Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

The balance sheet provides creditors, investors, and analysts with information on company resources (assets) and its sources of capital (its equity and liabilities). It normally also provides information about the future earnings capacity of a company assets as well as an indication of cash flows that may come from receivables and inventories.

Liabilities represents obligations of a company arising from past events, the settlement of which is expected to result in an outflow of economic benefits from the entity.

Accenture PLC, consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in thousands

	Aug 31, 2024	Aug 31, 2023	Aug 31, 2022	Aug 31, 2021	Aug 31, 2020	Aug 31, 2019
Current portion of long-term debt and bank borrowings	946,229)	104,810)	9,175)	12,080)	7,820)	6,411)
Accounts payable	2,743,807)	2,491,173)	2,559,485)	2,274,057)	1,349,874)	1,646,641)
Deferred revenues	5,174,923)	4,907,152)	4,478,048)	4,229,177)	3,636,741)	3,188,835)
Accrued payroll and related benefits	7,050,833)	7,506,030)	7,611,794)	6,747,853)	5,083,950)	4,890,542)
Income taxes payable	719,084)	720,778)	646,471)	423,400)	453,542)	378,017)
Current operating lease liabilities	726,202)	690,417)	707,598)	744,164)	756,057)	—)
Other accrued liabilities	1,615,049)	1,588,678)	1,510,925)	1,278,136)	1,374,606)	951,450)
Current liabilities	18,976,127)	18,009,038)	17,523,496)	15,708,867)	12,662,590)	11,061,896)
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	78,628)	43,093)	45,893)	53,473)	54,052)	16,247)
Deferred revenues	641,091)	653,954)	712,715)	700,080)	690,931)	565,224)
Retirement obligation	1,815,867)	1,595,638)	1,692,152)	2,016,021)	1,859,444)	1,765,914)
Deferred tax liabilities	428,845)	395,280)	318,584)	243,636)	179,703)	133,232)
Income taxes payable	1,514,869)	1,313,971)	1,198,139)	1,105,896)	930,695)	892,688)
Non-current operating lease liabilities	2,369,490)	2,310,714)	2,563,090)	2,696,917)	2,667,584)	—)
Other non-current liabilities	939,198)	465,024)	462,233)	553,839)	534,421)	526,988)
Non-current liabilities	7,787,988)	6,777,674)	6,992,806)	7,369,862)	6,916,830)	3,900,293)
Total liabilities	26,764,115)	24,786,712)	24,516,302)	23,078,729)	19,579,420)	14,962,189)
Ordinary shares, par value 1.00 euros per share	57)	57)	57)	57)	57)	57)
Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0000225 per share	15)	15)	15)	15)	15)	15)
Class X ordinary shares, par value $0.0000225 per share	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Restricted share units	2,614,608)	2,403,374)	2,091,382)	1,750,784)	1,585,302)	1,411,903)
Additional paid-in capital	14,710,857)	12,778,782)	10,679,180)	8,617,838)	7,167,227)	5,804,448)
Treasury shares, at cost	(10,564,572)	(7,062,512)	(6,678,037)	(3,408,491)	(2,565,761)	(1,388,376)
Retained earnings	23,082,423)	19,316,224)	18,203,842)	13,988,748)	12,375,533)	10,421,538)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(1,554,742)	(1,743,101)	(2,190,342)	(1,419,497)	(1,561,837)	(1,840,577)
Total Accenture plc shareholders’ equity	28,288,646)	25,692,839)	22,106,097)	19,529,454)	17,000,536)	14,409,008)
Noncontrolling interests	879,602)	765,754)	640,991)	567,660)	498,637)	418,683)
Total shareholders’ equity	29,168,248)	26,458,593)	22,747,088)	20,097,114)	17,499,173)	14,827,691)
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	55,932,363)	51,245,305)	47,263,390)	43,175,843)	37,078,593)	29,789,880)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-08-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-08-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-08-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-08-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-08-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-08-31).

Current Portion of Long-term Debt and Bank Borrowings: There is a pronounced increase in the current portion of long-term debt and bank borrowings from 2019 to 2024, with a particularly sharp rise between 2022 and 2023, suggesting increased short-term financing or refinancing activity.
Accounts Payable: Accounts payable exhibit growth over the period, showing some volatility but maintaining an overall upward trend, reflecting higher operational activities or extended payment terms with suppliers.
Deferred Revenues (Current): Deferred revenues consistently rise each year, indicating increasing customer prepayments or contract liabilities that the company has received but not yet recognized as revenue.
Accrued Payroll and Related Benefits: This liability shows a steady increase through 2022, followed by a slight decline in the last two years, possibly reflecting fluctuations in workforce costs or payment schedules.
Income Taxes Payable (Current): There is a steady increase in income taxes payable, implying growing taxable income or changes in tax payment timing.
Current Operating Lease Liabilities: Starting from 2020, current operating lease liabilities show minor fluctuations but remain relatively stable, suggesting consistent leasing obligations.
Other Accrued Liabilities: Other accrued liabilities increase over the years, indicating rising obligations likely associated with various accrued expenses or contingent liabilities.
Current Liabilities: Current liabilities grow steadily throughout the timeframe, reflecting the expansion in short-term obligations in line with increasing business scale or financial strategies.
Long-term Debt Excluding Current Portion: Long-term debt excluding the current portion fluctuates, with a notable dip in 2023 followed by an increase in 2024, highlighting potential debt repayments followed by new borrowings or refinancing.
Deferred Revenues (Non-current): Contrary to current deferred revenues, non-current deferred revenues display a downward trend after 2021, which might indicate recognition of past deferred income or reclassification to current liabilities.
Retirement Obligation: Retirement obligations increase until 2021, then decrease through 2023 before a slight rise in 2024, signaling changing actuarial valuations or benefit payments.
Deferred Tax Liabilities: Deferred tax liabilities steadily grow, consistent with the accumulation of temporary differences leading to future tax obligations.
Income Taxes Payable (Non-current): Non-current income taxes payable increase year over year, suggesting growing long-term tax liabilities.
Non-current Operating Lease Liabilities: Non-current operating lease liabilities trend downward from 2021, indicating lease expirations or modifications reducing long-term lease commitments.
Other Non-current Liabilities: After slight fluctuations, other non-current liabilities sharply increase in 2024, which could reflect new obligations or adjustments in long-term accruals.
Non-current Liabilities: Non-current liabilities rise significantly from 2019 to 2021, then experience a mild decline through 2023, followed by an increase in 2024, indicating dynamic long-term debt and liability management.
Total Liabilities: Total liabilities show a consistent upward trend over the six-year period, reflecting overall growth in company obligations across current and non-current items.
Equity Components: Par value of ordinary shares remains constant. Restricted share units and additional paid-in capital steadily increase, indicating ongoing equity-based compensation and new capital contributions. Treasury shares at cost significantly increase (negative values growing), implying substantial share repurchases over time.
Retained Earnings: Retained earnings demonstrate a strong upward trend, reflecting consistent profitability and reinvestment of earnings.
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss: Accumulated other comprehensive loss decreases in magnitude after an increase in 2022, suggesting fluctuations in items such as foreign currency translation adjustments or unrealized gains/losses.
Total Shareholders’ Equity: Shareholders’ equity grows substantially over the period, driven by increases in retained earnings, additional paid-in capital, and restricted share units, despite the increasing treasury shares balance.
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity: The combined total exhibits steady growth, indicating overall expansion of the company's balance sheet size through 2024.

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Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity