S&P Global and Accenture Partner to Enable Customers and Employees to Harness the Full Potential of Generative AI

Rhea-AI Summary

S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) have formed a strategic collaboration to fuel generative AI innovation in the financial services industry. Key initiatives include:

1. A comprehensive gen AI learning program for S&P Global's 35,000 employees, launching in August, leveraging Accenture LearnVantage services.

2. Enhancing AI development and benchmarking solutions by combining Accenture's Foundation Model Services with S&P AI Benchmarks by Kensho.

3. Providing customers access to Accenture's gen AI 'switchboard' for model selection and customization, along with S&P AI Benchmarks for performance evaluation.

This collaboration aims to empower employees and customers to adopt, build, and innovate with gen AI, transforming daily work and customer interactions in the financial services sector.

Positive

• Strategic partnership to drive generative AI innovation in financial services
• Comprehensive AI learning program for 35,000 S&P Global employees
• Enhanced AI development and benchmarking solutions for the industry
• Potential for improved performance and efficacy of AI solutions for customers

Negative

• None.

Technology Analyst

This partnership between S&P Global and Accenture marks a significant step in the adoption of generative AI in the financial services sector. The collaboration's focus on workforce training and AI benchmarking addresses two critical challenges in AI implementation: talent development and performance evaluation.

The initiative to train all 35,000 S&P Global employees in gen AI is particularly noteworthy. This comprehensive approach could set a new standard for AI literacy in large corporations, potentially giving S&P Global a competitive edge in leveraging AI technologies. However, the effectiveness of this training will depend on its depth and practical applicability.

The development of AI benchmarking tools is equally important. As financial institutions increasingly rely on AI for complex tasks, having standardized ways to evaluate AI models' performance becomes crucial. This could lead to more reliable and transparent AI solutions in finance, potentially reducing risks associated with AI adoption.

While this partnership shows promise, its long-term impact will depend on the quality of the training program and the adoption rate of the benchmarking tools by other financial institutions.

Financial Services Consultant

This collaboration between S&P Global and Accenture represents a strategic move in the financial services industry's AI landscape. By combining S&P Global's industry expertise with Accenture's AI capabilities, they're positioning themselves at the forefront of the gen AI revolution in finance.

The initiative addresses a critical gap in the industry: the lack of AI-ready workforce. By upskilling 35,000 employees, S&P Global is not only enhancing its internal capabilities but also setting a precedent for other financial institutions. This could potentially accelerate AI adoption across the sector.

The AI benchmarking solution is particularly intriguing. It could become a standard for evaluating AI models in finance, which is important given the high stakes involved in financial decision-making. This could lead to more robust and reliable AI applications in areas like risk assessment, fraud detection and algorithmic trading.

However, the success of this initiative will largely depend on its execution and the industry's willingness to adopt these new standards. It's a bold move, but one that could significantly shape the future of AI in financial services.

Organizations to launch Generative AI Learning Program for S&P Global’s workforce and enhance AI Development and Benchmarking to Foster Innovation in Financial Services

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) have formed a strategic collaboration to fuel generative AI (gen AI) innovation across the financial services industry. The collaboration includes initiatives to empower customers and S&P Global’s workforce to adopt and innovate with gen AI at scale. S&P Global is equipping all 35,000 of its employees with the necessary skills to leverage this transformative technology through a comprehensive gen AI learning program that will be rolled out in August. The companies also plan to work together to enhance AI development and benchmarking solutions for the financial services industry.

S&P Global and Accenture have formed a strategic collaboration to fuel generative AI (gen AI) innovation across the financial services industry. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The learning program will leverage services from Accenture LearnVantage, including curated and customized content to drive AI fluency for S&P Global’s workforce. It will help S&P Global effectively address the industry’s evolving talent requirements and empower employees at all levels to leverage the advantages of gen AI.

Beyond the AI learning initiative, the companies also plan to enhance AI development and benchmarking throughout the financial services industry. The collaboration will bring together Accenture's Foundation Model Services, which help companies manage and scale large language models (LLMs), with S&P AI Benchmarks by Kensho, a solution that evaluates LLMs’ performance for financial and quantitative use cases. Customers can use Accenture’s proprietary gen AI “switchboard” to select and customize models based on the business context or use case, as well as its managed services for finetuning and prompt engineering. They will also have access to S&P AI Benchmarks to evaluate the AI model’s performance and ability to solve complex financial queries via S&P Global’s standardized and transparent third-party verification. This collaboration will enable banks, insurers, and capital markets firms to strengthen the performance and efficacy of their solutions while ensuring that responsible AI is built into every use.

“AI is for everyone, and at S&P Global, we want to empower our people and our customers to adopt, build and innovate with gen AI,” said Bhavesh Dayalji, S&P Global’s chief AI officer. “Gen AI will continue to transform the financial services industry, enhancing our day-to-day work and our customer interactions. We are partnering with Accenture to ensure that our people and our customers are not only prepared for the gen AI transformation, but are ready to lead it.”

"We are excited to work alongside S&P Global to deliver innovative solutions that will drive the future of gen AI learning and benchmarking,” said Lan Guan, chief AI officer, Accenture. “An AI-ready workforce that can effectively deploy and scale the technology simply does not exist today — it must be created. Leaders like S&P Global are taking the right steps to train and upskill their people and reinvent themselves for the era of gen AI.”

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “aspires,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook,” “goal,” “target” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, that the collaboration might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture, as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 750,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About S&P Global
S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) provides essential intelligence. We enable governments, businesses and individuals with the right data, expertise and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction. From helping our customers assess new investments to guiding them through sustainability and energy transition across supply chains, we unlock new opportunities, solve challenges and accelerate progress for the world. S&P Global has been at the forefront of AI for the financial services industry since acquiring Kensho in 2018. Since then, the teams have worked closely together to deliver solutions for customers using Kensho’s core capabilities of machine learning, natural language processing, and data discovery. S&P Global aims to redefine the intelligence that powers global markets with AI, embracing the transformative potential of GenAI across the enterprise to drive innovation, speed up time to market, and build sophisticated, intuitive experiences for customers.

We are widely sought after by many of the world's leading organizations to provide credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help the world's leading organizations plan for tomorrow, today.

Copyright © 2024 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are trademarks of Accenture.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240806725380/en/

Eric Becker

Accenture

+1 720 359 5434

eric.becker@accenture.com

Roger Cabrera

S&P Global

roger.cabrera@spglobal.com

Source: Accenture

FAQ

What is the purpose of the S&P Global and Accenture partnership announced in 2024?

The partnership aims to fuel generative AI innovation across the financial services industry, empowering customers and S&P Global's workforce to adopt and innovate with generative AI at scale.

How many S&P Global employees will be involved in the generative AI learning program?

All 35,000 S&P Global employees will be equipped with the necessary skills to leverage generative AI through a comprehensive learning program.

When will S&P Global launch its generative AI learning program?

S&P Global will roll out its comprehensive generative AI learning program in August 2024.

How will Accenture (ACN) contribute to AI development in this partnership?

Accenture will provide its Foundation Model Services to help companies manage and scale large language models, as well as offer a proprietary gen AI 'switchboard' for model selection and customization.