Accenture CEO Julie Sweet makes a 'vacation request' to employees for this month

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet is asking employees to think twice before taking time off this August as the company pushes for a strong finish to its financial year. In a rare one-time policy change, Accenture will allow staff to carry forward any unused vacation days into the next fiscal year instead of requiring them to use the leave before August ends.

The move comes alongside Julie Sweet's call for employees to focus on winning new business and generating more revenue in the final weeks of the quarter after the consulting giant reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results. Accenture’s new policy will give its workers more flexibility while helping keep more employees available during the company's year-end sales push.

Julie Sweet asks employees to help deliver a strong fourth quarter

In a memo seen by Bloomberg, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet urged employees to contribute to improving fourth-quarter results by finding new ways to serve clients and generate revenue.

"Our shareholders are counting on us to deliver a strong quarter in Q4 — everyone can contribute," Sweet wrote.“This means we all need to find more ways to serve clients that create more revenue in the quarter and to originate more sales (small, large, mega) to finish strong,” she added.According to Bloomberg, the company has also allowed employees to carry over unused vacation days into the next financial year, which begins on September 1.

Normally, staff must use their vacation before the fiscal year ends.

Why Accenture changed its vacation policy

People familiar with the matter told the publication that the temporary policy change is part of the company's effort to keep more employees working during August rather than taking leave before their vacation days expire. Another person familiar with the matter said the one-time change is also meant to give employees greater flexibility.The move comes after weaker-than-expected results. Accenture reported a 2% decline in new bookings for the quarter ended May 31 and projected fourth-quarter revenue of $17.75 billion to $18.4 billion, below analysts' average estimate of $18.47 billion.

Following the earnings announcement in June, Accenture shares fell about 20% in one day, one of the company's biggest single-day declines on record.

AI remains a key concern for Accenture investors

The earnings report also intensified concerns that artificial intelligence could disrupt the consulting industry in the near term, even though Julie Sweet has described AI as a "tailwind" for Accenture's business.Bloomberg Intelligence said in a recent research note: “AI remains the dominant concern for services and consulting. Though management positions Accenture as a long-term AI beneficiary, tangible evidence that AI is accelerating demand is limited.”.