Accenture has sold 30% of the ordinary shares in its South African operations to a black-owned trust, the majority of whose trustees are black directors of Accenture.
Accenture says in a statement that the trust, known as the Akha Trust, combines the benefits of an owner-operator model with the advantages of broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE).
The company says it already complies with the guidelines of the ICT empowerment charter and the Department of Trade and Industry`s Codes of Good Practice regarding BEE. Fifty-five percent of its workforce and 56% of its board in SA are black professionals.
"This is not about compliance, but about ensuring we achieve more than is required," says Wayne Furphy, Accenture`s country MD for SA.
"The income generated by the trust will be used to fund broad-based BEE initiatives," says Mandla Nhlapo, chairman of the trust`s board of trustees.
"Our new arrangement creates an immediate 30% black shareholding for Accenture in SA, which cannot be lost through share trading, while simultaneously enabling broad-based benefits of black shareholding without a capital outlay by black beneficiaries. The owner-operator model breaks perceptions of BEE-related equity partners with limited knowledge and operational control of the businesses in which they are investing."
Accenture`s statement says the equity arrangement builds upon its other BEE-related efforts, which include investments in corporate social responsibility, enterprise development, preferential procurement, skills development, employment equity, and increased management and control of Accenture`s South African operation by black leaders.
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