while the business environment remained competitive , we experienced pricing improvement in several areas of our business . we use the term “ pricing ” to mean the contract profitability or margin on the work that we sell . in our consulting business , revenues for fiscal 2019 increased 5 % in u.s. dollars and 8 % in local currency compared to fiscal 2018 . consulting revenue growth in local currency in fiscal 2019 was led by very strong growth in resources , strong growth in health & public service , products and communications , media & technology and modest growth in financial services . our consulting revenue growth continues to be driven by strong demand for digital- , cloud- and security-related services and assisting clients with the adoption of new technologies . in addition , clients continue to be focused on initiatives designed to deliver cost savings and operational efficiency , as well as projects to integrate their global operations and grow and transform their businesses . in our outsourcing business , revenues for fiscal 2019 increased 6 % in u.s. dollars and 9 % in local currency compared to fiscal 2018 . outsourcing revenue growth in local currency in fiscal 2019 was led by very strong growth in resources , communications , media & technology and products , solid growth in financial services and modest 27 growth in health & public service . we continue to experience growing demand to assist clients with the operation and maintenance of digital-related services and cloud enablement . in addition , clients continue to be focused on transforming their operations to improve effectiveness and cost efficiency . as we are a global company , our revenues are denominated in multiple currencies and may be significantly affected by currency exchange rate fluctuations . if the u.s. dollar weakens against other currencies , resulting in favorable currency translation , our revenues , revenue growth and results of operations in u.s. dollars may be higher . if the u.s. dollar strengthens against other currencies , resulting in unfavorable currency translation , our revenues , revenue growth and results of operations in u.s. dollars may be lower . the u.s. dollar strengthened against various currencies during fiscal 2019 , resulting in unfavorable currency translation and u.s. dollar revenue growth that was approximately 3 % lower than our revenue growth in local currency for the year . assuming that exchange rates stay within recent ranges , we estimate that our full fiscal 2020 revenue growth in u.s. dollars will be approximately 1 % lower in u.s. dollars than our revenue growth in local currency . the primary categories of operating expenses include cost of services , sales and marketing and general and administrative costs . cost of services is primarily driven by the cost of client-service personnel , which consists mainly of compensation , subcontractor and other personnel costs , and non-payroll costs on outsourcing contracts . cost of services includes a variety of activities such as : contract delivery ; recruiting and training ; software development ; and integration of acquisitions . sales and marketing costs are driven primarily by : compensation costs for business development activities ; marketing- and advertising-related activities ; and certain acquisition-related costs . general and administrative costs primarily include costs for non-client-facing personnel , information systems , office space and certain acquisition-related costs . utilization for fiscal 2019 was 91 % , consistent with fiscal 2018 . we continue to hire to meet current and projected future demand . we proactively plan and manage the size and composition of our workforce and take actions as needed to address changes in the anticipated demand for our services and solutions , given that compensation costs are the most significant portion of our operating expenses . based on current and projected future demand , we have increased our headcount , the majority of which serve our clients , to approximately 492,000 as of august 31 , 2019 , compared to approximately 459,000 as of august 31 , 2018 . the year-over-year increase in our headcount reflects an overall increase in demand for our services and solutions , as well as headcount added in connection with acquisitions . attrition , excluding involuntary terminations , for fiscal 2019 was 17 % , up from 15 % in fiscal 2018 . we evaluate voluntary attrition , adjust levels of new hiring and use involuntary terminations as means to keep our supply of skills and resources in balance with changes in client demand . in addition , we adjust compensation in certain skill sets and geographies in order to attract and retain appropriate numbers of qualified employees . for the majority of our personnel , compensation increases become effective december 1st of each fiscal year . we strive to adjust pricing and or the mix of resources to reduce the impact of compensation increases on our margin . our ability to grow our revenues and maintain or increase our margin could be adversely affected if we are unable to : keep our supply of skills and resources in balance with changes in the types or amounts of services and solutions clients are demanding ; recover increases in compensation ; deploy our employees globally on a timely basis ; manage attrition ; and or effectively assimilate and utilize new employees . effective september 1 , 2018 , we adopted asu no . 