Corporate governance

The Board currently consists of 11 directors. Under Accenture's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the number of directors on the Board shall be at least eight but no more than 15, with the exact number of directors determined solely by the Board.

The Board currently has four standing committees: The Audit Committee, the Compensation, Culture & People Committee, the Nominating, Governance & Sustainability Committee, and the Finance Committee. 

Currently, our Board leadership structure consists of an independent Lead Director, a chair (who is also our chief executive officer) and strong independent committee chairs. The Board believes our structure provides independent Board leadership with the benefit of our chief executive officer serving as the chair at our regular board meetings. The Board regularly reviews its leadership structure and has determined that this structure is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders at this time. The Board believes that the presence of our independent Lead Director who has meaningful oversight responsibilities, together with a combined chair and chief executive officer, provides the Company with the optimal leadership to drive the Company forward at this time. The Board recognizes that no single leadership model is right for all companies and at all times, and will continue to evaluate whether to split or combine the chair and chief executive officer roles to ensure our leadership structure continues to be in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders. The nine independent directors are businesspeople from Europe, Latin America and the United States. 

Our entire Board is elected annually. Our directors are elected for one-year terms that run concurrently. 

Each of our directors receives an annual grant of restricted share units (RSUs) valued at $240,000. Newly appointed directors also receive an initial grant of RSUs valued at $240,000 upon appointment to the Board. In addition, each of our non-management directors receives an annual retainer of $110,000. They may take this retainer entirely in cash, entirely in RSUs or one-half in cash and one-half in RSUs. In recognition of the time commitments required, our lead director is paid an additional annual retainer of $60,000; the chair of the Audit Committee and other members of that committee are paid an additional annual retainer of $35,000 and $17,500, respectively; the chair of the Compensation, Culture & People Committee and other members of that committee are paid an additional annual retainer of $30,000 and $15,000, respectively; and the chairs of each of the Nominating, Governance & Sustainability Committee and the Finance Committee and other members of those committees are paid an additional annual retainer of $25,000 and $12,500, respectively. These additional amounts may also be taken in cash or RSUs as previously described. 

The standards we use to assess the independence of the members of our Board are described in Appendix A of our Corporate Governance Guidelines. 

The members of our Board are expected to adhere to the principles set forth in Accenture's Code of Business Ethics, as well as our policies addressing conflicts of interest, confidentiality and ethical conduct in all business and personal dealings. 

By e-mail via the Office of the Company Secretary at company.secretary@accenture.com. Or write to our Board at 
Accenture Board of Directors 
c/o Secretary 
500 W. Madison Street, 20th floor, Chicago, IL 60661, USA 

Accenture is committed to playing our part in transforming our global economy to be more responsible, more sustainable and work for the benefit of all. Learn more in the Responsible Company & Citizen section of accenture.com. 

Our Accenture Supplier Standards of Conduct, which supplement our Code of Business Ethics, set forth the standards and practices that Accenture suppliers are required to uphold. Accenture’s Supplier Standards of Conduct can be found on the Code of Business Ethics homepage. 

Contact the program at the Ethics and Compliance Mailbox. 

To report specific concerns, visit the Accenture Business Ethics Helpline, where you may report your concern via the web or obtain a country-specific phone number to speak with an agent 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In most cases, you may remain anonymous when using the Accenture Business Ethics Helpline; however, in certain countries this may not be the case due to local legal restrictions. 

You should use the Accenture Business Ethics Helpline only to make a good faith claim. Accenture takes all allegations seriously. 

Personal information of any individual that Accenture obtains or receives during the reporting and investigation process will be held and used in accordance with the Accenture Data Privacy Policy and data privacy law. Personal information will only be used for strict purposes of reporting and investigations. It will be treated confidentially and shared internally with a limited number of people who have a need to know or who are responsible for dealing with reports and investigations. This may, in some cases, include persons in other countries where Accenture does business.

Please view our data privacy notice