Accenture Wins New Deals

Recently, Accenture plc (ACN - Snapshot Report) won two new deals from the “New York University Langone Medical Center” (NYU Langone) and the European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs.

The company won a contract from NYU Langone to support its ICD-10 implementation program by using clinical processes. This will help recognize and reduce financial losses.

As per the latest agreement, the consulting company will aid NYU Langone to shift all the areas related to ICD-10 mandates, associated with the implementation of computer-assisted coding software. This in turn will help the latter administer online training and support the entire healthcare network, which includes help taken by the physicians. This apart, Accenture is expected to help in dual coding up to 12 months prior to the federally mandated ICD-10 deadline.

The company has also won a deal from the European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs. The commission has awarded the contract jointly to Accenture, Morpho (Safran) and Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ - Analyst Report) to maintain the technology setup of the European Visa Information System (VIS). The contract has a total period of three years, with an extension period of one year and a maximum value of €70 million.

Over the past decade, Accenture won several deals across different business segments. However, the company is now focused on deals with better margins. A series of contract wins at the beginning of 2013, is certainly a good start for Accenture. Apart from Accenture, IBM (IBM - Analyst Report) and Dell Inc. (DELL - Analyst Report) have also started aggressive marketing to grab a chunk of the healthcare market as well as other software or allied businesses.

Accenture has increased focus on the healthcare industry, which is growing rapidly and offering different employment and business opportunities. A recently-published report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that December was a huge hiring month for healthcare, with the addition of 45,000 healthcare jobs.

We are optimistic about Accenture’s broad industry exposure as this could mitigate the weakness in government spending. Currently, Accenture has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).