TOP CONSULTING FIRMS IN THE WORLD
What is a consulting firm?
A consulting firm or a consultancy is a service providing business comprising of a panel of experts or consultants who offer professional advice to a person or an organization at a specific cost or fee.
A consultant is an individual who is adept in his or her field and is experienced and qualified enough to attend to the needs of his clients.
A consultancy firm basically targets the company’s executives and provides them with consultants often referred to as industry specialists.
They are the ones to guide down the company’s plan of action in order to achieve the company’s objectives or make up a strategy before the start of a new project. A consulting firm might also come handy in the time of crisis.
How to become a consultant?
In order to become a consultant, a bachelor’s degree in business or related field is a standard. Apart from that, you need a certification, at least 2 years of experience and the required skill set.
A degree in the area of business, management, finance or analytic studies is the basic prerequisite when planning your career in a consulting firm. Good communication, interpersonal, analytical and critical thinking skills, strong time management abilities, organizational skills are the skills necessary to be a consultant.
Experience and sophistication is another important factor when making a career as a consultant.
After completing the basics of becoming a consultant, one needs to be more specific about the area of consultancy he or she is willing to head. There are six types of consultants :
- Strategy consultant
- Management consultant
- Operations consultant
- Financial advisory consultant
- Human Resource consultant
- IT consultantOnce you are through the process of being a consultant, you would like to know about the top consultancy firms willing to hire you. So, if becoming a consultant at one of the top consulting firm is your dream, check out the list of top 25 consulting firms in the world.
LIST OF TOP 25 COMPANIES
1. McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is a world-renowned management consultant firm. The company is based in America and was founded 92 years ago in 1926 by James O McKinsey and Marvin Bower.
The company provides its service worldwide. Its headquarters is located in New York City with 127 offices spread across the world. It has a network of more than 27,000 employees making it a billion dollar company with a revenue of more than 10 Billion!
It follows a strict culture of work and ethics with highly motivated and zealous employees. The company values traits like loyalty, integrity, and dynamism.
2. The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
Boston Consulting Group, Inc, also known as BCG. is a privately incorporated management consulting firm.
It was founded by Bruce Henderson in the year 1963. The company has a revenue of $6.3 million as of 2017 with more than 90 offices at different locations across the world. It has more than 16,000 employees working worldwide.
BCG was ranked 4th in Fortune’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2018.
3. Bain & Company
Bain and Company is a top consulting firm specialized in the area of management consultancy. It was founded in the year 1973 and its headquarters are located in Boston, Massachusetts.
The company is an incorporated partnership with William W. Bain and Patrick F as its founders. The company showed rapid growth in the early ’80s and was successful in generating a revenue of $3.7-$4.5 Billion in the year 2017.
The company has its network spread in 59 locations worldwide with a force of 8,000 employees.
It has a number of awards in its name such as Consulting Magazine’s 2016 “Best Firms to Work for” and was ranked in the Fortune magazine as the “100 best companies to work for” in the year 2018.
4. Deloitte
Deloitte Consulting LLP is the world’s largest consulting firm and one of the big four accounting firms and has one of the largest professional networks worldwide.
It was founded in 1845 by William Welch Deloitte in London and further expanded its operation in New York in 1880.
The major services provided by Deloitte include Audit, Tax, Management Consulting, Financial advisory, Risk Advisory, and Legal.
Inside Public Accounting named Deloitte as #1 accounting firm in 2017, and is also listed as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine.
The company generated revenue of US$43.2 Billion in 2018 and has a working staff of 286,200 across the world with more than 100 operational locations, including China, India and Hong Kong.
5. PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a multinational business offering professional service to its clients since 1998.
The company’s headquarters is based in London, United Kingdom and is known as the second largest professional services firm and also has its name amongst the Big Four Auditors.
It has a revenue of $41.3 Billion as of 2018 with 250,930 employees working worldwide. PwC has a network of firms in 158 countries, at 743 locations.
