Top consulting companies in Russia: the best of the best. How to choose the best consulting company, or what ratings won't tell you Rating of consulting agencies

Turning to a consulting company, you pay professionals for advice, knowledge and experience that you and your employees do not have. And also for looking from the outside and identifying problems that are difficult to see and evaluate from the inside.

You can get advice today on almost any issue: increasing sales, optimizing taxes, automating business processes, implementing a quality management system, personnel management, and much more. If you hire competent consultants, this will help you achieve your goal at a lower cost and avoid many mistakes.

Example 1

The business owner is concerned about the lack of money in the company. Each individual transaction is profitable, but for some reason there is not enough money. We invited consultants who analyzed the business and found that the company lacks management accounting and management cash flows. Customers are given a delay, and suppliers work on an advance payment.

As a result, all the money hangs in the "receivables" and cash gaps are formed. The consultants advised to re-negotiate with clients and suppliers, as well as to sell unnecessary leftovers from the warehouse so that the money was not only on paper, but also "in the pocket" of the company.

Example 2

The organization is choked by taxes. Tax consultants were invited, who proposed a number of measures: to challenge the inflated cadastral value of the property in order to reduce property tax, to outsource some of the functions in order to save on insurance premiums, and to apply a depreciation bonus to reduce income tax.

Example 3

Employees of the company can not cope with the volume of work and there is a need to expand the staff. But organizations cannot afford to hire more employees, pay salaries, taxes and insurance premiums. The management decided to involve a consulting company in order to find a way out of this situation.

The consultants analyzed the work of employees, suggested automating a number of tasks, as well as eliminating some internal bureaucratic procedures that take a lot of time from employees, but do not make sense and are not useful.

With almost any problem or task, you can turn to consultants and solve it. A consulting firm can not only offer a solution, but also help implement it.

Professional consulting companies can save clients millions and billions of rubles, but in order for spending on consultants to justify itself, you need to be smart about choosing a contractor to solve a business problem.

Companies with multi-million dollar budgets can afford to hire world-renowned consultants. Take, for example, the Big Four. They work with big business and are rightfully considered the best consulting companies in the world.

But not everyone can afford to attract expensive and eminent specialists. And this is not always advisable, because the customer company simply may not have the resources to bring to life the expensive ideas of eminent consultants.

We should not forget about the so-called consulting fraud, when, having paid a lot of money, under the guise of an expert opinion, the client receives a set of general phrases in the style of “to earn more, you need to work harder”, or even copy-paste from laws, codes, articles from Internet or textbooks on marketing.

This problem has become aggravated with the development of the infobusiness, when, after completing a crash course and making loud advertising, newly minted entrepreneurs begin to “make money” on consulting. In fact, they have neither the appropriate education nor relevant experience behind them, but only the desire to earn money. They often know less than their clients and have little to teach. Therefore, in order to get the maximum from the money invested, one should not choose a consulting firm at random.

Rating of consulting companies

The list of the largest consulting companies in Russia is posted on the website of the RAEX rating agency (Expert RA). It is the largest rating agency in Russia with a 20-year history. Engaged in the assignment of ratings, as well as research and communication activities.

Rankings based on the results of 2018 are now available on the site in the following areas:

• financial advisory;
• tax consulting;
• legal consulting; consulting in the field of production of services and goods;
• consulting in the field of personnel management;
• consulting in the field strategic planning And organizational development;
• marketing and PR consulting;
• IT consulting ( management consulting);
• IT consulting (development and system integration);
• appraisal activity;
• technical audit and consulting.

The ranking differs from the rating in that it does not contain an assessment; it is built on the basis of a clearly defined criterion, in this case, revenue. It will show you the leading players - the largest consulting companies on the Russian market, but it cannot be concluded from it that the first company in the list provides better services than the second, third, etc.

Major consulting companies in 2018

This is what the top consulting companies in the field of accounting outsourcing look like according to the RAEX agency in 2018:

1. BDO Unicon Outsourcing
2. "Sber Solutions"
3. SCHNEIDER GROUP
4. 1C-WiseAdvice
5. TMF Group
6. Unistaff Payroll Company
7. BCG "Informauditservice"
8. UCMS Group
9. "RN-Accounting"
10. Accountor Russia

1C-WiseAdvice has risen from eighth to fourth place in the ranking of the largest groups and companies in the field of outsourcing of accounting functions over the year. The company showed the highest rate of revenue growth among the market leaders and the largest increase in the number of specialists.

