UPDATE From O'Hare Aiport: Not reporting another Tiger Woods Accenture siting yet, but did receive the actual (not reported) statement from Accenture regarding their desire to end their sponsor relationship with Tiger Woods. It reads:
For the past six years, Accenture and Tiger Woods have had a very successful sponsorship arrangement and his achievements on the golf course have been a powerful metaphor for business success in Accenture’s advertising. However, given the circumstances of the last two weeks, after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising. Accenture said that it wishes only the best for Tiger Woods and his family.
This means that Accenture faces a long and possibly costly road in erasing their association with Tiger Woods. What they should have done was taken the ads down first, then annouced the decision. As it stands, Accenture's relationship with Tiger Woods is confused by the existence of the aiport ads, and they're spread around the country.
Tiger Woods is still in sponsor Accenture ads in airports. This comes as media outlets like HLN's Nancy Grace continue to say Woods has lost Accenture as a sponsor and his wife Elin Nordegren is seeking a divorce, when there's no evidence to solidly back those claims.
While some reports at ESPN have the consulting giant Accenture dumping Tiger Woods, my video which features current ads at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International and San Francisco International airports show that Tiger Woods is still the featured athlete image of the firm.
Tiger Woods still with Elin ..and Accenture in airports
If Accenture were so eager to make a clean break with Tiger Woods, I'd think they would have yanked all of these ads down. But as of December 22nd, 2009, both shown are still up. The last segment of the video was created this morning in San Francisco at SFO Airport.
The ads are in United Airlines terminal areas in Atlanta and San Francisco. If you spot a Tiger Woods / Accenture ad, please drop me a line with a photo of it and noting its location.
Accenture partners claim that the company enforces high ethical standards but the facts shows differently.
ReplyDeleteDouglas Scrivner responded to a SEC related to the reestructuring costs that http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1143908/000095013706000977/filename1.htm
“The partners did not pay the tax liability at the time of the reorganization transaction because the Company and its external advisors felt there was a reasonable possibility of a favorable outcome. The Company and its external advisors believed the tax positions related to the restructuring transactions were appropriate and supportable under local tax law and the Company intends to defend, as needed, tax positions taken by the partners. A favorable outcome is still possible through either issues not being identified on audit by tax authorities, a successful defense of the position, or expiration of the statute of limitations, so it is not appropriate to pay the tax liability at the time of the transaction, or at any time, unless administrative and legal processes have concluded and resulted in an actual unfavorable outcome.”
In page 16 of the "NOTICE OF THE 2010 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS"
( http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467373/000119312509251604/dpre14a.htm ) is stated:
"Senior Executive Tax Costs
The Company has informed approximately 2,500 of our senior executives that if the senior executive reported for tax purposes the transactions involved in connection with our transition to a corporate structure in 2001, the Company will, in certain circumstances, provide a legal defense to that individual if his or her reporting position is challenged by the relevant tax authority. In the event such a defense is unsuccessful, and the senior executive is then subject to extraordinary financial disadvantage, the Company will review such circumstances for that individual and find an appropriate way to avoid severe financial damage to that individual."
In the newspaper el Mundo there was informed that Accenture (and therefore all shareholders) have paid 110 million euros, plus the penalty related with the unpaid taxes of the 100 Spanish Partners in 2001 reestructuring.
http://www.elmundo.es/mundodinero/2008/06/20/economia/1213922650.html
If now as declared there are 2500 senior executives that might be in the same situation, it is stright forward to have a direct correlation of the possible personal tax impact on former senior executives that Accenture is commenting it might be paid by the company and therefore by all Accenture shareholders.