Beyond the Stock Price: Assessing the Real Challenges Facing Accenture Strategy in 2026

In 2024, I was at ISB as a part of the Accenture Strategy’s campus hiring process. At that time, a credible business publication had touted Accenture Strategy as the most important consulting firm in the AI age. It was rated above the McKinseys, BCGs and Bains of the world.

After I addressed a packed auditorium, I was asked why Accenture Strategy was rated so highly. My answer was this –

“Today, large businesses want to work with firms that not only have strategy consulting prowess but also have tech implementation muscle. Accenture has both. Also, Accenture brings solid creative capability in the form of Accenture Song. That’s the icing on the cake.”

I did not say this for the sake of saying it. The AI goldrush needed a three-pronged shovel of strategy, tech and creativity, and Accenture had all three. In other words, they were in the best position to enable their clients to take the big tech leap and make the big bucks along the way.

We’re now in 2026 and my feed is flooded with rants about the downfall of the organization. The massive drop in their share price has triggered this. It has fallen by 50% in 12 months. That’s a massive cause for concern. Having said that, some of us have lived long enough to know that a company’s share price isn’t necessarily the most accurate indicator of its operational health. Hence, holding one’s horses might be a better option than using the stock price to write Accenture’s death warrant.

However, there’s something interesting I observed about the rants on LI – some of them emanated from their existing employees. I’ve never seen this before.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that sub-par hikes for 4 appraisal cycles in a row is now a reason for immense frustration, annoyance and anger.

2023 saw no hikes. 2024 and 2025 saw sub-par hikes. 2026 now has sub-par hikes with a twist – only 50% of the hike amount gets added to the salary. This is rough on people who are keen to build long careers in Accenture Strategy.

Also, the fact that they laid off 19,000 people in 2023 and 22,000 people in 2025 only adds to the agony and uncertainty.

In the services business, your power emanates from your people. The dropping morale of the workforce might be a bigger red flag than the dropping share price.

Accenture provides direct employment to close to 0.8 million people across the world. It provides indirect employment to many more. When such a large organization keeps underperforming, the repercussions are felt not just in the organization but across the industry too.

I hope Accenture gets its act together. It’s good for the industry and for the larger economy too.

PS: Maybe prioritizing its employees is the best place to start the process of getting its act together.