MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 7 No. 13, 16 September 2008

This issue is sponsored by:

CODA, COA Solutions and Annual Consultants' Forum 2008

This issue news

1. PA Consulting fiasco puts £8m contracts in jeopardy
2. Morse falls into the red
3. Accenture secures $550m pharma deal
4. PwC pushes up consultancy turnover
5. KPMG leads healthcare project
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

Sponsor

CODA

Discover how CODA and Agresso could improve your consulting revenues

As the market tires of big, costly, inflexible ERP systems, customers are demanding solutions that offer 'post-implementation agility' - accommodating the ever-changing business environment within which they operate and supporting them as they strive for rapid growth and increased efficiencies.

Organisations with agile systems represent a huge opportunity to consultants, as their budgets are freed up for 'higher value' consulting services such as change management, business transformation and strategic consulting in the areas of collaboration, process control, governance and compliance.

CODA and Agresso now form part of business software group Unit 4 Agresso NV. Together we offer finance and ERP systems to medium-sized and large organisations that are quick to implement and that remain agile and easy to change after implementation. For more information, visit us at the Annual Consultants' Forum on Wednesday 24 September in London or email sally.scott@agresso.co.uk.

1. PA CONSULTING FIASCO PUTS £8m CONTRACTS IN JEOPARDY

PA Consulting is fighting to hang onto £8 million worth of Home Office contracts after a government investigation and an admission by the consultancy that one of its employees lost data containing details of thousands of criminals.

The information breach occurred last month, when an employee broke PA's security rules and downloaded the data onto a memory stick which was then lost. The data was part of a research project tracking offenders through the criminal justice system.

The project, worth £1.5 million, has been taken from PA and is being carried out by the Home Office - which is also reviewing PA's other Home Office contracts. Widening the probe further, the Cabinet Office now intends to examine all contracts between the Government and private companies to ensure they are appropriate.

Commenting on its part in the fiasco, PA said: "We accept PA's responsibilities in this incident. The loss of data on this project was caused by human failure, a single employee was in breach of PA's well-established information security processes. We deeply regret this human failure and apologise unreservedly to the Home Office."

In an attempt to hold onto its ongoing government contracts, PA has reviewed all projects that handle sensitive material and concluded: "Apart from this isolated incident, we are fully compliant with robust policies and procedures and are achieving high levels of information assurance across all of our work."

2. MORSE FALLS INTO THE RED

IT services and technology company Morse has reported a financial loss for the year to 30 June, but claims a restructure masterminded by recently appointed CEO Kevin Loosemore will return the business to profit.

Morse made a pre-tax loss of £2.3 million in fiscal 2008 - compared to £3.8 million profit the previous year - while its revenue fell slightly to £253.3 million. The company's progress against a medium-term operating margin target of 7.2% was disappointing, with particularly weak performance in its business application services division and its operations in Spain.

Following his arrival in July, Loosemore restructured the business and implemented a cost cutting programme, but these changes came too late to stop the financial slippage in fiscal 2008.

Commenting on the results, Loosemore said: "This was a disappointing year for Morse. Growth in services was not achieved, leaving revenue broadly flat year on year and profit before exceptionals down 9%. This reduced profitability, poor underlying quality of earnings and poor cash conversion resulted from inadequate operational performance and execution in a number of areas.

"While we expect the market for IT services and technology to remain difficult, we anticipate that changes to Morse's operation model and focus, together with its ongoing strong client relationships, will deliver improved underlying profitability and cash generation in the current year."

Sponsor

COA Solutions

'How to prosper in a downturn'

Join senior financial executives to learn from well-known financier, Jon Moulton, how organisations can prosper in a downturn and what they can do to succeed.

Register your interest for this free morning seminar on 18 September in London at www.moulton-speaks.com.

3. ACCENTURE SECURES $550m PHARMA DEAL

Accenture has signed a $550 million (£310 million) agreement to provide accounting and application development and maintenance services to biopharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The 10-year bundled services deal extends an outsourcing arrangement made in 2004 which covered application maintenance and accounts payable services, and will deliver IT and financial support services in 22 languages to Bristol-Myers Squibb's global operations in EMEA, the Americas and Asia.

