Consulting Industry Transformation

What's driving change?

Positive outlook for the consulting industry

The outlook for the £10bn UK management consulting sector, as part of the wider business and consulting industry worth £81bn, is positive. A large part of recent success is attributed to the expansion of client demand for advice in managing the impact of technology and navigating a highly complex and uncertain political/regulatory landscape.

However, both of these factors will likewise impact consultants themselves and, while the industry is right to be optimistic, there is a case to be made for making robust plans to mitigate the emergent challenges and seek to turn threat into opportunity.

The need for agility and a strong vision

Traditional consulting business models are being radically disrupted as a combination of factors – from technological innovation to the expansion of in-house client expertise – change what services are required and how they are delivered.

As these factors converge, new sources of competition emerge, challenging the established players and necessitating strategic decisions to be made between becoming generalist or specialist / niche, global or local, expansionist or conservative. Whichever strategy is chosen, agility is needed in order to deliver.

The five key drivers of change

Our BDO Consultancies Team advise global consultancies, boutique industry advisers, and two of the Big Four accountancy practices as clients and through our experience, we have identified five key drivers of change which will define the transformation, resilience and competitiveness of consulting firms planning ahead for 2020, and beyond.

Having a clear vision to address these five issues and a key focus on people and talent is paramount to ensure: the right team is in place to deliver for clients; productivity and efficiency is maximised; technology is suitably harnessed; and that value can be extracted appropriately from the business.

Can we help your business manage rapid change?