Accenture plans to hire 1,00,000 in FY16

Acenture plans to hire about 1,00,000 people in FY16 and spend as much as $1 billion on acquisitions, as it invests in new technologies at a scale that far outstrips its Indian rivals. At its investor conference in New York on Wednesday, Accenture outlined its strategy for its financial year ending August 2016.

"Last year we hired roughly 1,00,000 people. Though the number isn't set for this year, we expect to hire roughly in the same range," David Rowland, chief financial officer at Accenture, told investors and analysts.

At that pace, Accenture will remain the second-biggest employer in the IT industry. Tata Consultancy Services had overtaken the company in headcount in 2013, a title Accenture has since taken back.

TCS' hiring, the most aggressive among Indian IT firms, will be around 65,000 in FY16, falling far short of Accenture's recruitment. TCS' financial year ends in March.

Accenture is also beating its Indian IT rivals in the amount of money it is deploying for acquisitions. Rowland said the company which spent about $850 million on acquisitions in FY15, had estimated it would spend between $900 million and $1 billion on acquisitions in FY16.

Accenture also said it would focus its business on three 'new technologies' -- digital, cloud and cyber security, which together contribute $10 billion to its top line or a third of its overall revenue.