BrazilAccenture buys Italian regulatory consultancy Nike Group
The Italian division of Accenture has acquired Nike Group, adding a team of around 70 professionals to its headcount in Italy.
Founded in 1995, Nike Group is a Milan-based company that provides regulatory consultancy and solutions to the financial services industry. The firm specialises in regulatory compliance, business control, risk management and security, while its solutions portfolio comprises tools for compliance monitoring, governance and blockchain.
By joining global consulting and technology giant Accenture, Nike Group will be able to expand and deepen its offering within the financial services sector, said Carlo Giaj Levra, CEO of the Italian firm. “Accenture’s size and geographic reach will provide our customers with end-to-end solutions.”
At the same time, the integration will enable Nike Group to tap into new markets, beyond its existing customer base of banks, insurance companies and other larger financial services institutions. With over 490,000 employees globally, Accenture has a presence in practically every industry, and by teaming up Levra said “we will develop solutions and technologies with the aim to expand our services to new sectors.”
Meanwhile, Accenture’s size and geographic reach will offer Nike Group’s 70-strong team with new opportunities to expand their skills and grow their career. In Italy, Accenture has over 3,000 professionals working from offices in Milan and Rome.
For Accenture, the move builds on its strategy to beef up its capabilities in high-growth segments. In the past year alone, the firm has closed over twenty acquisitions worldwide, geared at in-demand topics such as cybersecurity, technology, design and digitisation, among others.
Facing mounting regulatory pressures, the financial services industry is increasingly turning to technology to help them improve efficiency and effectiveness while curbing costs. This is lifting demand for external parties that can help them with their regulatory transformations and provide them with the needed technology.
In Italy, this is where Nike Group comes in. The firm harnesses the power of technology and cutting-edge algorithms to help organisations manage regulatory compliance. “Financial services firms need a data-driven approach to compliance that manages escalating costs, detects regulatory changes faster and creates new efficiencies,” said Massimiliano Colangelo, head of Accenture’s Italian Financial Services practice.
“Nike Group’s extensive regulatory industry experience combined with Accenture’s scale and approach to innovation will enable us to create an enhanced data-driven market offering in advanced RegTech that will help clients accelerate their compliance transformations.”
Earlier this year, Accenture strengthened its European financial services practice with the acquisition of Mudano, a UK-based data advisory company. In August last year, it bolstered its management consultancy portfolio in the sector with the bolt-on of Parker Fitzgerald.
