Everywhere on the earth, there are management consulting firms ranking that cater to almost every industrial niche. Although McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company are well-known, there are many additional consulting firms ranking that provide excellent client service and a great workplace environment.
But how can you determine which consulting firms ranking are ideal for your professional path? We’ve put up a list of the best management consulting companies for you.
There are many factors to take into account when deciding which consulting business would be the best fit for you if you’re an aspiring consultant, so don’t limit yourself to the Top 3 (MBB) consulting firms.
Table of Contents
- About Consulting Firms
- What do Consulting Firms Do?
- What Qualifies as the Best Consulting Firm?
- Here are Different Type Consulting Firms
- Check out Our Top Consulting Firms Ranking
- Consulting Firms Ranking for General Management and Strategy
- Technology, Accounting, and Finance: Consulting Firms Ranking in the World
- The Big 4 Consulting Firms Ranking
- McKinsey Consulting: Consulting Firms Ranking
- Frequently Asked Questions
- References
- Recommended Posts
About Consulting Firms
An organization that uses consultants to provide knowledge and specialized work for a charge is known as a consulting business or simply a consultancy.
A consulting firm may employ one person or thousands, and it may provide advice in a variety of fields, including management, engineering, and other fields.
Particularly with company executives, management consultants frequently supply them with generalists and industry-specific specialists, known as subject-matter experts, who are typically educated in management or in business schools.
A management consultant’s deliverable is often a set of recommendations for accomplishing a business goal that will result in a project for the business.
Many consulting organizations include implementation assistance to the recommendations, either from the consultants themselves or through technicians and other specialists.
Professional services, which include consulting services, generate several hundred billion dollars in annual income.
What do Consulting Firms Do?
corporations that provide corporations and organizations with expert assistance to help them address difficulties are known as consulting firms. They accomplish this through internal specialists and/or outside experts.
While some are generalists, specializing in hundreds or thousands of areas, certain consulting firms may focus on one or a few specific industries and activities.
What Qualifies as the Best Consulting Firm?
Although MBB firms have the highest level of renown, other companies might better suit your particular career path. Do you already have plans for what you want to do following consulting? Will you merely choose the consulting company with the broadest reach? If such is the case, you might be shocked to find that neither McKinsey, BCG, nor Bain are among the top 10 consulting firms in terms of revenue earned.
Some consulting organizations require practically all of their employees to travel, while others require far less. There is a significant cultural gap between getting rewarded for finishing your work quickly and using up all of your billable hours. Some charge by the hour and others by the project.
You might like to live in a particular city or be a part of a particular diversity organization. These are all crucial factors to take into account as you reduce your personal list of target companies.
Just a brief reminder that there are countless methods to classify consulting firms, which are shown below. This list has been arranged first by sorts of consulting businesses, and then within each category, alphabetically. But we wanted to be MECE (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive), to use a consultancy phrase. So, we wanted each of our top companies to fit into only one category.
We also utilized the following factors to rate the firms: reputation, culture, pay, work-life balance, project work type, firm size, and future business outlook.
Here are Different Type Consulting Firms
We categorize McKinsey, Bain, and BCG under their own heading. Each company has a core strategy as its cornerstone, but it now also provides a wide range of other services. Additionally, each has a prestige level that is high enough to warrant its own category.
For the best consulting organizations, we also have a category for general management and strategy consulting. These businesses’ work is somewhat comparable to MBB’s. They also enjoy rather high levels of reputation.
These businesses take on initiatives with a strategic direction, pricing, an organic and M&A growth strategy, sales, and organization as their primary objectives.
The Consulting Firms and There Area of Specialty
On operations, financial engineering, and turnaround consultancy, they also devote a lot of time. These companies are the best in their field: Advancy, EY-Parthenon, Strategy&, Kearney, LEK, OC&C, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, and PwC Strategy&.
Accenture, Booz Allen, Deloitte, KPMG, EY, PwC, and Wavestone are all included in the category of Accounting, Finance, and Technology. The “one-stop-shop” category would be this one, if we had to pick one.
