Introduction:
Consultation is a job that is highly respected in society. When any firm gets entangled between issues, and are unable to get away from it even after multiple trials by self. In those situations, consulting firms are required. Consulting firms consist of experts that are highly able to solve our issues and give the best advice by keeping all the conditions in mind. Let us know more detail about ‘Top Consulting Firms In The World’.
Top Consulting Firms In The World
Even though all feel that consulting firms are mainly about advice only. But wait, that’s not the truth. Consulting firms need to be responsible for their decision and always be prepared to provide the best option to their customers. Many times, there arises a situation in which a customer already knows the only possible solution, but is not ready to accept it and hence hands it over to respective consulting firms. In this type of situation, it is very difficult to provide the needed thing to their customers to satisfy them. Consulting firms are responsible for many other things also. Sometimes they provide an executive manager who is an expert in the same field trained to provide solutions. Consulting firms can be of many types, all giving out different services.
These firms are known to charge a particular fee to their customers by providing them with necessary resources. The fees earned by them are their prime source of income. In recent markets, Consulting firms are known to be one of the most profitable businesses across the globe. The reason behind them being profitable is the issues that arise within other firms. It is inescapable to get rid of all issues or to avoid the appearance of issues in any firm at all times. Hence the consulting firms are at their advantage in getting customers for them. There are many consulting firms all across the globe all providing different services according to their type and location.
Types of Consulting:
With different needs faced by customers, there are many different types of consultants.
Consultants are those who are experts in that field and are degree holders for the related also. They are the ones responsible to provide solutions to faced issues. Concerning adverse amounts of issues, there are the same amount of consultants found. However, it is not possible to go in-depth with that many consulting types.
There are six main types of consulting.
Within this six, falls other types of consulting. Let us look at all the six different types of consulting:
1. Strategy Consulting:
The people providing strategy consulting are known as top-level consultants. The degree required for strategy consulting mainly requires a bachelor’s degree in accounts, economics, or business. It is best to have a master’s degree also.
They work to provide their customers with proper strategies to overcome troubles. Strategy consulting is done between the people of higher levels of a firm like directors, senior managers, etc, and a strategy consultant.
They are known to play the role of providing the best solution through their profound knowledge of the field.
2. Management Consulting:
This is the main consulting type which covers all others as its subtypes. Management consultancy is a single person or a company or a group of people who works in favor of their customers by providing them with necessary ideas to improve their shares and gain extra profits.
The qualification required to become a management consultant is a bachelor’s degree in a business-related field. Or if you have mastered the same, then it is a plus for you. Management Consulting is also known as Business Consulting or Organizational Advising.
The prime work of a Management Consultant is to provide solutions for all kinds of organizational issues within the range of management. Another prime function of them is to provide the organization with an idea to increase their shares and add up the share prices.
3. Operational Consulting:
Operations consulting works by getting proper numbers and data to provide a proper operational plan to improve the condition of a company.
The criteria to become an operational consultant, bachelor’s degree in finance, accounts, or economics can be ok. If found to have masters, then it’s more than best. The prime work of operation consultants is to provide solutions to issues.
They are the ones dealing with issues related to the organization. They create a plan for a company after learning about it in detail to improve the condition of the company and later on to get some changes in it for better profit.
4. Financial Advisory Consulting:
Financial Advisory Consulting is a type of consulting dealing mainly with the finance department of a company. The minimum requirement for a person to be a finance consultant includes a bachelor’s degree in a finance-related field or business-related field with if possible then a master’s degree also.
The Financial Advisory Consultant usually works with people from the finance department. They majorly work for large combined accounting and consulting firms.
Their work falls under different categories such as sometimes they might need to work for risk management, tax reconstructing, real estate consultancy, etc.
5. Human Resource Consultant:
This type of consultancy has the lowest consultant reports. There are only a few people in the job of HR consultant as compared to other types of consultants. Candidates with a master’s degree in management, accounting, finance, political science, international business, human resources can get a chance to work as Human Resource Consultant.
They work to sort issues with the HR department of any other firm. Their main work is to do organizational changes, change management, terms of employment, transform the business culture within customers firms, etc.
6. IT Consulting:
IT consulting majorly deals with the dealing of technology aspect of its customer’s firm. For a person to be a successful IT consultant, He or She should have a bachelor’s degree in the IT field.IT consultants are also referred to as technology consultants or ICT or digital consultants.
Their prime work is to help its customers with the development and application of information technology and its related things.IT consultants are known to work contrary to the IT employees of the same firm.
Their work can alter to sometimes as project management, process management, or even as system integration. Sometimes they are also consulted for cyber security and its related issues. These all are some of the basic types of Consulting management, apart from these there can be another type also.
A consulting firm can be of a single person, or it can be of a group of people who all are experts in different fields and work for other firms.
