Missing targets, CIO expectations and the resurrection of Andersen Consulting

On this week’s episode, MT’s editorial team discusses which Big Four firms are on course to miss UK female partner goals, what CIOs want from consultants in 2025, and how a once-powerful name in consulting is making a comeback.

We kick off this bumper consultancy episode with discussion of a story originally covered by the FT, which found that of the Big Four accounting firms, both EY and PwC are on track to miss their 2025 UK female partner targets. We also consider how gender imbalances might be impacting consulting firms’ progress on pay parity, with an analysis of pay gap data collected as part of the process of compiling MT’s inaugural Top 100 Management Consultancies list last year.

What do chief information officers want from consultants? That’s the question explored by Jon Bance in a recent piece for MT. He argues that CIOs increasingly demand more from external advisors, whom they expect to become fully immersed in their business, becoming a part of its culture and driving teams forward from within, while leveraging soft skills to build meaningful long-term relationships.

Anyone who follows the consultancy sector will probably have heard the news by now: Andersen Consulting is making a comeback. The once-powerful name in the business will return to the sector after 25 years of dormancy. We discuss a piece by Paul Simpson that explores how the brand, once part of collapsed accounting firm Arthur Andersen, might navigate the considerable challenges in the market. 

Credits:

Presenters: Éilis Cronin and Antonia Garrett Peel

Producer: Inga Marsden

Artwork: David Robinson

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