Although technology consulting also plays a significant part in their service offerings, these organizations typically have organizational roots in accounting. Businesses in this group also offer operational and strategy consultancy simultaneously.
Economic and legal consultancy is a unique animal. Businesses can grasp the value of assets or create novel strategies with the aid of the advanced economic theories, techniques, concepts, and applications used by organizations in this segment of the consulting market.
However, they also frequently collaborate with law firms to quantify the effects of illicit market activity. Bates White and Analysis Group are the two competitors in this field.
Working directly with clients, operations and turnaround consultants. They might create brand-new pricing strategies, participate in the sourcing of crucial inputs, or play a significant role in the implementation of sales.
Businesses may need to employ a turnaround consultant if they are considering or have filed for bankruptcy. These companies include The Keystone Group, Insight Sourcing Group, Alvarez and Marsal, and AlixPartners.
We give a brief description of what each firm does. And then, provide information on the following:
Revenue
Highest, highest, ordinary, and boutique prestige levels (part of our understanding of prestige comes from this essay)
The most important factors for employees may have to do with career prospects, work-life balance, pay, etc.
A link to the profile of a consulting firm; for your convenience, we’ve also put together a directory of hundreds of other consulting firms.
Our listings include office locations, diversity groups, practice areas, and salary.
Check out Our Top Consulting Firms Ranking
MBB
The world’s most renowned consulting organizations. Although strategy consulting typically forms the core of their services, many companies provide a surprising range of other options.
McKinsey & Co.
We don’t need to introduce McKinsey as a business. It is the most prestigious company on the list because it is constantly regarded as the #1 most valuable brand in the consulting sector.
With more than 38,000 workers spread across more than 120 offices worldwide since its founding in 1926, the company has experienced significant growth. Annual revenue for the business is a staggering $12.5B.
One of the world’s most difficult hiring processes is at McKinsey. Candidates with Ivy League degrees and/or stellar job histories are frequently hired by the firm. In addition, McKinsey is renowned for being a pioneer in the hiring of highly skilled individuals with degrees outside of business.
Being among the hardest workers in the business, McKinsey consultants ultimately leads to fantastic exit opportunities.
Annual Income: $12,5 billion
Highest Employee Turnover Considerations: Young Adult Turnover
Great potential for the future
Long Workdays, Continuous Travel
MCKINSEY FIRM PROFILE is a link to a consulting firm profile.
The Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is renowned as a cutting-edge thought leader in the consulting sector with a heavy emphasis on strategy. The intellectual culture of BCG places a high value on creativity and education. Over 90 offices worldwide, the company employs about 25,000 people. The company’s annual revenue is $11B.
Even though it requires its consultants to work long hours, BCG is frequently rated as one of the greatest places to work. The company provides exceptional programs to its best performers, such as the Strategy Lab and BCG Fellows program.
Additionally, BCG provides a number of programs and internships that emphasize diversity, one of the firm’s guiding principles. BCG offers excellent exit possibilities in practically every industry to consultants who leave the firm.
Yearly Income: $11 billion
Prestige: Highest
High turnover means fantastic exit chances for employees
Top-ranked company to work for:
Demanding Culture and Long Hours
The BCG Firm Profile link:
Bain & Co.
Of the top three consulting firms in the world, Bain is the newest. Out of the Big 3, this business prioritizes friendship and has the “frattiest” culture. Over 13,000 individuals are currently employed by Bain across 50 offices across the world.
Although “Bainees” cultivate close bonds within their teams, consultants are nonetheless expected to put in a lot of overtime in exchange for fascinating projects and fantastic exit chances. The company uses a local staffing strategy, which means that projects are located as close as possible to each local office.
Bain has also distinguished itself by its proficiency in private equity through Bain Capital, which former president Mitt Romney further popularized. The Human Rights Campaign has given Bain an A+ rating for 12 years and called it the “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.”
Revenue per year: $4,500,000,000
Prestige: Highest
Considerations for Employees: Valuable Benefits
Long hours and constant travel are listed as the best employers.
BAIN FIRM PROFILE is a link to the consulting firm profile.
Consulting Firms Ranking for General Management and Strategy
These businesses pay well, prioritize strategy, and provide great chances for career advancement.
