Pros
Working with bright, talented people in diverse, ever-changing environments is a significant plus. Being deeply involved in your client, the team and the work is the best part of the Accenture experience. Corporate offices are all world-class, and consistently well-appointed worldwide. The reservation program for office space, due to the transient nature of it's employees, de-stratifies executive level perception. In other words, managers, sr. managers & sr. execs occupy the same office-type based on an online reservation system. While there is some priority assigned to executive levels by rank when resources are constrained, managers and Sr. Executives often occupy neighboring offices - which aid in networking with all levels of management. Benefits: The vacation program (PTO based), at 9+ hours every two weeks for executives - is wonderful, in concept. Most of us would take a Friday 'off' once a month - but that time off never really materializes. Communication: Gotta buy your own toys, but you can request your business unit (via SE signoff) pick up the tab for your phone & aircard. Insurance & 401k: Nothing to brag about. 2yr vesting period for executives, moderate monthly contributions for medical & dental. The plans are industry average, I suspect. Expenses: Accenture has accounting in it's blood (I won't get into WBS) - and the only thing above your having a safe flight home from your work location is ARTES. Which is the accounting of all of your expenses and time. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE - needs to account for their time and expenses via ARTES. Here's the catch: if your salaried at $140,000 per year, and you work 10 hours per day on a project for 4 days, you only are allowed to 'bill' 8-hours per working day, as you're not hourly and therefore not allowed overtime. While some would say you could book hours Friday, whatever work you had planned Friday - or in excess of 40 hours - would be 'lost'. At its best, ARTES compliance reaches the most senior executive levels, and is one of the first disciplines instilled during orientation. At its worst, ARTES provides a grossly inaccurate record of the actual time salaried workers spend on certain projects, in excess of the extinct 8hr workday.
Cons
Onboarding experienced hires - especially in Outsourcing - is experimental - or hit & miss at best. For a firm that has tremendous strength in its methodologies for service delivery, the ramping process is not fitting to the level of respect the Accenture marquis generally commands. In my experience, some tenured management, that is, Partners that have been on board during the Andersen days, tend to view experienced hires as inferior and less-than-worthy. While not all are in this category - I've met, worked with and admire many 'lifers' that are very respectful and inquisitive of the varied backgrounds and intellectual asset value experienced hires bring to the table. In my scenario, there were, however, a couple very senior folks that were just impossible to work with (20+ years tenure) - as they had no idea how to associate with younger management types that strived to contribute and make their own mark. Oddly enough, this very phenomenon was articulated quite well in a Wetfeet publication I purchased to guide me through the hiring process. In hindsight, it was spot on. While this was an unpleasant experience, it's not typical of the organization. Accenture is a progressive company, and while there is immeasurable value in the executives that have one-liner resumes extending back to when the company was a private firm (pre-2001), Accenture executive leadership generally recognizes that there is equal value in talent that hasn't been steeped in decades-old Kool-Aid. But be warned - individual experience may vary.