Consultants are called in to help at more firms
MORE FIRMS are hiring management consultants to help them troubleshoot and hone their businesses, boosting revenues for the consultancies themselves by 4.8 per cent last year.
Management consultants made revenues of £5.6bn in 2013 and the industry is expected to grow at an even faster pace this year, according to figures from Source Information Services, which monitors the market.
Growing numbers of finance firms are bringing in management consultants to help deal with the fallout from new regulation and several years of banking turmoil, pushing revenues for their advisers up seven per cent to £1.8bn in the past year, the research said.
Retailers are also turning to consultants in increasing numbers, as firms vie for space online while trying to make the most of their bricks and mortar branches. Revenues for consultancy firms working with shops rose eight per cent to £241m last year.
Technology consulting is also in demand, Source’s stats from more than 200 consultancies and clients found, with revenues up seven per cent to £2bn.
“For 2014 we believe that a key driver for work in all sectors will be based on how technology is used to transform business and we will continue to see CIO agendas, cyber and technology enablement set around customer and digital developments,” said Michael Robinson, UK head of management consultancy at KPMG.
Consulting work makes up a significant portion of revenues at the so-called Big Four professional services groups.
KPMG’s management consulting business generated gross revenues of £260m last year, roughly flat on 2012 but making up 14.5 per cent of the UK firm’s gross revenues, according to its annual report.
Deloitte, meanwhile, posted £596m in revenues from its consulting business, out of total turnover of £2.5bn.