Advancy
With a narrow concentration on just three economic sectors—consumer goods, life sciences, and chemicals—Advancy is a pure-play strategy consulting company that uses small, agile consulting project teams to provide major, international clients with in-depth industry insights.
Because it originated in France, the 300-person company has a distinctively European vibe. The company annually sends its whole global team on a foreign vacation to a top-secret location, which has become one of the defining characteristics of the company culture. Surely someone would want to work here.
Read related post: Startup Consulting? Know This Before Engaging a Firm
Annual Income:
$90,000,000
Prestige: Boutique
Considerations for Employees:
low distances to travel
relaxed culture
superior work-life balance
Link to Consulting Firm Profile:
EY-Parthenon
In order to strengthen its position as one of the Big 4 consulting firms, Ernst & Young purchased The Parthenon Group in 2014. The strategy consulting division of EY-Parthenon now has approximately 9,000 employees worldwide.
In a variety of industries, including consumer goods, diversified industrial products, education, financial services, health care, life sciences, oil and gas, private equity and technology, media, and telecom, the firm counsels C-suite, business, and organizational executives.
Annual Income:
$19,000,000,000
Prestige: High
Considerations for Employees:
Outstanding professional development.
Superb individuals.
Some people have frequently needed to rearrange their workload priorities.
some red tape.
the typical demands of consultancy work-life
Link to Consulting Firm Profile:
Kearney
Kearney, originally known as A.T. It’s an American worldwide management consulting firm that specializes in strategic and operational CEO-agenda challenges affecting corporations, governments, and institutions. More than 40 nations throughout the world have Kearney offices. Each year, the business brings in about $1.4 billion from consultancy.
The business is well renowned for its ardent support of women in leadership positions, particularly in nations like India. Kearney offers a number of initiatives centered on inclusion and diversity.
Annual Income:
$1,410,000,000.
Prestige: High
Considerations for Employees:
Good Culture and Balance
The L.E.K. Consulting
James Lawrence, Iain Evans, and Richard Koch, three former partners of Bain & Company, established L.E.K. Consulting as a management consulting company in 1983. Corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and operations make up the main service categories for the company.
The company uses a generalist model across all significant industries, with a significant presence in private equity, life sciences, healthcare, energy, entertainment, retail, and transportation.
The business is very picky, and its consultants are recognized for putting in long hours, which occasionally gives the impression that there is not enough staff. L.E.K. provides enticing incentives and bonuses, including family-friendly benefits. For new associates, the typical employment period is two years. The company is renowned for its effective programs for LGBTQ, women, and minorities.
Yearly Income:
$750,000,000
Level of Prestige: Average
Key personnel factors to consider:
Long hours at work.
Low caseload staffing.
A strong culture of mentoring.
Plans for bonuses and incentives.
See also: What Is MBB Consulting? And Why Use Them?
OC&C Strategy Advisors
It tells you almost everything you need to know about the firm that OC&C rejects work that doesn’t precisely fit into the category of strategy and thrives on its “challenger” mentality. OC&C was established in London but is now significantly more prevalent in the US.
Projects in the following 5 categories take up the majority of the firm’s time: consumer goods, retail & leisure, business services, media, and technology.
With 14 locations spread across 11 countries, the company offers a flat organizational structure, allowing anyone to interact with everyone else at any level, whether they are an intern or a Partner.
OC&C Strategy Consultants may be the place for you if you’re seeking for a strategy firm where your performance dictates the course of your career.
Annual Income: £150 million
Level of Prestige: Boutique
Key personnel factors to consider:
Solely on strategy implementation
Tolerant culture
A new feeling
Wyman Oliver
With strong ties to both Europe and the Asia Pacific, Oliver Wyman is a rapidly expanding strategy consulting firm. You will experience rapid professional advancement at the company every 18 to 24 months. The company’s annual revenue is about $2.5 billion.
Working long hours at a developing company, according to Oliver Wyman consultants, might be difficult, but they generally appreciate the enjoyable work environment. According to Fortune, the business is especially well-liked by millennials, and it provides significant support for working mothers. Additionally, unlike many other prominent consulting firms, Oliver Wyman does not demand an advanced degree.
