Accenture

Accenture said it had agreed to buy Octagon Research Solutions Inc., a Wayne software company focused on helping drug developers to submit documents required by the Food and Drug Administration and similar agencies worldwide, for an undisclosed price. Octagon, founded in 1999, employs 380 in Wayne, Mountain View, Calif.; London; and Bangalore, India, Accenture said. - Harold Brubaker

Campbell Soup Co., of Camden, has hired Accenture to handle back-office financial operations, such as credit, billing and collections, and will eliminate about 70 of the 110 jobs in its Cherry Hill office over the next eight to ten months, Campbell spokesman Anthony Sanzio said. Sanzio did not provide an estimate of how much the move would save, but said the savings would be "significant. " Under new chief executive Denise Morrison, Campbell is attempting to rebound from a protracted growth slump, but its stock continues to struggle.

A partner at the consulting firm Accenture Ltd. will be the next chief executive of University City Science Center, a Philadelphia technology park that is a joint venture of more than 30 local academic institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania. Pradip K. Banerjee, 52, who headed an international life-sciences group at Accenture in Florham Park, N.J., will take over from Jill R. Felix, a veteran of real estate management who led the center for seven years before announcing her departure in the spring.

Wyeth has hired the consulting firm Accenture Ltd. to manage its pharmaceutical data operations for clinical trials, and, as a result, will cut 215 jobs. Last Friday, about 80 Wyeth employees were laid off, including 65 in Collegeville, Montgomery County, the company said. An additional 135 Wyeth employees, including 98 at offices in Collegeville, have been hired by Accenture, a management and technology consulting firm based in New York. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

At big companies - those with at least 500 employees - workers who love their jobs do so for lots of reasons, including the security, the camaraderie, and the support. Here is how some workers at top large workplaces in the region anonymously finished the phrase, "I love my job because . . . " SPIN (formerly Special People in Northeast Inc.) I've been raising my special-needs brother since I was 19 years old and I love him so much, and he inspired me to be patient.

Qlik Technologies Inc. , a Radnor software developer of analytical and search computer programs for businesses, said Anthony Deighton would become chief technology officer and continue as senior vice president, products, reporting to chief executive officer Lars Björk . Jonas Nachmanson , who most recently was chief technology officer, will become chief product strategy officer. Electronic Ink Inc. , a Philadelphia business system design consultancy, has hired Matt Pollitt as vice president of client strategy.

There are few sights as ridiculous as a big corporation wrestling with a moral dilemma. In the weeks since golfer Tiger Woods was embroiled in a marital-infidelity scandal, his sponsors have been hitting him into the rough. Last week, AT&T decided he is no longer the kind of clean-cut, family-friendly corporate ambassador its products require. Accenture had already made the same decision. And yet the companies dropping Woods are guilty of two sins, stupidity being the most obvious.

The first time Gavin Keirans attempted to get elected president of Pennsylvania State University's massive student body, he spent $1,000 of his own money on a campaign highlighted by a self-produced rap song declaring himself the best candidate. He and his running mate were up against four other tickets in April 2007, but a healthy dose of Philly swagger made the Somerton native confident. Maybe too confident. Sitting with his supporters, Keirans, a 2006 St. Joe's Prep grad, listened as his fiercest competition placed third.

IN THE REGION Small slot-revenue drop in Pa. Gross slots revenue at the 11 Pennsylvania casinos fell 2.5 percent last month to $212.9 million, compared with July 2011. Every casino, with the exception of SugarHouse - which was up 6.1 percent - reported decreases, led by a 15.1 percent revenue decline at Presque Isle Downs and Casino in Erie. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs had the smallest decrease, at 0.98 percent. July 2011 had an extra weekend compared with July 2012, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board noted Thursday.

How you survive a recession - if that's what it is - probably depends most on your financial health going into the hard times. Here are sites to help deal with a recession, as well as define one. What recession? Many look to the National Bureau of Economic Research to pinpoint the start and end of a recession. Problem is, by its own admission, the bureau is in the habit of declaring a recession six to 18 months after one has begun. By that time, it usually is over. "We never consider forecasts," the group declares on its site.