PricewaterhouseCoopers offers services in assurance, advisory, tax advisory, strategy consulting, tax controversy, data and analytics, management consulting, financial advisory, actuarial and legal.
6. Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton is a management and information technology consulting firm based in America. Its headquarters is located at Virginia in Greater Washington.
It was founded in 1914 by Edwin G. Booz, James L. Allen, and Carl L. Hamilton. It has a revenue of US$5.48 Billion with an employee network of 22,000.
7. EY (Ernst & Young)
Ernst and Young is a globally recognized multinational professional service company based in United Kingdom. It is one of the largest professional services firms in the world and is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms.
It was founded in 1989 and has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. The company generated revenue of US$34.8 Billion in 2017 and has a working staff of 260,000 across the world with 700 offices in 150 countries.
8. Accenture
Accenture is a globally accredited consulting firm renowned for management consulting and provides professional services like strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. It was founded in 1989. Formerly known as Anderson Consulting, the company was incorporated in Dublin, Ireland on September 1, 2009.
Accenture generated revenue of US$39.4 Billion as of 2018 and has a workforce of 459,000 employees in more than 200 cities across the globe. The company also has a number of awards and recognition in its name.
9. KPMG
KPMG is a multinational business company offering professional service to its clients in three specialized fields – Audit (40%), Advisory (38%), Tax (22%). It was founded in the year 1987 and was later merged with other MNCs. “KPMG” stands for “Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler. KPMG is a swiss co-operative company with its headquarters in Amstelveen, Netherlands.
Each national KPMG firm is an untrammeled legal entity and is a member of KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity registered in the Swiss Canton of Zug. KPMG has worldwide connectivity with a network of 188,982 employees across the world. The company generated revenue of US$ 26.40 Billion as of 2017. KPMG also shares its name with the “Big Four Auditors” and was ranked 2nd in overall consultancy rankings by OpRisk & compliance. The company was also ranked 2nd in 2011 as the World’s Best Outsourcing Advisors and was ranked 29th on the Fortune list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.
10. A.T. Kearney
A.T. Kearney is a US-based globally recognized company specialized in management consulting focusing on strategy and operational issues in business, government organizations, and institutions worldwide. It was founded in the year 1926 by Andrew Thomas Kearney and has its headquarters located in Franklin Center Chicago, USA.
A.T. Kearney is a billion dollar venture with a revenue generation of US$1.1 billion. It has its offices in 60 different locations across 40 countries with a workforce of 3,500 employees out of which 2,300 are consultants. A.T. Kearney has been consistently ranked amongst the Top Management consulting firms of the world and has also been listed in the Consulting Magazine as the “Best Firm to Work For” seven times! Not only this, in 2015, 2016 & 2017, A.T. Kearney was granted the Excellence in Social & Community Investment award by the Consulting Magazine. It has recognized A.T. Kearney partners for the past seven years as one of the ‘Top 25 Consultants’ globally.
11. Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman is an international management consulting company providing professional services in banking and finance. It was originally founded in 1984 and has its headquarters located in New York City, U.S.A. The present form of the firm came into effect in May 2007 when Oliver Wyman joined with Mercer Management Consulting and Mercer Delta to become one firm named Oliver Wyman. The company has more than 60 offices in Europe, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific with 4,500 working employees in 27 countries. The company generated a revenue of US $1.9 billion in 2017.
Oliver Wyman has been entitled in Fortune Magazine’s 2016 list of “100 Best Workplaces for Millennials’. In 2016, it was listed in the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers list and also ranked 6th on the Financial Times/Glassdoor Best Places to Work in Finance and Consulting (UK) survey.
12. IBM Global Services
IBM Global Services is the by-product of the globally renowned multinational corporation IBM. IBM Global Services offers professional services in management consulting and outsourcing to its clients worldwide. The company is a division of IBM founded in 1991. The headquarter is located in Armonk, New York, USA. It also deals in providing services in the IT sector and has shown rapid growth and outstanding market performance over the years.