2017-07 , compensation—retirement benefits ( topic 715 ) , which required us to reclassify certain components of pension costs from operating expenses to non-operating expenses . prior period results have been revised to reflect the fiscal 2019 presentation . for additional information , see note 1 ( summary of significant accounting policies ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data . story_separator_special_tag operating expenses operating expenses for fiscal 2019 increased $ 1,816 million , or 5 % , over fiscal 2018 , and decreased as a percentage of revenues to 85.4 % from 85.6 % during this period . cost of services cost of services for fiscal 2019 increased $ 1,401 million , or 5 % , over fiscal 2018 , and decreased as a percentage of revenues to 69.2 % from 69.5 % during this period . gross margin for fiscal 2019 increased to 30.8 % from 30.5 % in fiscal 2018 . the increase in gross margin for fiscal 2019 was primarily due to lower non-payroll and labor costs as a percentage of revenues compared to fiscal 2018. sales and marketing sales and marketing expense for fiscal 2019 increased $ 251 million , or 6 % , over fiscal 2018 , and increased as a percentage of revenues to 10.3 % from 10.2 % during this period . general and administrative costs general and administrative costs for fiscal 2019 increased $ 164 million , or 7 % , over fiscal 2018 , and remained flat as a percentage of revenues at 5.9 % during this period . operating income and operating margin operating income for fiscal 2019 increased $ 406 million , or 7 % , over fiscal 2018 . operating income and operating margin for each of the operating groups were as follows : replace_table_token_4_th _ amounts in table may not total due to rounding . ( 1 ) effective september 1 , 2018 , we adopted fasb asu no . 2017-07 , compensation-retirement benefits ( topic 715 ) : improving the presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost . certain components of pension service costs were reclassified from operating expenses to non-operating expenses . prior period amounts have been revised to conform with the current period presentation . we estimate that the aggregate percentage impact of foreign currency exchange rates on our operating income during fiscal 2019 was similar to that disclosed for revenue . the commentary below provides insight into other factors affecting operating group performance and operating margin for fiscal 2019 compared with fiscal 2018 : communications , media & technology operating income increased primarily due to revenue growth and higher contract profitability . financial services operating income decreased as higher consulting contract profitability and revenue growth were offset by higher operating expenses as a percentage of revenues . 33 health & public service operating income decreased as revenue growth was offset by lower consulting contract profitability and higher operating expenses as a percentage of revenues . products operating income increased primarily due to revenue growth and higher contract profitability , partially offset by higher operating expenses as a percentage of revenues . resources operating income increased primarily due to revenue growth and higher contract profitability . provision for income taxes the effective tax rate for fiscal 2019 was 22.5 % , compared with 27.4 % for fiscal 2018 . in fiscal 2018 , we recorded a $ 258 million charge associated with tax law changes . absent this charge , our effective tax rate for fiscal 2018 would have been 23.0 % . the lower effective tax rate for fiscal 2019 was primarily due to changes in the geographic distribution of earnings , higher benefits from final determinations of prior year taxes and lower expense for adjustments to prior year tax liabilities . these decreases were partially offset by higher expense from the adoption of fasb asu no . 