MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 7 No. 9, 9 June 2008

This issue is sponsored by:

CODA, The UK Consulting Industry Report 2008 and COA Solutions

This issue news

1. Ernst & Young makes globalisation move
2. Accenture wins slice of $1bn FBI contract
3. Detica plans acquisitions for growth
4. Students choose favourite consultancy firm
5. Farncombe teams with TMT
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

Sponsor

CODA

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1. ERNST & YOUNG MAKES GLOBALISATION MOVE

Ernst & Young has decided to integrate its country practices across Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa to create a single $11 billion (£5.6 billion) organisation with more than 60,000 people and 3,300 partners.

The new Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) operation will come into effect on 1 July. It will be led by Mark Otty, previously managing partner of E&Y northern Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.

E&Y claims that - following the recent integration of its Far East practices and the integration of its operations in the Americas in 2006 - the move differentiates it in the market as "the most globally integrated professional services firm".

Besides its accountancy business, E&Y offers professional services practices including business advisory, a growing practice helping organisations through change programmes and working with them to improve and sustain performance.

Commenting on the EMEIA integration, E&Y chairman and CEO Jim Turley said: "Our clients tell me this move is important because it is going to enable us to better meet their needs to deliver seamless, consistent, high-quality service, not just across EMEIA but right across the world. Our people want and expect mobility, challenging international assignments and a diverse and teaming culture on a truly global scale."

2. ACCENTURE WINS SLICE OF $1bn FBI CONTRACT

Accenture is joining a project worth up to $1 billion (£500,000) at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to introduce biometric technologies to the agency's Next Generation Identification programme.

Lockheed Martin is leading the project, with Accenture partnering to provide expertise in business architecture, service oriented architecture, biometric interoperability and training. Its experience in developing biometric ID systems includes work for the US-Visit programme and MiSense, a pilot project at Heathrow Airport.

The FBI's new system will replace an automated fingerprint ID system and is expected to provide the agency and others with more accurate and responsive recognition technology.

Jerry Briggs, managing director of Accenture's federal government practice, commented: "With Lockheed Martin, our combined expertise will accelerate the delivery of biometric interoperability services while providing increased capacity and productivity solutions to the FBI."

Sponsor

The UK Consulting Industry Report 2008

We are delighted to announce that the latest 'UK Consulting Industry Report' from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) is now available. It is based on unique data and performance metrics unavailable elsewhere.

As a consultant who needs to understand which sectors represent the best consultancy opportunities, which service lines are growing, how operational metrics are changing and the outlook for your industry in 2008 and beyond - this report will provide all of this information and more.

To find out more about the report, published jointly by the MCA and PMP, please visit http://www.pmp.co.uk/mcareport.asp, email reports@pmp.co.uk or telephone 01494 732830.

• Purchase before 31st July 2008 to receive the early bird discount.

The Consulting Industry Report 2008 is sponsored by CODA.

3. DETICA PLANS ACQUISITIONS FOR GROWTH

Detica has reported strong gains in its full-year financial results, but says it needs to grow in scale to make the most of its market opportunities.

The IT and specialist defence consultancy saw its pre-tax profits rise 47% to £25.4 million in the year to 31 March, on revenue climbing 30% to £203.2 million. Government revenue was up 43% on the previous year at £124.1 million, with commercial revenue up 15% at £79.1 million.

Detica chief executive Tom Black said: "Our UK government business continues to perform strongly and we see high levels of demand. Similarly, the US government business is experiencing healthy demand although we have yet to achieve the critical mass in this market to allow us to fully capitalise on the opportunity."

Detica added about 70 employees for a total of 1,538 at the close of the financial year and said: "Our objective is to become the pre-eminent consulting player servicing the information-based counter-threat agenda in both the UK and the US. We will do this through strong organic growth in key target markets and through high-quality acquisitions that deliver access to new markets or provide specific skills and expertise."

Sponsor

COA Solutions

Opportunities for consultants with COA Solutions in not-for-profit

On 20 June, a select group of industry consultants are meeting at Intellect's HQ in London for a free seminar called 'The COA Solutions opportunity in not-for-profit'. The purpose of the seminar is to bring you up-to-date with the opportunities available for working with COA Solutions in this vibrant sector. Customers of our financial management software include RSPB, NCH and Leonard Cheshire. We invite you to join us at this important event. Click here for further details - or email your contact details to helen.delbridge@coasolutions.com.

4. STUDENTS CHOOSE FAVOURITE CONSULTANCY FIRM

Accenture has beaten Deloitte, Ernst & Young, IBM, McKinsey and PwC to be named as the most popular graduate recruiter in the consulting sector. The annual Target National Graduate Recruiter Awards are organised by Target Jobs in association with The Guardian newspaper. Awards are made based on the results of an independent national online poll of 34,000 students and graduates.

Last year's winner in the consulting sector, Deloitte, this year took the top prize as the best graduate employer in finance and professional services, beating PwC which had held the top spot for the past three years. Deloitte scooped not only PwC, but also KPMG, Ernst & Young, HSBC and Barclays. This year, the consultancy will recruit 1,400 graduates and undergraduates to roles in 21 UK offices.

Other favoured employers emerging from the Target research included Google in IT and communications, Goldman Sachs in banking and investment, and GlaxoSmithKline in engineering and science.

5. FARNCOMBE TEAMS WITH TMT

Farncombe Consulting Group, a privately held telecoms consultancy, has created a joint venture with TMT Strategy Advisors to meet market need for end-to-end consultancy services.

The joint venture, Farncombe Strategy, will sit alongside Farncombe Technology in the group and focus on strategy consulting and transaction services support for telecoms and media clients.

Stephen Upton, managing partner at Farncombe Technology, commented: "The joint venture not only combines media with telecoms expertise, but also adds extra resources in strategic and financial analysis to our existing core technology competencies. It will strengthen our ability to provide consultancy services that many customers are seeking, from business strategy through technology planning and onto implementation."

Farncombe Strategy will be led by ex-TMT managing director Tom McKeever and Adriana Meekness Whitely, a former consulting director at Ovum.

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

• For more information or if you have any feedback on MCN Direct, please email editor@ncc.co.uk
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Written by Sarah Underwood. Copyright 2008 PMP (UK) Ltd.

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