Big Four triumph as consulting outstrips economy
Financial services continues to be profitable for consultants, generating £2.2bn in revenue last year
BRITISH CONSULTING grew four times faster than the UK economy in 2015, with services from Big Four firms growing 11.5% to £2.55bn, according to a new report.
Management Consulting firm Source Global Research has revealed that money generated by financial services consulting has grown 14.3% to £2.2bn.
However the sector remains well behind risk and regulatory consulting, which according to Source Global is the fastest growing service line in the UK – up 11.7% to £507m.
According to the report, the Big Four remain likely to win risk and regulatory work as their names carry significant weight with regulators.
The report revealed that about 65% of UK clients expect their consulting spend will increase over the next 18 months, which is a 5-point improvement over last year’s number.
“The UK consulting market has seen strong growth across the board, but once again it’s the Big Four that have risen to the top,” said Fiona Czerniawska, director and founder of Source Global Research.
“This is largely because clients recognise the scale and scope they can bring to bear, though inorganic growth also plays a big role. A busy regulatory environment, especially in financial services, has further served to bolster the Big Four’s position.”
Despite these statistics, not every accountancy firm believes in the financial power of consultancy. In October, BDO managing partner Simon Michaels revealed to Accountancy Age that the firms strategy was away from building “big IT and consulting businesses”, and that BDO would leave consultancy “to others”.