There are various firms all over the globe, some of the most famous Consulting Firms Are:
1. McKinsey & Company
It is considered as a most prestigious consulting firm. McKinsey & Company was founded in the year 1926 by a university professor named James O. McKinsey.
McKinsey & Company is considered the oldest and largest consulting firm among the Big Three.
McKinsey & Company is a management type of consulting firm. When the firm was initiated by the professor, he used to give out strategic management to corporations, the Government along some other organizations also.
The firm was initiated in Chicago and was named James O. McKinsey & Company. James O. McKinsey was an accountant professor at the University of Chicago. He got the idea of starting a management consulting firm after he witnessed inefficiency in military suppliers while he was working for them as a U.S Army Ordnance Department.
There were many books written by James McKinsey & Company that are made globally available by its different people placed at different locations. There are several jobs available for almost every field person.
From the time McKinsey & Company was started, it was always known to hire the most capable employees for themselves.
The work provided by the McKinsey & Company is mostly about providing management and strategy consulting especially in the case of providing any type of a divine in case of acquisition, developing a plan to restructure a sales force, creating new business strategy, providing advice on downsizing, etc.
Apart from these, there are other cases also where McKinsey & Company can help your firm to get stable.
As per the work condition of McKinsey & Company, their agreement can last up to two to twelve months.
2. Deloitte
It comes in the same list as McKinsey & Company in the case of Google ranking for top consulting firms.
The proper name of Deloitte is Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. The firm Deloitte was founded in the year 1845 by William Welch Deloitte. It was initiated on the land of London.
With time, the firm has now been advanced into the second topmost firm across the globe. Deloitte is now known to have its offices constructed in more than 150 countries across the globe.
It is considered as one of The Big Four accounting organizations and is also considered as the largest professional service network by its revenue and number of employees working for it.
The services provided by Deloitte are mainly management consulting, Audit, Financial Advisory, Risk Management, Tax, and Legal. The company is also known to offer various services through its website. It also allows independent firms from all over the world to collaborate and provide audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, and tax to some particular selected clients.
Under the tag on consulting, there are various services provided by Deloitte. The services provided by Deloitte are Strategy Analytic and M&A, Customer And Marketing, Core Business Operations, Human Capital, Enterprise Technology and Performance, etc. Consulting is considered the most major business of Deloitte.
Deloitte consultancy firm works by getting all details about your firm by looking in deep. The consulting program of Deloitte is divided into three parts named as Human Capital, Strategy And Operations and Technology. Human Capital involves the process such as looking in-depth for insight knowledge, analytics, changing programs, designing and executing programs, leadership, etc.
Strategy and Operation deal with the solutions needed to achieve by talking with senior executives, getting a solution of complex issues by taking the deep knowledge of the industry, rigorous analysis, and carrying an insight and confident action.
The technology consulting parts look for delivering solutions that help to solve issues, improve productivity and streamline business operations.
Deloitte is known to have a measurable goal to help its customers to achieve their best results in this competitive world.
3. KPMG
KPMG was incorporated in the United Kingdom, with its headquarters now based in the Netherlands. The initials KPMG are for the words “Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler”.
KPMG International Limited was founded in 1987. It is known to provide professional services to its customers. KPMG is also known to contribute to the big four. Big Four is a group of firms referred to as the s four biggest service-providing firms.
They are the four largest professional services networks in the world. As described above, Deloitte also contributes to The Big Four. KPMG was founded by William Barclay Peat, James Marwick, and Roger Mitchell.
KPMG has seen a great success rate from the time it has been started. In recent times, it is known to supply its services worldwide with the area of its network service spread into more than 147 countries. The services provided by KPMG are divided into main three categories and can be further subdivided depending upon their division.
The three basic categories are Financial Audit, Tax, and Advisory.
Here advisory services can be subdivided into different titles based on their work. Prime work for advisory is to work with their clients leading to a beneficiary change for the business and to produce a profit.
There are different types of consultancy available such as Management Consultancy.
Its consultancy services are more or less similar to Deloitte as they both are known for their professional service-providing business.
The services provided by KPMG firm vary with many options available to choose from. They are known to provide a complete guide to you to change your business for a better future and earn a better profit by getting rid of unrequited issues.
The services through which KPMG firms can help you are Finance, Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing, Human Resources and Information Technology, etc.
4. Bain & Company
Bain and Company were founded in the year 1973 that is about 48 years ago from now.
Bain and Company is an American-based company with its headquarters in Boston. It is a part of the Big Three. Big Three is a name given to the collection of the three biggest firms responsible for strategy consulting. They are classified as Big Three based on their revenue.