2016-16 and lower tax benefits from share-based payments . for additional information , see note 10 ( income taxes ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data . ” net income attributable to noncontrolling interests net income attributable to noncontrolling interests reflects the income earned or expense incurred attributable to the equity interest that some current and former members of accenture leadership and their permitted transferees have in our accenture canada holdings inc. subsidiary . see “ business—organizational structure . ” noncontrolling interests also includes amounts primarily attributable to noncontrolling shareholders in our avanade inc. subsidiary . net income attributable to accenture plc represents the income attributable to the shareholders of accenture plc . net income attributable to noncontrolling interests for fiscal 2019 decreased $ 88 million , or 57 % , from fiscal 2018 , due to the decrease in the non-controlling ownership percentage in march 2018 from 4 % held by accenture holdings plc and accenture canada holdings inc. to less than 1 % held by only accenture canada holdings inc. driven by the accenture holdings plc merger with and into accenture plc . for additional information on the merger , see note 1 ( summary of significant accounting policies ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data . ” earnings per share diluted earnings per share were $ 7.36 for fiscal 2019 , compared with $ 6.34 for fiscal 2018 . the $ 1.02 increase in our diluted earnings per share included the impact of tax law changes , which decreased diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2018 by $ 0.40 . excluding the impact of these changes , diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2019 increased $ 0.62 compared with fiscal 2018 , due to increases of $ 0.48 from higher revenues and operating results , $ 0.05 from a lower effective tax rate , $ 0.05 from lower weighted average shares outstanding , and $ 0.04 from lower non-operating expense . for information regarding our earnings per share calculations , see note 3 ( earnings per share ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data . ” 34 results of operations for fiscal 2018 compared to fiscal 2017 revenues ( by operating group , geographic region and type of work ) were as follows : replace_table_token_5_th _ n/m = not meaningful amounts

liquidity and capital resources our primary sources of liquidity are cash flows from operations , available cash reserves and debt capacity available under various credit facilities . we could raise additional funds through other public or private debt or equity financings . we may use our available or additional funds to , among other things : facilitate purchases , redemptions and exchanges of shares and pay dividends ; acquire complementary businesses or technologies ; take advantage of opportunities , including more rapid expansion ; or develop new services and solutions . as of august 31 , 2019 , cash and cash equivalents were $ 6.1 billion , compared with $ 5.1 billion as of august 31 , 2018 . cash flows from operating , investing and financing activities , as reflected in our consolidated cash flows statements , are summarized in the following table : replace_table_token_7_th operating activities : the $ 600 million year-over-year increase in operating cash flow was due to higher net income as well as changes in operating assets and liabilities , including an increase in accounts payable , partially offset by higher tax disbursements . investing activities : the $ 506 million increase in cash used was primarily due to higher spending on business acquisitions and investments . for additional information , see note 6 ( business combinations ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data.


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```liquidity and capital resources our primary sources of liquidity are cash flows from operations , available cash reserves and debt capacity available under various credit facilities . we could raise additional funds through other public or private debt or equity financings . we may use our available or additional funds to , among other things : facilitate purchases , redemptions and exchanges of shares and pay dividends ; acquire complementary businesses or technologies ; take advantage of opportunities , including more rapid expansion ; or develop new services and solutions . as of august 31 , 2019 , cash and cash equivalents were $ 6.1 billion , compared with $ 5.1 billion as of august 31 , 2018 . cash flows from operating , investing and financing activities , as reflected in our consolidated cash flows statements , are summarized in the following table : replace_table_token_7_th operating activities : the $ 600 million year-over-year increase in operating cash flow was due to higher net income as well as changes in operating assets and liabilities , including an increase in accounts payable , partially offset by higher tax disbursements . investing activities : the $ 506 million increase in cash used was primarily due to higher spending on business acquisitions and investments . for additional information , see note 6 ( business combinations ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data.
