Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has completed its acquisition of Mortgage Cadence,
a provider of loan origination software and electronic document
management services in the United States. The acquisition adds an
advanced technology platform to strengthen Accenture’s mortgage business
process outsourcing services and enables the company to offer software
to mortgage lenders looking to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.
Through the acquisition, Mortgage Cadence software will serve as the
core loan-origination platform for Accenture
Credit Services, a business service within Accenture’s financial
services operating group that provides consulting, technology and
outsourcing services to financial institutions. The platform will enable
Accenture to more efficiently process mortgages on behalf of outsourcing
clients. Accenture announced its agreement to acquire Mortgage Cadence
from its founders and Monitor Clipper Partners, a Boston-based private
equity firm, on July 15, 2013.
“As the focus of mortgage lending shifts away from refinancing activity
to the more complex business of home-purchase lending, the need for
better technology and streamlined processes is more obvious than ever to
U.S. lenders,” said Terry Moore, global managing director of Accenture
Credit Services. “By using Mortgage Cadence technology to power our
mortgage processing services, we can offer our clients increased
processing speed, efficiency, and flexibility to reduce overall costs
and improve service.”
With the acquisition, Mortgage Cadence’s approximately 190 U.S.
employees -- and its full portfolio of on-premise, software-as-a-service
(SaaS) and cloud-based solutions that support mortgage origination,
processing, underwriting, closing, post-closing, document management and
imaging -- have become part of Accenture
Software. Accenture Software will provide the software to lenders on
a standalone basis as part of its banking-software portfolio.
“Many U.S. lenders today rely on outdated systems to process mortgages,
which creates a significant disadvantage in terms of speed, quality and
compliance,” said Jim Astorian, managing director, Accenture Software.
“The addition of this technology to our financial services
software-portfolio – with its proven record of reducing costs and
improving service-quality -- reflects Accenture’s longstanding focus on
providing market leading solutions for the industry sectors we serve.”
Michael Detwiler, former CEO of Mortgage Cadence and a newly appointed
managing director in Accenture Credit Services, said: “Mortgage Cadence
technology innovations will gain new momentum as part of Accenture. That
creates an opportunity to do more to help streamline and improve
mortgage processing in the U.S.”
Accenture significantly expanded its mortgage industry capabilities in
2011 with the launch of Accenture
Credit Services and its acquisition of a leading provider of
residential and commercial mortgage processing services in the U.S.,
formerly known as Zenta.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with approximately 266,000 people serving clients
in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience,
comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions,
and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies,
Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance
businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of
US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page
is www.accenture.com.
Accenture
Credit Services supports institutions in the residential mortgage,
commercial real estate, leasing and automotive finance industries. It is
a leading provider of mortgage processing services in the U.S. and
serves more than 100 major lending institutions worldwide. Accenture
Software combines technology acumen with industry knowledge to
develop differentiated software products. It offers innovative
software-based solutions to enable organizations to meet their business
goals and achieve high performance.
About Mortgage Cadence
Mortgage Cadence LLC provides Enterprise Lending Solutions (ELS), which
employ an extensive financial services data model wrapped with a native
rules engine to deliver data-driven workflow automation tools to
mortgage banks, lenders, credit unions, service providers and servicers.
Mortgage Cadence has developed enterprise solutions that integrate all
functions and data elements required to optimize, manage and score
lending performance. The mortgage industry is always shifting to meet
demands and minimize risks. Mortgage Cadence's flexible solutions
continue to evolve to meet those needs. To learn more, please visit http://www.mortgagecadence.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein,
statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,”
“anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,”
“estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook” and similar expressions are used to
identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These
include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture will not be able to
close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which
is dependent on the parties’ ability to satisfy certain closing
conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits
for Accenture and Mortgage Cadence; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s
results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative
or uncertain economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on
Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s clients’ businesses and levels of
business activity; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s businesses depend
on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for
Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s services and solutions, and a
significant reduction in such demand could materially affect Accenture’s
or Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations; if Accenture or Mortgage
Cadence is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance
with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals
with strong leadership skills, Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s
business, the utilization rate of Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s
professionals and Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s results of
operations may be materially adversely affected; the markets in which
Accenture and Mortgage Cadence compete are highly competitive, and
Accenture and Mortgage Cadence might not be able to compete effectively;
Accenture or Mortgage Cadence could have liability or Accenture’s or
Mortgage Cadence’s reputation could be damaged if Accenture or Mortgage
Cadence fails to protect client and/or company data or information
systems as obligated by law or contract or if Accenture’s or Mortgage
Cadence’s information systems are breached; Accenture’s and Mortgage
Cadence’s results of operations and ability to grow could be materially
negatively affected if Accenture and Mortgage Cadence cannot adapt and
expand their services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in
technology and offerings by new entrants; as a result of Accenture’s
geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue
geographic expansion, Accenture is more susceptible to certain risks;
Accenture’s Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in
India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks;
Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations could
materially suffer if Accenture and Mortgage Cadence are not able to
obtain sufficient pricing to enable them to meet their profitability
expectations; if Accenture’s pricing estimates do not accurately
anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of Accenture performing its
work or third parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments,
then Accenture’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be
unprofitable; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes Accenture
to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment;
Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s businesses could be materially
adversely affected if Accenture or Mortgage Cadence incurs legal
liability in connection with providing its services and solutions;
Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations could be
materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency
exchange rates; Accenture’s alliance relationships may not be successful
or may change, which could adversely affect Accenture’s results of
operations; outsourcing services and the continued expansion of
Accenture’s other services and solutions into new areas subject
Accenture to different operational risks than its consulting and systems
integration services; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s services or
solutions could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others
or Accenture and Mortgage Cadence might lose their ability to utilize
the intellectual property of others; Accenture and Mortgage Cadence have
only a limited ability to protect their intellectual property rights,
which may be important to Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s success;
Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s ability to attract and retain
business and employees may depend on their reputations in the
marketplace; Accenture might not be successful at identifying, acquiring
or integrating businesses or entering into joint ventures; Accenture’s
profitability could suffer if its cost-management strategies are
unsuccessful, and Accenture may not be able to improve its profitability
through improvements to cost-management to the degree it has done in the
past; many of Accenture’s contracts include payments that link some of
its fees to the attainment of performance or business targets and/or
require Accenture to meet specific service levels, which could increase
the variability of Accenture’s revenues and impact its margins; changes
in Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s level of taxes, and audits,
investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in Accenture’s treatment
as an Irish company, could have a material adverse effect on Accenture’s
or Mortgage Cadence’s results of operations and financial condition; if
Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated
with its size, Accenture might be unable to achieve its business
objectives; if Accenture or Mortgage Cadence is unable to collect its
receivables or unbilled services, Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s
results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be
adversely affected; Accenture’s and Mortgage Cadence’s share price and
results of operations could fluctuate and be difficult to predict;
Accenture’s results of operations and Accenture’s share price could be
adversely affected if Accenture or Mortgage Cadence is unable to
maintain effective internal controls; Accenture may be subject to
criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in
Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed
under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent annual
report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the
Securities and Exchange Commission by Accenture. Statements in this news
release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture and
Mortgage Cadence undertake no duty to update any forward-looking
statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to
actual results or changes in Accenture’s or Mortgage Cadence’s
expectations.
Copyright Business Wire 2013