The firm Bain and Company is known to provide solutions and advice to multiple types of organizations such as public, private, and also to some non-profit organizations. Bain and Company is a management consulting firm established by William W. Bain Jr. and Patrick F. Graham. The idea of starting a management consulting firm was born to a co-owner named William W. Bain Jr. While he was still working at Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The road to success was not quite stable for Bain and Company. It did taste earlier success, however, after some time there was some setback received to it. But the main point to consider is that it was successful to get back to its top position with the efforts of many people.
Bain and Company are known to provide management consulting services to 500 fortune CEOs. There are some departments focused on different categories revolving around consulting.
The firm is known to advise its customers on different issues such as private equity investments, mergers, and acquisitions, corporate strategy, finance operations, market analysis, etc. The prime region for Bain and Company to provide consultancy is for corporate strategy. With time, Bain and Company started investing more in consultancy and started with additional services of providing its customers with the idea of which company to buy, facilitating a turnaround and then reselling the company. It has also started to consult private equity firms.
5. Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group is the third firm involved in the Big Three. It is also an American management consulting firm. It was founded in 1963 with its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is said to be the second-largest consulting firm concerning its revenue. It is one of the most influential and prestigious firms in the world. The management consulting firm named Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was founded by an American businessman and management consultant named Bruce Henderson. With time, it is now known to provide its service worldwide and has offices in more than 90 different locations across the globe.
With the invention of the Boston Consulting Group, there was a straight vision seen by Bruce Henderson that it will be a revolutionary part of the world someday. From there on, it has been there to provide its customers with all the solutions and advice possible for their needs.
BCG is one of the best strategy management consulting firms across the globe. It is known to provide consulting in many areas such as education, biopharmaceutical, automotive, energy, financial insurance, media, technology, mining, private equity process industries, transportation, and tourism consulting services, etc.
Just like Bain and Company, the road to success was not that easy but it tackled all to reach the steps of success. The founder of Bain and Company was earlier the Vice President of Boston Consulting Group.
6. Accenture
Accenture was formerly known as Andersen Consulting. Andersen Consulting’s name was changed in the year 2001 due to the splitting of the firm. Accenture was given as the new name to the firm, the meaning of accenture is “accent on future”.
Accenture is also stated as Accenture plc. It is an Irish-based company known for its work in the field of multinational professional services. The services provided by Accenture are especially in the field of IT services and Consulting. The company deals with top-level clients, some of them already listed in Fortune Global 100 and many of the clients are also from Fortune Global 500.
Accenture was founded in the year 1898 with its current CEO named Julie Sweet. Accenture is known to provide multiple facilities to its customers through different services. Accenture strategy is known to provide its customers with business strategy, technology strategy, operations strategy services, etc. Accenture Digital provides services related to digital marketing, analytics and mobility services, etc.
Accenture Technology is known to provide services related to technology software, implementation delivery, etc. Accenture operations focus on cloud services, managed operations, security, etc. Accenture Consulting provides services related to technology, business, and management consulting for focused consulting work.
Apart from these all consulting firms, many other firms are known to acquire top positions all over the globe. Some of them are A.T. Kearney, Strategy&, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mercer, Roland Berger, etc.
For The Easy Summarisation of Few Consulting Firms:
| Sr. No | Name Of The Firm. | Founded By | Year Of Foundation | Area Of Specialization | They Contribute To |
| 1. | McKinsey & Company | James O. McKinsey | 1926 | Management and Strategy Consultancy. | Big Three |
| 2. | Deloitte | William Welch Deloitte | 1845 | Management and Financial Consultancy. | Big Four |
| 3. | KPMG | William Barclay Peat, James Marwick, and Roger Mitchell | 1987 | Management Consultancy. | Big Four |
| 4. | Bain and Company | William W. Bain Jr. and Patrick F. Graham | 1973 | Management Consultancy. | Big Three |
| 5. | Boston Consulting Group | Bruce Henderson | 1963 | Strategy Management Consultancy. | Big Three |
| 6. | Accenture | Arthur E. Andersen | 1898 | Business, Technology, Operation Strategy Consultancy. | Earlier was a part of Big Five. |
Wrap-Up:
Consulting firms are found in every corner of the world. There are many different types of consulting firms present in the world. The most basic types are counted to be six. Apart from those, there are other types also. Concerning different types of consulting, different firms are found. From those firms, the top few firms have been described above with their basic information and history.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Who are the Big Four in consulting firms?
- The big four consulting firms stand for the big four advisory firms named KPMG, Deloitte, PwC, and Ey.
- What do consulting firms do?
- Consulting firms are professional groups of people or a single person specialized in providing the best advice through an expert of that particular field in exchange for fees.
- What are the requirements of starting a consultancy firm?
- Starting a consultancy firm is not a difficult thing to do. First and foremost get to know your area of expertise and related eligibility to walk in the same path. Next, you can create your firm by targeting the proper market and giving up better performance to your customers.
