Accenture Team Wins Bid to Redesign and Host irs.gov, the Internal Revenue Service Web Site.

Business Editors

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 13, 2001

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced that it has won a five-year, $33.6 million project to redesign and provide support for the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Web site, www.irs.gov, formerly known as the Digital Daily.

The IRS has contracted with Accenture to modernize the site, which receives an average of 80 million hits daily, by developing a secure, easy-to-navigate design that offers improved taxpayer service. The proposed design also will incorporate features intended to make information easily accessible by taxpayers and tax preparers, and to provide increased access to persons with disabilities.

"The development of an intuitive, intentions-based design will make it considerably easier for taxpayers and tax preparers, who pull forms from the site, to obtain the information and documents they need to file tax returns," said Gregory Carson, director, Electronic Tax Administration Modernization. "We expect this approach to be a real time saver for taxpayers and preparers during next year's tax season."

The redesign of the IRS site will be conducted by Accenture's Federal Government group, which operates at level three on the Capability Maturity Model, an established metric for software engineering quality. Additionally, Accenture will support the site's help desk, assisting individuals who experience difficulty-finding answers online to their tax questions. The help desk will be integrated with the website, enabling callers and IRS Customer Service representatives to more effectively discuss the issue prompting the call.

"Our goal is to introduce a fresh design that makes an already popular site even more productive, thereby driving more self-service activity to free up IRS personnel to work on the most difficult and complex taxpayer issues," said Stan Gutkowski, managing partner of Accenture's U.S. federal government practice. "The ultimate goal is for each IRS Web site user to reach the information he or she is seeking within three clicks, not lengthy online searches. "

Accenture is teaming with Qwest Communications International Inc. to deliver this one-stop, best-in-class online solution. Qwest will host the IRS Web site at a secure, state-of-the-art Qwest CyberCenter(SM), which has direct access to Qwest's 113,000-mile, global, scalable Macro Capacity(R) Fiber Network.

"This contract represents a growing trend in government entities outsourcing their Web hosting services, and Qwest is pleased to provide the Internal Revenue Service with the same high-performance, reliable, secure hosting environment that many of our leading Fortune 500 customers already enjoy," said Rick Weston, senior vice president, Qwest Internet Solutions. "For the first time, taxpayers will have fast, easy access to information in a low-risk environment--something users have come to expect from their online experience."

The Accenture team will be paid $5.7 million during the first year of the contract, with the remainder of the contract being broken into four one-year options, which the Internal Revenue Service may exercise.

About Accenture

Accenture is the world's leading provider of management and technology consulting services and solutions, with more than 75,000 people in 46 countries delivering a wide range of specialized capabilities and solutions to clients across all industries. Accenture operates globally with one common brand and business model designed to enable the company to serve its clients on a consistent basis around the world. Under its strategy, Accenture is building a network of businesses to meet the full range of any organization's needs - consulting, technology, outsourcing, alliances and venture capital. The company generated revenues before reimbursements of $9.75 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2000, and $8.67 billion for the nine months ended May 31, 2001. Its home page is www.accenture.com.