Accenture beefs up financial services practice with BCS Consulting
In its sixth deal in the UK this year, Accenture has acquired BCS Consulting, a management consultancy dedicated to the financial services industry.
The deal adds a team of around 250 consultants to Accenture’s consulting division (known as Strategy & Consulting) and Financial Services industry vertical. The latter group provides Accenture’s full suite of consulting, technology, creative and managed services offerings to financial services institutions including banks, payments providers, wealth and asset managers, insurance companies.
“We are delighted to welcome BCS Consulting to Accenture. Their track record will enable us to improve the way we help clients transform their business models to meet rapidly shifting demands,” said Paul Stanley, Head of Financial Services at Accenture in the UK and Ireland.
Founded in 2001, BCS Consulting supports financial services institutions with drives major change programmes across technology, finance, operations and risk and regulation. The firm has a particularly strong track record in the areas of cost optimisation, process design, payments, open banking, operational resilience and financial crime.
“BCS Consulting has a strong track record helping institutions core challenges in the indsutry. From designing solutions to technology implementation, BCS Consulting’s end-to-end capabilities help the sector create business models that drive new efficiencies and competitiveness, bolster resilience and keep pace with change,” said Adam Markson, managing director in Accenture’s Strategy & Consulting – Financial Services practice.
“This acquisition strengthens our existing industry consulting and technology capabilities,” he continued.
Stanley added, “BCS Consulting’s focus on employee development aligns well to Accenture’s commitment to growing the next generation of financial services consultants, so we can best serve our clients both now and in the future.”
The acquisition builds on some of Accenture’s recent financial services transactions in the UK such as Orbium and Parker Fitzgerald. Internationally, Accenture’s Strategy & Consulting wing has acquired several consultancies over the past year, with most notably Exton in France and Homburg & Partners in Germany adding to its financial services footprint.
Meanwhile, for BCS Consulting, the joining of forces with the global giant (Accenture has 624,000 people worldwide) will “enable us to extend our capabilities to a broader client base,” said Paul Brock, CEO of BCS Consulting. “We’re excited to become part of one of the world’s leading companies and look forward to the opportunities this will bring to our employees and clients.”
Previous deals Accenture closed in the UK in 2021 are those of: Edenhouse and Infinity Works in February, Cirrus and REPL in March and Xoomworks in October.