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 Suspicious Activity Report : while the business environment remained competitive , we experienced pricing improvement in several areas of our business . we use the term “ pricing ” to mean the contract profitability or margin on the work that we sell . in our consulting business , revenues for fiscal 2019 increased 5 % in u.s. dollars and 8 % in local currency compared to fiscal 2018 . consulting revenue growth in local currency in fiscal 2019 was led by very strong growth in resources , strong growth in health & public service , products and communications , media & technology and modest growth in financial services . our consulting revenue growth continues to be driven by strong demand for digital- , cloud- and security-related services and assisting clients with the adoption of new technologies . in addition , clients continue to be focused on initiatives designed to deliver cost savings and operational efficiency , as well as projects to integrate their global operations and grow and transform their businesses . in our outsourcing business , revenues for fiscal 2019 increased 6 % in u.s. dollars and 9 % in local currency compared to fiscal 2018 . outsourcing revenue growth in local currency in fiscal 2019 was led by very strong growth in resources , communications , media & technology and products , solid growth in financial services and modest 27 growth in health & public service . we continue to experience growing demand to assist clients with the operation and maintenance of digital-related services and cloud enablement . in addition , clients continue to be focused on transforming their operations to improve effectiveness and cost efficiency . as we are a global company , our revenues are denominated in multiple currencies and may be significantly affected by currency exchange rate fluctuations . if the u.s. dollar weakens against other currencies , resulting in favorable currency translation , our revenues , revenue growth and results of operations in u.s. dollars may be higher . if the u.s. dollar strengthens against other currencies , resulting in unfavorable currency translation , our revenues , revenue growth and results of operations in u.s. dollars may be lower . the u.s. dollar strengthened against various currencies during fiscal 2019 , resulting in unfavorable currency translation and u.s. dollar revenue growth that was approximately 3 % lower than our revenue growth in local currency for the year . assuming that exchange rates stay within recent ranges , we estimate that our full fiscal 2020 revenue growth in u.s. dollars will be approximately 1 % lower in u.s. dollars than our revenue growth in local currency . the primary categories of operating expenses include cost of services , sales and marketing and general and administrative costs . cost of services is primarily driven by the cost of client-service personnel , which consists mainly of compensation , subcontractor and other personnel costs , and non-payroll costs on outsourcing contracts . cost of services includes a variety of activities such as : contract delivery ; recruiting and training ; software development ; and integration of acquisitions . sales and marketing costs are driven primarily by : compensation costs for business development activities ; marketing- and advertising-related activities ; and certain acquisition-related costs . general and administrative costs primarily include costs for non-client-facing personnel , information systems , office space and certain acquisition-related costs . utilization for fiscal 2019 was 91 % , consistent with fiscal 2018 . we continue to hire to meet current and projected future demand . we proactively plan and manage the size and composition of our workforce and take actions as needed to address changes in the anticipated demand for our services and solutions , given that compensation costs are the most significant portion of our operating expenses . based on current and projected future demand , we have increased our headcount , the majority of which serve our clients , to approximately 492,000 as of august 31 , 2019 , compared to approximately 459,000 as of august 31 , 2018 . the year-over-year increase in our headcount reflects an overall increase in demand for our services and solutions , as well as headcount added in connection with acquisitions . attrition , excluding involuntary terminations , for fiscal 2019 was 17 % , up from 15 % in fiscal 2018 . we evaluate voluntary attrition , adjust levels of new hiring and use involuntary terminations as means to keep our supply of skills and resources in balance with changes in client demand . in addition , we adjust compensation in certain skill sets and geographies in order to attract and retain appropriate numbers of qualified employees . for the majority of our personnel , compensation increases become effective december 1st of each fiscal year . we strive to adjust pricing and or the mix of resources to reduce the impact of compensation increases on our margin . our ability to grow our revenues and maintain or increase our margin could be adversely affected if we are unable to : keep our supply of skills and resources in balance with changes in the types or amounts of services and solutions clients are demanding ; recover increases in compensation ; deploy our employees globally on a timely basis ; manage attrition ; and or effectively assimilate and utilize new employees . effective september 1 , 2018 , we adopted asu no . 