Income on a Yearly Basis: $2,5 billion
Prestige: High
Considerations for Employees:
Jovial atmosphere
Positive Comments
Expanding firm.
Technology, Accounting, and Finance: Consulting Firms Ranking in the World
Though many of these companies have outstanding general management and technology-based consulting offerings, their historical roots are in accounting.
Accenture
Technology consulting company Accenture also has a strategy consulting division. The company has a huge global footprint, with an estimated 700,000 employees. For ambitious consultants who enjoy opportunities to learn about technology, Accenture is particularly fantastic.
It is well known that Accenture has a demanding workplace culture. Although working overtime is not required, many consultants allegedly feel the need to do so. Accenture’s consultants claim that networking is crucial for success in order to secure the best teams and projects.
Revenue per year: $61,500,000,000
High prestige level
Factors affecting employees:
Possible overtime
Excellent chances to learn about technology.
Allen Hamilton Booz
Booz Allen Hamilton provides management and technology consulting services, with a focus on products and services for the U.S. Federal Government. The business previously spun off Booz & Co., which PwC bought. The company’s annual revenue is over $8 billion.
Consultants at Booz Allen Hamilton are recognized for putting in long hours but not traveling as much. Employees rate the company 75% favorably on Glassdoor. The company claims that it established the management consulting industry in 1914.
Along with working on a number of intriguing initiatives, Booz Allen Hamilton also assisted the U.S. Navy in redefining itself as a force that was essential to the country’s triumph in World War 2.
Annual Income: $8 billion
Average (high in the Middle East) prestige
Considerations for Employees:
Mid-range advantages
The effort
Fewer trips.
Read also: 10 Best Human Capital Consulting Firms In 2023
Consultancy Firm Deloitte
Despite having its roots in accountancy, Deloitte Consulting has established a strong reputation in the consulting industry. With $59 billion or more in annual sales, Deloitte leads the Big 4 firms in market share.
The company employs more than 415,000 people worldwide and is consistently recognized as the fourth most renowned consulting business (behind MBB).
The five practice areas of Core Business Operations, Customer & Marketing, Enterprise Technology & Performance, Human Capital, and Strategy & Analytics make up Deloitte’s consulting services.
Recruiting for consulting positions and career advancement are often done through one particular practice area. When compared to its other practice areas, Deloitte’s Strategy and Analytics division—previously known as Strategy and Operations—is essentially its management consulting division.
Annual Income: $59 billion
Prestige: High
Considerations for Employees:
Higher Mobilization
reduced morale compared to the Top 3
Long shifts
Travel internationally
The Big 4 Consulting Firms Ranking
#Number One: McKinsey & Company. Score 9.058; ranked for 2022.
#Boston Consulting Group is second. Score: 8.948, ranked for 2022.
#Bain & Company, third. Score: 8.903; position: 2022.
#Deloitte Consulting LLP. 2022 Ranking; SCORE 7.173.
McKinsey Consulting: Consulting Firms Ranking
James O. McKinsey, a professor at the University of Chicago, founded McKinsey & Company in 1926. This multinational management consulting firm provides expert services to businesses, governments, and other organizations.
Frequently Asked Questions
McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group are the three consulting firms that are frequently referred to as making up the “Big Three” or MBB.
An undergraduate or MBA degree is the most well-known route into consulting. That is not the only option, though. Nowadays, consulting companies are far more open to employing applicants who don’t follow these two established career tracks.
Tier 2 consulting companies include Deloitte, Strategy& (PwC), LEK, Oliver Wyman, EY-Parthenon, Accenture, AT Kearney, and Roland Berger. The top three management consulting companies, McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, have a better reputation than these businesses, despite the strength of their brands and fame.
Comparison of the Big 4 and the Big 3 firm
Large and international, the Big 3 firms are also smaller than the Big 4 firms due to their heavy emphasis on management consulting, particularly strategy consulting. The Big 4 firms traditionally concentrated in accounting, while the Big 3 firms prioritize management consulting.
References
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