Accenture sacks employees with fake experience letters: Report

The number of employees fired still remains unclear. However, Twitter exchanges indicate that the firm may have fired “thousands” of its employees.

Responding to The Hindu, Accenture said, “We have discovered an effort to use documentation and experience letters from fraudulent companies to obtain offers of employment from Accenture in India… We have exited people who we confirmed took advantage of this scheme. We have taken action to ensure that there will be no impact on our ability to serve our clients.”

Accenture warns job seekers

Meanwhile, Accenture has warned job seekers to be aware of “certain employment agencies and individuals” who are asking people for money in exchange for a job at the company.

“Please note that we have not authorized any agency, company or individual to collect money or request any monetary arrangement in order to receive a job at Accenture,” the IT services major said.

“At Accenture, our hiring is based purely on merit—we do not charge a fee at any stage of our recruitment process,” the company further said.

It added, “legally, we are not obliged to honor any job assurances made by third parties in exchange for money.”

The company also said, “We have been alerted to the existence of fraudulent messages asking job seekers to set up payment to cover various costs associated with establishing employment at Accenture. No one is ever required to pay for employment at Accenture. If you are contacted by someone asking for payment, please do not respond.”

Accenture warns of forex hit amid strong IT services’ demand

Accenture, which generates more than half of its revenue from outside the US, had warned earlier that this year’s dollar surge would hurt its fiscal 2023 results, even as robust demand for digital offerings helped the IT services major top quarterly earnings estimates.

The firm’s first-quarter revenue forecast of $15.20 billion to $15.75 billion was also below the $16.07 billion expected by analysts.

While the annual revenue forecast was a tad higher than estimates, the profit view widely lagged that of Wall Street.

Demand for IT services, however, remains strong from businesses looking to expand their digital presence, somewhat shielding the sector.

Accenture, whose offerings include cloud and security services, reported new bookings of $18.40 billion for the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, its second highest on record.

Analysts have cautioned that an economic slowdown could dent IT budgets and cracks have already started showing after “measured” client spending forced Salesforce to cut its forecasts.