The Accenture sign is seen outside their Reston, Virginia, offices. Global accounting giant Accenture has agreed to pay $63.7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it defrauded the US government, US officials said on Monday.

Global consulting giant Accenture has agreed to pay $63.7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it defrauded the US government, US officials said on Monday.

"Accenture has agreed to resolve allegations that it received kickbacks for its recommendations of hardware and software to the government," the US Department of Justice said in a statement.

The firm also "fraudulently inflated prices and rigged bids in connection with federal information technology contracts," the statement said.

The lawsuit was brought against Accenture in the southern state of Arkansas by two whistleblowers who are entitled to receive part of the settlement under a US law designed to help ferret out fraud in government contracting.

Accenture, which employs more than 223,000 people around the world and had more than $21 billion in revenues last year, is one of the world's largest technology outsourcing and management consulting companies.