2017-07 , compensation—retirement benefits ( topic 715 ) , which required us to reclassify certain components of pension costs from operating expenses to non-operating expenses . prior period results have been revised to reflect the fiscal 2019 presentation . for additional information , see note 1 ( summary of significant accounting policies ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data . story_separator_special_tag operating expenses operating expenses for fiscal 2019 increased $ 1,816 million , or 5 % , over fiscal 2018 , and decreased as a percentage of revenues to 85.4 % from 85.6 % during this period . cost of services cost of services for fiscal 2019 increased $ 1,401 million , or 5 % , over fiscal 2018 , and decreased as a percentage of revenues to 69.2 % from 69.5 % during this period . gross margin for fiscal 2019 increased to 30.8 % from 30.5 % in fiscal 2018 . the increase in gross margin for fiscal 2019 was primarily due to lower non-payroll and labor costs as a percentage of revenues compared to fiscal 2018. sales and marketing sales and marketing expense for fiscal 2019 increased $ 251 million , or 6 % , over fiscal 2018 , and increased as a percentage of revenues to 10.3 % from 10.2 % during this period . general and administrative costs general and administrative costs for fiscal 2019 increased $ 164 million , or 7 % , over fiscal 2018 , and remained flat as a percentage of revenues at 5.9 % during this period . operating income and operating margin operating income for fiscal 2019 increased $ 406 million , or 7 % , over fiscal 2018 . operating income and operating margin for each of the operating groups were as follows : replace_table_token_4_th _ amounts in table may not total due to rounding . ( 1 ) effective september 1 , 2018 , we adopted fasb asu no . 2017-07 , compensation-retirement benefits ( topic 715 ) : improving the presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost . certain components of pension service costs were reclassified from operating expenses to non-operating expenses . prior period amounts have been revised to conform with the current period presentation . we estimate that the aggregate percentage impact of foreign currency exchange rates on our operating income during fiscal 2019 was similar to that disclosed for revenue . the commentary below provides insight into other factors affecting operating group performance and operating margin for fiscal 2019 compared with fiscal 2018 : communications , media & technology operating income increased primarily due to revenue growth and higher contract profitability . financial services operating income decreased as higher consulting contract profitability and revenue growth were offset by higher operating expenses as a percentage of revenues . 33 health & public service operating income decreased as revenue growth was offset by lower consulting contract profitability and higher operating expenses as a percentage of revenues . products operating income increased primarily due to revenue growth and higher contract profitability , partially offset by higher operating expenses as a percentage of revenues . resources operating income increased primarily due to revenue growth and higher contract profitability . provision for income taxes the effective tax rate for fiscal 2019 was 22.5 % , compared with 27.4 % for fiscal 2018 . in fiscal 2018 , we recorded a $ 258 million charge associated with tax law changes . absent this charge , our effective tax rate for fiscal 2018 would have been 23.0 % . the lower effective tax rate for fiscal 2019 was primarily due to changes in the geographic distribution of earnings , higher benefits from final determinations of prior year taxes and lower expense for adjustments to prior year tax liabilities . these decreases were partially offset by higher expense from the adoption of fasb asu no . 2016-16 and lower tax benefits from share-based payments . for additional information , see note 10 ( income taxes ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data . ” net income attributable to noncontrolling interests net income attributable to noncontrolling interests reflects the income earned or expense incurred attributable to the equity interest that some current and former members of accenture leadership and their permitted transferees have in our accenture canada holdings inc. subsidiary . see “ business—organizational structure . ” noncontrolling interests also includes amounts primarily attributable to noncontrolling shareholders in our avanade inc. subsidiary . net income attributable to accenture plc represents the income attributable to the shareholders of accenture plc . net income attributable to noncontrolling interests for fiscal 2019 decreased $ 88 million , or 57 % , from fiscal 2018 , due to the decrease in the non-controlling ownership percentage in march 2018 from 4 % held by accenture holdings plc and accenture canada holdings inc. to less than 1 % held by only accenture canada holdings inc. driven by the accenture holdings plc merger with and into accenture plc . for additional information on the merger , see note 1 ( summary of significant accounting policies ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data . ” earnings per share diluted earnings per share were $ 7.36 for fiscal 2019 , compared with $ 6.34 for fiscal 2018 . the $ 1.02 increase in our diluted earnings per share included the impact of tax law changes , which decreased diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2018 by $ 0.40 . excluding the impact of these changes , diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2019 increased $ 0.62 compared with fiscal 2018 , due to increases of $ 0.48 from higher revenues and operating results , $ 0.05 from a lower effective tax rate , $ 0.05 from lower weighted average shares outstanding , and $ 0.04 from lower non-operating expense . for information regarding our earnings per share calculations , see note 3 ( earnings per share ) to our consolidated financial statements under item 8 , “ financial statements and supplementary data . ” 34 results of operations for fiscal 2018 compared to fiscal 2017 revenues ( by operating group , geographic region and type of work ) were as follows : replace_table_token_5_th _ n/m = not meaningful amounts