The company is further divided into Global Business services dealing with issues related to business growth, finance, market reach, etc, and Global Technology Services which provides industry experts from the silicon valley catering to the needs of its clients in technical issues.
13. L.E.K. Consulting
L.E.K. Consulting is an international management consulting firm that offers professional services in corporate strategy, mergers, acquisitions, and operations. It has its headquarters in London, the UK with another in Boston, Massachusetts heading the US counterpart. L.E.K. was founded in 1983 by three individual partners from Bain & Company – James Lawrence, Iain Evans, and Richard Koch.
It has 1,200 employees in its 19 offices spread across the globe.
L.E.K Consulting was ranked as the most desirable management consulting employer for MBA students, as well as the 2nd most desirable employer overall for MBA students in 2017 and was also named as the ‘Strategic Consultants of the Year’ at the 2015 Health Investor Awards.
14. EY-Parthenon
EY Parthenon is a management consulting firm focusing on delivering services in strategy, marketing, and operations.
The Parthenon Group was founded in the year 1991 and later EY merge with Parthenon Group to expand and diversify their traditional auditing roots into additional profitable businesses.
Its headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
EY-Parthenon was listed in “The Best Management Consulting Firms” in Forbes 2018 list.
The 4 main services EY-Parthenon provides to their clients are Investment Strategy, Transaction Evaluation, Corporate Strategy, and Value Optimization.
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15. Strategy&
Strategy& is a renowned management consulting firm and a subsidiary alliance of PwC. It is recognized in providing excellent services in strategic consulting. Its headquarters is located in New York City, USA.
It was founded in the year 1914 as the Business Research Service, which was later renamed as Booze and Company. Later in 2008, Booze and Company was dissolved and was succeeded by Strategy&.
The company has shown a remarkable growth with a revenue of more than US $1.3 billion. It offers employment to 3000 people in its 72 offices across the world.
16. Gartner, Inc.
Gartner Inc is a multinational public company founded in 1979 by Gideon Gartner. It is top research consulting firm extending its services in providing expert advice and tools for leaders in IT, Finance, HR, Customer Service, and Support, Legal and Compliance, Marketing, Sales, and Supply Chain functions across the globe. Its headquarters is located in Connecticut, USA.
Gartner has a large client network including big corporations, government agencies, technology companies, and the investment community. They have a strong client association with more than 12,000 organizations in over 100 countries. Gartner has a number of 15,000 employees working in around 100+ offices across the world. It generated revenue of US $3,3 billion in 2017 showing rapid growth in operative income and total assets.
17. Mercer LLC
Mercer LLC is a globally acclaimed multinational company and also the world’s largest human resource consulting firm. Founded in 1945, the company is a subsidiary firm of Marsh and McLennan. Mercer has its offices in more than 180 cities across 40 countries with an employee network of more than 21,200. The company has international relations in more than 130 countries and operates remotely 0with its stellar services.
Mercer majorly serves in three areas including Health, Wealth and Career having a client relationship with top companies like Fortune 1000 and FTSE 100. It generated revenue of US $ 4.3 billion.
18. Lockheed Martin Corp (IT Consulting)
Lockheed Martin Corp is the number 1consulting firm in the field of aerospace and defense consulting. It is a global security consulting firm with partner clients like the U.S. Department of Defence and other government agencies. The company is based in America and has its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.
Lockheed Martin Corp has a large network of more than 97,000 employees working in 500 cities in 46 U.S. states and 75 foreign countries.
According to historical stats, more than 80 percent of the firm’s annual revenue has come from the U.S. government, with sales to international governments and a small amount of commercial activity making up the remainder.
19. GE Healthcare Partners
GE Healthcare Partners is a subsidiary of GE Healthcare of multinational fame. The company was founded in 1887 and its headquarters is based in London, United Kingdom. The company offers strategic solutions to healthcare management consultancy, analytics, technology, leadership, and governance. It is considered one of the best healthcare consulting firms in the world.
