Accenture Deflects Doubt

SAN FRANCISCO -- Widening economic concerns have pushed Accenture (ACN Quote) Chief Executive Bill Green out of his office and onto the road.

Green told analysts during a conference call late Wednesday that he spent the last month meeting with some of the company's largest clients, "taking people's temperatures, seeing how and what people are focused on, what they need to do."

Green's comments, which followed the company's first-quarter earnings release, speak directly to concerns that the worsening economic headwinds and problems facing financial services firms -- Accenture's second-biggest client base -- will severely crimp the company's growth in the year ahead.

For the second consecutive quarter, Green assured analysts -- and investors listening to the call -- that the company's consulting work is less discretionary than many have feared, and that it will withstand an economic downturn as clients make long-term plans to expand their business into high-growth markets overseas, cut costs to better fund research and development and adjust to regulatory uncertainty.

On Thursday, investors showed their faith, bidding up the stock more than 7% to $37.47.

Accenture's financial performance in the last quarter backs up Green's bullishness. The company's 19% revenue growth was slightly better than analysts had anticipated. Revenue from financial services rose 9% in constant currency terms, and 17% when helped by currency exchange effects. New contract bookings of roughly $6 billion were in line with expectations.