CEBU, Philippines--With the expansion of its operations in Cebu to include business process outsourcing (BPO) services, Accenture has cited the Philippines as the "key differentiator" for the company.

"Global businesses and clients need a company to represent them in all parts of the world and presently, Accenture is the most credible provider in the Philippines," Accenture Delivery Center Network for BPO Global managing director Pankaj Vaish said in an interview.

Accenture has expanded its Cebu operations by offering BPO services in addition to application management services and systems development. Starting with the Accenture Customer Contact BPO Service, the Accenture Delivery Center in Cebu began offering BPO services last week with one client.

Vaish said Accenture is not looking for a specific number of clients, but is instead "focusing on growth and the variety of services offered."

"The key to growth and variety of services offered are our people," said Accenture Philippines BPO Delivery Center senior executive and country lead Yogesh Malhotra in his presentation.

He also cited the Philippine advantage since a great majority of Filipinos speak the English language well.

The Accenture executives, however, declined to reveal the total amount invested on the expansion of the company's services in Cebu.

Accenture Philippines now has about 15, 000 employees, most of whom are based in Manila. With the expansion to BPO services, the Accenture Delivery Center in Cebu is now looking at roughly 500 seats for employment.

Accenture has been in the country since 1985.

In the interview, Vaish said Philippine politics does not affect their business,

"Accenture has been around for over 20 years now and we are still expanding; we are still rapidly growing," he said.