Accenture to Modernize New Jersey's Unemployment Insurance Claims System; Program Aims to Provide Easier, Faster Access to Unemployment Benefit Claims.

TRENTON, N.J. -- The State of New Jersey has selected Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to develop and implement the New Jersey State Unemployment Compensation Claimant and Employer Service System (NJ SUCCESS), designed to modernize the delivery and administration of unemployment insurance benefits throughout the state.

Under the four-year, $39.9 million contract, Accenture will integrate the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development's (NJLWD) unemployment claims interfaces with its back-office document management systems to improve business processes and enhance service delivery for citizens.

The NJ SUCCESS program will enable unemployment insurance claimants and employers to contact the state via the Internet and telephone in a more integrated manner, while providing NJLWD employees with improved tools to better answer questions and decrease the time it takes to process and pay unemployment insurance claims. Claimants and employers may also continue to communicate with the NJLWD in person and via postal mail. The new system should provide greater consistency in delivering services and unemployment benefits through whatever method of interaction claimants and employers choose.

"New Jersey has created the right transformational vision to deliver unemployment insurance benefits and provide its citizens and employers with superior-quality service," said John P. Maguire, managing partner of Accenture's State & Local practice. "This new system is designed to allow claimants to reduce the time spent on the claims process and focus their efforts on finding work, make it easier for employers to communicate with the state, and enable the state to better control operational costs by modernizing the claims process."

Accenture will manage a team of subcontractors that includes First Data Government Solutions for telephony implementation services and Chicago Systems Group for technical and programming services.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than 123,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$15.55 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page is www.accenture.com.