Share Incentive Plans

The Amended and Restated Accenture plc 2010 Share Incentive Plan, as amended and approved by the Company’s shareholders in 2016 (the “Amended 2010 SIP”), is administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Accenture and provides for the grant of nonqualified share options, incentive stock options, restricted share units and other share-based awards. A maximum of 83,000,000 Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares are currently authorized for awards under the Amended 2010 SIP. As of August 31, 2017, there were 15,049,324 shares available for future grants. Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares covered by awards that terminate, lapse or are cancelled may again be used to satisfy awards under the Amended 2010 SIP. The Company issues new Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares and shares from treasury for shares delivered under the Amended 2010 SIP.

A summary of information with respect to share-based compensation is as follows:



	Fiscal
	2017		2016		2015
Total share-based compensation expense included in Net income	$	795,235	$	758,176	$	680,329
Income tax benefit related to share-based compensation included in Net income (1)	349,114		236,423		212,019

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(1)	Includes $99,649 of excess tax benefits in fiscal 2017 related to the adoption of ASU 2016-09 on September 1, 2016.

Restricted Share Units

Under the Amended 2010 SIP, participants may be, and previously under the predecessor 2001 Share Incentive Plan were, granted restricted share units, each of which represent an unfunded, unsecured right to receive an Accenture plc Class A ordinary share on the date specified in the participant’s award agreement. The fair value of the awards is based on the Company’s stock price on the date of grant. The restricted share units granted under these plans are subject to cliff or graded vesting, generally ranging from two to seven years. For awards with graded vesting, compensation expense is recognized over the vesting term of each separately vesting portion. Compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis for awards with cliff vesting. Restricted share unit activity during fiscal 2017 was as follows:



	Number of Restricted Share Units		Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Nonvested balance as of August 31, 2016	21,963,705		$	85.81
Granted (1)	9,414,391		117.72
Vested (2)	(9,005,407	)	121.14
Forfeited	(1,343,647	)	92.48
Nonvested balance as of August 31, 2017	21,029,042		$	101.88

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(1)	The weighted average grant-date fair value for restricted share units granted for fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $117.72, $105.16 and $89.63, respectively.


(2)	The total grant-date fair value of restricted share units vested for fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $1,090,943, $796,620 and $581,936, respectively.

As of August 31, 2017, there was $812,286 of total unrecognized restricted share unit compensation expense related to nonvested awards, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.3 years. As of August 31, 2017, there were 713,337 restricted share units vested but not yet delivered as Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares.

Stock Options

There were no stock options granted during fiscal 2017, 2016 or 2015. As of August 31, 2017 the Company had 15,719 stock options outstanding and exercisable at a weighted average exercise price of $38.02 and a weighted average remaining contractual term of 2 years.

Employee Share Purchase Plan

2010 ESPP

The Amended and Restated Accenture plc 2010 Employee Share Purchase Plan (the “2010 ESPP”) is a nonqualified plan that provides eligible employees of Accenture plc and its designated affiliates with an opportunity to purchase Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares through payroll deductions. Under the 2010 ESPP, eligible employees may purchase Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares through the Employee Share Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) or the Voluntary Equity Investment Program (the “VEIP”). Under the ESPP, eligible employees may elect to contribute 1% to 10% of their eligible compensation during each semi-annual offering period (up to $7.5 per offering period) to purchase Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares at a discount. Under the VEIP, eligible members of Accenture Leadership may elect to contribute up to 30% of their eligible compensation towards the monthly purchase of Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares at fair market value. At the end of the VEIP program year, Accenture Leadership participants who did not withdraw from the program will be granted restricted share units under the Amended 2010 SIP equal to 50% of the number of shares purchased during that year and held by the participant as of the grant date.

A maximum of 90,000,000 Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares may be issued under the 2010 ESPP. As of August 31, 2017, the Company had issued 48,683,552 Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares under the 2010 ESPP. The Company issued 6,103,977, 5,850,113 and 6,232,031 shares to employees in fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, under the 2010 ESPP.