IPOs by Facebook and Manchester United notwithstanding, there are other ways to tap deep pockets. Companies can get acquired. Octagon Research Solutions Inc. , a Wayne software company that helps pharmaceutical companies with submitting clinical data to regulators, agreed to be acquired by Accenture P.L.C. earlier this month. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of September, were not disclosed. At $25.5 billion in net revenues for 2011, Accenture is by far the bigger company.

IN THE REGION Small slot-revenue drop in Pa. Gross slots revenue at the 11 Pennsylvania casinos fell 2.5 percent last month to $212.9 million, compared with July 2011. Every casino, with the exception of SugarHouse - which was up 6.1 percent - reported decreases, led by a 15.1 percent revenue decline at Presque Isle Downs and Casino in Erie. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs had the smallest decrease, at 0.98 percent. July 2011 had an extra weekend compared with July 2012, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board noted Thursday.

Accenture said it had agreed to buy Octagon Research Solutions Inc., a Wayne software company focused on helping drug developers to submit documents required by the Food and Drug Administration and similar agencies worldwide, for an undisclosed price. Octagon, founded in 1999, employs 380 in Wayne, Mountain View, Calif.; London; and Bangalore, India, Accenture said. - Harold Brubaker

Campbell Soup Co., of Camden, has hired Accenture to handle back-office financial operations, such as credit, billing and collections, and will eliminate about 70 of the 110 jobs in its Cherry Hill office over the next eight to ten months, Campbell spokesman Anthony Sanzio said. Sanzio did not provide an estimate of how much the move would save, but said the savings would be "significant. " Under new chief executive Denise Morrison, Campbell is attempting to rebound from a protracted growth slump, but its stock continues to struggle.

At big companies - those with at least 500 employees - workers who love their jobs do so for lots of reasons, including the security, the camaraderie, and the support. Here is how some workers at top large workplaces in the region anonymously finished the phrase, "I love my job because . . . " SPIN (formerly Special People in Northeast Inc.) I've been raising my special-needs brother since I was 19 years old and I love him so much, and he inspired me to be patient.

Qlik Technologies Inc. , a Radnor software developer of analytical and search computer programs for businesses, said Anthony Deighton would become chief technology officer and continue as senior vice president, products, reporting to chief executive officer Lars Björk . Jonas Nachmanson , who most recently was chief technology officer, will become chief product strategy officer. Electronic Ink Inc. , a Philadelphia business system design consultancy, has hired Matt Pollitt as vice president of client strategy.

The first time Gavin Keirans attempted to get elected president of Pennsylvania State University's massive student body, he spent $1,000 of his own money on a campaign highlighted by a self-produced rap song declaring himself the best candidate. He and his running mate were up against four other tickets in April 2007, but a healthy dose of Philly swagger made the Somerton native confident. Maybe too confident. Sitting with his supporters, Keirans, a 2006 St. Joe's Prep grad, listened as his fiercest competition placed third.

There are few sights as ridiculous as a big corporation wrestling with a moral dilemma. In the weeks since golfer Tiger Woods was embroiled in a marital-infidelity scandal, his sponsors have been hitting him into the rough. Last week, AT&T decided he is no longer the kind of clean-cut, family-friendly corporate ambassador its products require. Accenture had already made the same decision. And yet the companies dropping Woods are guilty of two sins, stupidity being the most obvious.

How you survive a recession - if that's what it is - probably depends most on your financial health going into the hard times. Here are sites to help deal with a recession, as well as define one. What recession? Many look to the National Bureau of Economic Research to pinpoint the start and end of a recession. Problem is, by its own admission, the bureau is in the habit of declaring a recession six to 18 months after one has begun. By that time, it usually is over. "We never consider forecasts," the group declares on its site.

After several tries, the University City Science Center has "finally found someone" who can execute a strategy to turn technology into businesses that transform the region's economy, its board chairman said. Stephen S. Tang, 47, a veteran technology executive and consultant, was introduced to the center's staff yesterday and will begin work Feb. 4 as president and chief executive officer. Tang comes to the 45-year-old center from Olympus America Inc., where he has been group vice president and general manager for U.S. operations of the $1 billion life-sciences firm.