Accenture lets staff carry unused vacation into fiscal 2027 after 20% share plunge
Accenture will allow employees to carry unused vacation days into fiscal 2027 after its shares fell 20%. The move aims to sustain sales through the fiscal year-end.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Accenture has told its workforce that they can carry unused vacation days over into fiscal 2027, which begins on September 1. The move is designed to keep more employees working through the close of fiscal 2026, after quarterly results sent the stock down 20%.
## The measure: vacation days that don't get lost
**Accenture** has told its employees that they can carry unused vacation days into the next fiscal year. The consulting firm, listed on the **NYSE** under the ticker **ACN**, is seeking to boost sales through the end of August, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The measure departs from the company's usual policy.
The company will allow unused days to be accumulated for fiscal 2027, which starts on September 1. CEO **Julie Sweet** encouraged staff to win more clients before fiscal 2026 ends this month. "Our shareholders are counting on us to deliver a strong fourth quarter; everyone can contribute," Sweet wrote in a memo obtained by Bloomberg. "This means we all need to find more ways to serve clients to generate more revenue in the quarter and create more sales (small, large, mega) to finish strong."
The change in vacation policy is part of the sales strategy. It means more staff will be working in the final quarter instead of taking their accumulated days to avoid losing them. A person familiar with the matter said the one-off change is intended to give employees greater flexibility.
## The hours business and why vacation drags down revenue
Accenture remains an "hours" business. Whether direct hours billed to the client — I pay you for the hours you put in — or hours valued within a turnkey price. If **100%** of the workforce went on vacation tomorrow, the revenue that could be recognized would be roughly **0**. On-site engagements don't get paid because the professionals aren't there, and hours on turnkey projects don't advance, so the work can't be recognized or invoiced.
A communication of this kind at the end of a quarter is highly unusual. All the more so at fiscal year-end and during vacation season, when consulting firms' revenue drops sharply because work that isn't performed can't be recognized or billed. Even more striking is that it's framed as an employee-friendly measure. It sounds more like: folks, don't go on vacation, because we need you pushing forward on turnkey projects and on-site engagements so we can recognize that work and bill it.
The billing part would be the least of it. What matters is recognizing it, because payroll costs exist: those professionals are understood to be getting paid at the end of the month. Bookings, on the other hand, are just that, bookings. They are neither recognized revenue nor billable figures.
## The structural weakness of the IT sector
There is a huge structural weakness in the IT services sector. Anything with exposure to the **United States** is in the dumps, and the revenue figures show it. The most plausible explanation lies in clients' IT investment cycles and in the fact that, for the same budget or barely more, the hyperscalers are eating their lunch with cloud and AI licensing. More people at the table and the same amount of food.
That's what's happening in the IT sector, especially in the United States, where companies are far bolder about experimenting with new working models. Case in point: the beating taken by **Globant**, another company heavily dependent on US business.
## A P/E that may look cheap, but be careful
**Accenture** is a powerhouse and doesn't deserve to trade at the P/E it's at. But eyes before brain. Normal or stagnant results that merely indicate a quarter hit by client investment decisions, paired with prudent guidance, could miccionan being able to buy in much lower, as peine two months ago.
The stock fell around **20%** after the third-quarter earnings disappointment. That's the context that explains why management is pushing hard at the fiscal year-end close. It's not a sign of strength, but of a fourth quarter that will be decisive for the annual accounts.
As always in the stock market, this is neither a buy nor a sell recommendation: each investor must assess their own horizon and risk tolerance.
## The measure: vacation days that don't get lost
**Accenture** has told its employees that they can carry unused vacation days into the next fiscal year. The consulting firm, listed on the **NYSE** under the ticker **ACN**, is seeking to boost sales through the end of August, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The measure departs from the company's usual policy.
The company will allow unused days to be accumulated for fiscal 2027, which starts on September 1. CEO **Julie Sweet** encouraged staff to win more clients before fiscal 2026 ends this month. "Our shareholders are counting on us to deliver a strong fourth quarter; everyone can contribute," Sweet wrote in a memo obtained by Bloomberg. "This means we all need to find more ways to serve clients to generate more revenue in the quarter and create more sales (small, large, mega) to finish strong."
The change in vacation policy is part of the sales strategy. It means more staff will be working in the final quarter instead of taking their accumulated days to avoid losing them. A person familiar with the matter said the one-off change is intended to give employees greater flexibility.
## The hours business and why vacation drags down revenue
Accenture remains an "hours" business. Whether direct hours billed to the client — I pay you for the hours you put in — or hours valued within a turnkey price. If **100%** of the workforce went on vacation tomorrow, the revenue that could be recognized would be roughly **0**. On-site engagements don't get paid because the professionals aren't there, and hours on turnkey projects don't advance, so the work can't be recognized or invoiced.
A communication of this kind at the end of a quarter is highly unusual. All the more so at fiscal year-end and during vacation season, when consulting firms' revenue drops sharply because work that isn't performed can't be recognized or billed. Even more striking is that it's framed as an employee-friendly measure. It sounds more like: folks, don't go on vacation, because we need you pushing forward on turnkey projects and on-site engagements so we can recognize that work and bill it.
The billing part would be the least of it. What matters is recognizing it, because payroll costs exist: those professionals are understood to be getting paid at the end of the month. Bookings, on the other hand, are just that, bookings. They are neither recognized revenue nor billable figures.
## The structural weakness of the IT sector
There is a huge structural weakness in the IT services sector. Anything with exposure to the **United States** is in the dumps, and the revenue figures show it. The most plausible explanation lies in clients' IT investment cycles and in the fact that, for the same budget or barely more, the hyperscalers are eating their lunch with cloud and AI licensing. More people at the table and the same amount of food.
That's what's happening in the IT sector, especially in the United States, where companies are far bolder about experimenting with new working models. Case in point: the beating taken by **Globant**, another company heavily dependent on US business.
## A P/E that may look cheap, but be careful
**Accenture** is a powerhouse and doesn't deserve to trade at the P/E it's at. But eyes before brain. Normal or stagnant results that merely indicate a quarter hit by client investment decisions, paired with prudent guidance, could miccionan being able to buy in much lower, as peine two months ago.
The stock fell around **20%** after the third-quarter earnings disappointment. That's the context that explains why management is pushing hard at the fiscal year-end close. It's not a sign of strength, but of a fourth quarter that will be decisive for the annual accounts.
As always in the stock market, this is neither a buy nor a sell recommendation: each investor must assess their own horizon and risk tolerance.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (7 replies).
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