Cushman & Wakefield teams with Accenture and Workday
Cushman & Wakefield has engaged the services of Accenture to deliver a revamped digital HR and finance back-office processes. The company, recently acquired by DTZ with which it integrated shortly after, will be provided with a Workday based system as well as managed services from Accenture. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
Cushman & Wakefield was founded in 1820 and incorporated in 1917 in New York. The company has grown to become one of the largest commercial real estate services companies in the world. Last year the company was bought by DTZ, backed by its owning investors, TPG, PAG, and OTPP, for a reported $2 billion. Following the deal, DTZ integrated into Cushman & Wakefield, taking on its brand and a distinctive new logo. The merged company has revenues of $5 billion, employ more than 43,000 people across 60 countries and has 4.3 billion square feet under management.
The recently announced deal with Accenture sees Cushman & Wakefield enter into a consulting and technology services contract with the service provider. The consulting firm will support the company with standardising its HR and finance back-office processes, from design to implementation. A managed services framework is also part of the deal, with Accenture to manage select HR and finance and accounting functions through its business process outsourcing function. The services offering provided by Accenture will deploy Workday Financial Management and Workday Human Capital Management (HCM), as part of its global alliance with Workday.
The consulting side of the deal will see Accenture delve into Cushman & Wakefield’s operations to identify key strategic actionable insights through its data analytics capabilities.
Through the deal, Cushman & Wakefield expects to improve its client experience through the implementation of Accenture’s and Workday’s offerings, as well as providing the levers to realise “greater opportunities across countries and business units while providing a strong control framework and well-defined risk management strategy.” Duncan Palmer, Cushman & Wakefield's Global Chief Financial Officer, explains: “In today's increasingly competitive business environment, companies must be efficient and agile. This program is about introducing world-class financial processes and controls through technology-based services, enabling us to innovate and make highly-informed business decisions on behalf of our clients around the globe.”
Terry Moore, Senior Managing Director, Financial Services, at Accenture, says: “Innovative transformation initiatives of this kind enable global firms to rapidly change the game through greater performance and competitive differentiation. By embracing new delivery models and leading digital and analytic capabilities, Cushman & Wakefield can enhance its focus on superior client service and new solutions. We are pleased to support them in this important global transformation project.”
The adoption of new delivery models in HR and Finance are to be completed in the first quarter of 2016, while the broader implementation will be completed in phases during the course of 2016.