It has a small employee network with 150 specialists working remotely at 150 global locations.
20. Capgemini
Making it to the list of top 25 consulting companies, Capgemini is the only French company which is globally recognized for offering professional services and business consulting. Capgemini was founded in the year in 1967 by Serge Kampf. Its headquarters is located in Paris, France and is a Societas Europaea (European Society) company.
Capgemini provides IT services and is one of the world’s largest IT consulting, outsourcing and professional services companies with over 200,000 employees in over 40 countries.
It has a revenue of 12.79 billion euros in the year 2017.
21. Oracle Consulting
Oracle Consulting is a member firm of the multinational Oracle Corporation, one of the biggest hardware and software providers in the world. Oracle consulting provides professional services in the field of IT consulting. It was founded on 16th June 1977 by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates. Its headquarters is located in Redwood Shores, California. The company has a big name in the silicon valley with an employee network of 137,000. Oracle was also the third largest software makers by revenue just after Microsoft and Alphabet. Oracle generated revenue of US $39.83 billion as of 2018.
22. Cisco Systems, Inc. (IT Consulting)
Cisco System is a multinational company based in America dealing with the manufacture and sale of networking hardware, telecommunication equipment, and other high technology products. Its headquarters is located in the heart of silicon valley in San Jose, California.
Cisco Systems was founded by Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner (two Stanford University computer scientists) in December 1984. It a public company with a revenue of US $ 49.33 billion in 2018.
Cisco systems has a network of 22,400 employees working at different locations worldwide. It is both a product based and service based company and is considered a pioneer in the tech world. It has a long list of awards and accolades under its name and was ranked 20th by the Fortune in “Best Companies to Work For” to name a few.
23. SAP Services (IT Consulting)
SAP Services is a Germany based multinational software company dealing with IT consulting. SAP stands for Systems, Applications and Products in data processing. It was founded in the year 1972 and has its headquarters located in Waldorf, Germany. The company has its offices in 180 countries with a network of 94,989 employees working day and night to cater to the needs of its 335,000 customers worldwide.
The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index and generated a revenue of 23.46 Billion Euro.
24. Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton is a globally renowned American company and the sixth largest U.S. accounting and advisory organization.
It was founded in the year 1924 and is a limited liability partnership. Its headquarters is located in Illinois, Chicago, U.S.A and has 58 offices spread across the US with 7,841 working employees. It offers professional services in Auditing, Tax and Advisory. The company generated revenue of US $1.74 billion as of 2017.
Grant Thornton was ranked No. 8 at “Best Places to Work 2016” in the Crain’s Chicago Business list. In 2014, Grant Thornton was named one of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mother”. Not only this, Grant Thornton was awarded the winning prize in Network of the Year by the International Accounting Bulletin in 2013.
25. Huron
Huron Consulting Group is a management consulting firm extending its services to industries like Higher Education, Healthcare, Life Sciences, and Commercial industries. It was founded in 2002 and is a public accredited venture. Its headquarters is located in Illinois, Chicago in the United States of America. Huron has a worldwide network with 2,631 employees working at different locations across the world. Huron generated revenue of US$732 million by the end of 2017.
Although a newly found venture, Huron showed rapid growth in the market and has earned multiple awards and recognition in its name such as the Best Place to Work by Modern Healthcare in 2018. Huron was also named as one of Forbes America’s Best Management Consulting Firms for 2016 and 2017. Huron was also named one of Consulting Magazine’s Best Firms to Work For in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Conclusion
These 25 firms are the top consulting firms in the world and widely recognized with a proven record. They are not only the best in providing superior services to their clients in their fields, but also nurtures their employees with unparalleled experience and knowledge, and inculcates valuable work ethics.
These firms are the best in their fields with very high standards and, therefore, gaining employment there in a good position is not a mere cakewalk. But, for deserving candidates, working in and gaining experience from one of these top consulting firms is sure to enhance their professional abilities and advance their career growth.