MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 6 No. 22, 3 December 2007

This issue is sponsored by:

CODA and The UK Consulting Industry Report 2006/7

This issue news

1. Mark Hunter quits Axon
2. Capita wins one and loses one
3. Advisory services leads growth at KPMG
4. Deloitte appoints Sharia'a scholar
5. Unisys wins diamond outsourcing contract
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

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1. MARK HUNTER QUITS AXON

Mark Hunter, a founder and the first CEO of SAP consultancy Axon, will step down from his post as chairman at the end of the year to pursue 'alternative interests'. His departure leaves CEO Steve Cardell in charge, supported by non-executive chairman Roy Merritt who has been head of the company's audit committee since 2004.

Hunter - who has been at the helm of Axon since 1994 and has led impressive financial and geographic growth - commented: "It is now over a year since Steve Cardell was established as the effective leader of the business and during this period I have found my own role has effectively reduced to that of a non-executive. While I have had a great 12 years at Axon, my job is done and it is time to move on to pursue alternative interests. It is not without sadness that I leave Axon, but I am confident that I leave the business in supremely capable hands."

Cardell joined Axon as head of business consulting in 2001 and became COO in 2004. He set up the company's US business in 2005 and became CEO early this year.

Hunter's departure was disclosed as Axon, a specialist in business transformation programmes based on strategic SAP platforms, predicted its 2007 financial results would show pre-tax profit climbing steeply to £35 million. In 2006, the company made an 81% jump in pre-tax profit to £21.8 million, on turnover up 56% to £137.5 million.

Cardell commented: "This year we have doubled our US business, established a presence in China and become the leading independent provider of SAP-enabled business transformation services in the world. We are comfortable with market expectations for 2008."

2. CAPITA WINS ONE AND LOSES ONE

Capita has secured its largest order to date, a £722 million, 15-year outsourcing contract with Prudential UK covering 7 million life and pensions policies - but it has also lost a potential £175 million partnership with North East Lincolnshire Council.

Under the Prudential contract, Capita is set to deliver savings of £60 million to the life and pensions provider by 2010. The deal includes the transfer of about 1,750 UK-based Prudential staff to Capita in April 2008. Capita will also acquire £25 million worth of business and assets from Prudential, including part of its offshore operation in Mumbai. This will more than double Capita's capacity in India.

Around £100 million of the deal is an investment by Prudential in a six-year transformation programme driven by Capita, including the migration of existing and new business policies from Prudential's legacy IT systems to Capita platforms.

Nick Prettejohn, chief executive of Prudential UK & Europe, said Capita was chosen for the contract on the basis of its high levels of customer service, ongoing certainty over costs and the best overall employment solution for staff.

As staff in Capita's life and pensions business celebrated the win, they no doubt spared a thought for colleagues in the public sector business who failed to reach a mutually acceptable commercial agreement despite being named as the preferred bidder for a partnership worth £175 million over 12 years with North East Lincolnshire Council (MCND 6-18).

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3. ADVISORY SERVICES LEADS GROWTH AT KPMG

KPMG's advisory services business achieved a 22% revenue increase in the fiscal year ended 30 September, eclipsing the growth made by the firm's audit and tax operations.

In total, revenues from KPMG global member firms rose 17% during the year to $19.8 billion (£9.6 billion). Advisory services grew across all regions to $6.4 billion, fuelled by M&A activity, greater regulation and demand for performance improvement.

KPMG International chairman Timothy Flynn commented: "These record results reflect a strong global business environment for our services and further validate our focus on four strategic priorities: professionalism and integrity, being an employer of choice, quality growth and global consistency."

KPMG reported 21% revenue growth in its Europe, Middle East and Africa region for a total of $10.7 billion.

Like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte, which have already reported strong growth in advisory services, KPMG sees no loss of market appetite. "Our services are in higher demand than ever before and we are attracting a great talent pool to the profession, with deep vertical skills such as IT, risk analysis and international tax, in addition to traditional accounting and auditing," Flynn said.

4. DELOITTE APPOINTS SHARIA'A SCHOLAR

Deloitte has appointed a Sharia'a scholar to its Islamic finance practice in the expectation of double-digit growth in the Islamic finance market.

Mufti Hassan Kaleem joins Deloitte as a Sharia'a scholar responsible for ensuring that all Islamic finance products and transactions are Sharia'a compliant.

According to Deloitte, Islamic finance accounts for 1-2% of the global financial services industry, yet with Muslims accounting for around 20% of the world population, the market is likely to see significant growth. London is well-positioned as a gateway for Islamic finance and will become more widely used if Treasury consultations on an Islamic bond lead to issuance.

Maghsoud Einollahi, global head of Islamic finance at Deloitte, explained: "London represents a key location for Islamic finance, as the principal-based governance and regulation is more adaptable to accommodating innovation such as Sharia'a compliant products."

Deloitte claims to be the first Big Four firm to appoint a Sharia'a scholar at a time of great demand for, but shortage of, such experts.

5. UNISYS WINS DIAMOND OUTSOURCING CONTRACT

Unisys UK has sealed a $16.5 million (£8 million), seven-year outsourcing services deal with The Diamond Trading Company, the London-based sales and marketing arm of the De Beers family of companies.

Under the contract, Unisys will manage the diamond supplier's data centre server environment and move its architecture to a virtualised infrastructure by August 2008. The virtualised IT environment will run on servers in the UK, with management and support services delivered from Unisys facilities in Bangalore, India, and project management from Hungary and the UK.

Jeremy Newell, director of IT & programmes at the Diamond Trading Company, said: "To maintain our leadership in the global rough diamond marketplace, we require a sophisticated, business-driven IT infrastructure that enhances our supply chain and supports our operations. Unisys' expertise in global service delivery gives us confidence that our operational IT requirements are being handled expertly, so that we can focus on the changing requirements of our business."

The Diamond Trading Company sorts, values and sells more than 40% of the world's rough diamonds.

6. FURTHER INFORMATION - FEEDBACK/PASS ON TO A COLLEAGUE/REMOVE

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Written by Sarah Underwood. Copyright 2012 PMP (UK) Ltd.

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