) Ireland is helping the rich to screw the middle and lower income people of the U.S. and destroy our country.

Incorporating outside the U.S.

. avoid OHSA lawa
. prohitibe lawsuite
. hide funds
. live the good life

Please add to the list and please answer the question. Please.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Accenture has more revenue in 'EMEA' than the Americas

Around 44 percent of Accenture's revenue last quarter was from the Americas region, while 46 percent was from Europe, Middle East and Africa. The remaining 10 percent was from the Asia-Pacific region.

So it's not actually unreasonable for it to choose a European country as its headquarters. Not that I'm saying a consultancy company like Accenture is a good thing, but it's already a multinational company.

[peacetalksforall]

13. Thanks. I assumed that it was a major U.S. firm given it's past - one of those

who register and bank runside the country - as provided for by Congress.

Now, on to find out if Ireland places limits on who they do business with.

[onehandle]

15. It is a U.S. firm. This move is an extension of their history of tax evasion.

As long as they oursource American jobs, they should be shamed.

[joeglow3]

22. Frankly, expect to see a LOT more of this if Obama passes his tax law change

without the tax rate offset he initially mentioned.

[onehandle]

14. It started as a blatant tax dodge. It is an American company. And it is outsourcing our jobs.

This is just PR BS.

Tax them out of the country all together.

[w4rma]

12. Then they had better find enough non-American clients to replace the U.S. ones.

I want laws changed in the new tax code that prevent companies from doing this and continuing to get good business rates in the States.

[WriteDown]

18. There should laws changed for PEOPLE as well...

Tax those that would leave the US at 90% of their wealth. If you have 1,000,000.00 in assets when you try to leave the US, then you leave with 100,000.00 of assets.

[No Elephants]

24. Huh? Apples and oranges. Those people paid US tax on that money as they acquired it. People

are not worried about corporations taking assets they've already paid US tax on. They are worried about businesses taking jobs out of the US and never paying US tax on money earned in the US. The two situations are not remotely comparable, just anti-individual and pro-corporation.

Consistent as always, Write Down.

[WriteDown]

26. They are perfectly consistent...

If you have money or assets. You've made that money by working in the US and using its resources, especially if its inherited wealth. You are also removing a tax-base from the country and/or the state and that should come with a cost. Same as a corporation and both should be treated the same.

Get it together No Elephants.

[Satyam]

27. I dont understand

Can some one tell me why would Accenture benefit by moving from Bermuda to Ireland ? Bermuda is not part of US right ?

[slackmaster]

28. They were AndersEn Consulting, and I used to work there

I resisted assimilation and quit for a much better job after two years of suffering there.

Actually the work wasn't too bad. I learned a lot, but they didn't pay very well and there was an unbelievable level of corporate BS.

The partner who ran the office I worked for was a crook who cheated on his wife. The #2 guy, "Pointy Haired Boss" I called him, was a dumbass.