Paul von Autenried, CIO of Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: "This agreement enables us to continue to leverage Accenture's capabilities and integrate them with our employees, creating high-performance teams to improve our productivity and support our strategic transformation to a next-generation biopharma company. It gives us greater flexibility, allowing the company to focus on what we do best - discover and develop medicines that will help patients prevail in their fight against serious disease."

Accenture's contract is based on a variable cost structure and is expected to improve the business and deliver cost efficiencies through the use of a single provider for multiple business functions.

Sponsor

Annual Consultants' Forum 2008

Open for registrations

We are delighted to announce that the date for this event is Wednesday 24 September at One Great George Street, London.

The Annual Consultants' Forum aims to provide a meeting place for consultants to understand the latest developments in the profession and to generate thought-provoking discussion to improve their performance and service to clients.

To review the event and pre-register please click here.

4. PwC PUSHES UP CONSULTANCY TURNOVER

PricewaterhouseCoopers' UK advisory business increased its turnover 13% to £526 million in the year to 30 June, outshining the 3% and 8% growth rates of assurance and tax.

Ian Powell, UK chairman of PwC, said: "Our advisory business achieved very strong growth with our performance improvement consulting, forensic and corporate finance businesses performing particularly well."

Looking forward, he added: "Although uncertain economic conditions look set to continue for at least the short to medium term, we see particular opportunity in providing advisory services to UK corporate, mid-tier and entrepreneurial private companies. We also see huge opportunities flowing from markets outside the UK."

In total, PwC's UK turnover rose 7% to £2.2 billion, with assurance contributing £1 billion and tax £675 million.

Recognising the importance of emerging markets as 'the engine of much of its future growth', PwC is gathering its member firms globally into three geographic groups, led by the senior partner of the largest national firm in each cluster. The aim is to create more flexibility and speed for both clients and the firm.

PwC's UK business will fall into the central cluster - which will be led by Powell - along with member firms in western Europe, central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Africa.

5. KPMG LEADS HEALTHCARE PROJECT

A KPMG-led consortium has been awarded a Department of Health (DoH) contract to help Primary Care Trusts fulfil their new role as commissioners of healthcare services.

The contract is part of a DoH programme to develop the knowledge of Primary Care Trust board members in support of the department's World Class Commissioning initiative. This gives England's 152 Primary Care Trusts responsibility for commissioning healthcare services for local people.

KPMG will lead the project, offering strategic insight and financial and commercial skills. Other consortium members include health informatics firm Dr Foster Intelligence, Manchester Business School, law firm Morgan Cole and experiential learning specialist Role Plays for Training.

KPMG head of healthcare, Alan Downey, commented: "Together, the consortium members are able to offer Primary Care Trust boards a compelling and innovative development programme. I am confident they will find working with us a rewarding and valuable experience, leading to a tangible improvement in their performance and enabling them to deliver real improvements in the quality of healthcare."

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
• If you wish to unsubscribe please reply/send an email stating 'Remove !*FIELD1*! from MCNDirect' to: mcndirect@pmp.co.uk.

Written by Sarah Underwood. Copyright 2008 NCC (UK) Ltd.

Please visit http://www.pmp.co.uk to view these publications, which are fully searchable and represent thousands of pages of information relevant to the consultant community.

Publications include:
Management Consultants' News
PMP Research Free Reports

Free registration to Evaluation Centre
Are you looking to identify a new IT supplier? Do you want to evaluate what the marketplace is offering? The Evaluation Centre, from the publishers of the respected journal Conspectus, offers free unlimited access which will allow you to find the right business application – FAST.

Evaluation Centre is an interactive service guiding consultants and end users to the selection and use of business software, services and technology. At the Evaluation Centre, you can:

• Find the software, services and technology you need from the 11 different Evaluation Centre subject areas.
• Access a library of independently audited reports.
• Download expert guidance on the whole project lifecycle.
• Get further information and advice on your requirements.

Register for Free in 30 seconds >>