The ranking results are based on the total revenue that the company received from services for the regular provision and support of business processes related to accounting and tax accounting, payroll and personnel records, preparation of accounting and tax reporting on domestic and international standards etc.

The general list of the largest consulting groups and companies has been headed by the LANIT group of companies specializing in IT consulting for several years now.

1C-WiseAdvice moved up 10 positions in the overall list - from 34th to 24th place.

Of the largest international consulting companies in Russia, the so-called “big four” companies that provide audit and consulting services are more well-known:

• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu;
• PricewaterhouseCoopers;
• Ernst & Young;
• KPMG.

These same companies lead Russian list largest audit organizations in 2018.

The clients of these foreign consulting companies are large organizations with multi-million dollar turnover, who need audit reports from world market leaders with a high level of trust among reporting users.

Among other leading consulting companies of the world, known in their field, we can distinguish:

• Accenture Consulting - consulting in the areas of strategic planning, implementation of IT technologies, optimization and organization of business process outsourcing, personnel management, customer relations, logistics processes;
• Capgemini Consulting - consulting in the field of IT technologies and management;
• Tata Consultancy Services - IT consulting;
• Cognizant Technology Solutions - IT consulting;
• McKinsey & Company - specializes in solving problems related to strategic management, and etc.

If the company is working on international markets, foreign experts can provide more competent assistance than those who work exclusively within Russia.

How to choose a consulting company

In any city there are several consulting firms that will vying with each other to offer their services and promise excellent results. We will give some recommendations on how not to waste money on consulting.

Evaluate the qualifications of employees

There is such a joke that only those who cannot do anything themselves go to consultants. The joke was born thanks to unfortunate consultants who pour from empty to empty and do not give the client measurable results.

In order not to run into such, do not hesitate to ask the consulting company for information about the experience and qualifications of employees. It’s good if the staff has graduates of reputable universities and former top managers of large companies, that is, practitioners, not theorists.

It is bad if the staff of a consulting company has only a few universal specialists without a narrow focus, who take on any tasks for any clients. You run the risk of getting a response, and not good advice. It may happen that the company does not have specialists of the required profile at all, and they are attracted from outside. It is better to know in advance who will be involved in your project, and what experience and merits give him such a right.

Evaluate cases and find real reviews

Professional consulting companies will always be able to show completed projects and talk about their role in successfully solving customer problems. Pay attention to the presence of clients from among well-known and large companies. If the company has nothing to brag about yet, consider whether it is worth being a "guinea pig". The longer the company has been on the market, the better for you.

At the same time, no company will publish negative cases and talk about a failed project when a client spent money but did not feel any benefit. So it's always good to find real reviews former clients. You can contact the clients listed on the company's website and ask about their experience of working with consultants. At the same time, you will find out whether real reviews are posted on the site or fictitious.

Among 1C-WiseAdvice clients small, medium and large businesses, including famous brands, like "Megafon", "THE", SELA, etc. We have posted letters of recommendation on the site and provide customer contacts if you want to get first-person feedback on working with us.

Set specific goals

The more clearly you define the task, the more likely it is to get a specific result. For example, if you increase sales, then by how much and for how long. A well-defined problem is already halfway to its solution. In the case of consulting, this also works. In addition, without a strictly formulated task, it will be difficult for you to complain to the contractor if the result does not suit you. Write down the tasks and deadlines for their implementation in the contract.

Also decide in advance whether you need only ideas or help in implementing them. This will depend on the budget and timing.

Don't go cheap

Good specialists know their worth and are expensive. Keep this in mind when choosing an artist. If a company takes cheap, then it pays little to its employees, and this is an occasion to wonder why.

At the same time, it is better to decide in advance how much you are willing to spend on consulting. This will keep the performers within limits, will not allow them to inflate the budget and impose additional services.

Do not believe the promises of golden mountains

Miracles don't happen. Even the best consulting company will not solve all your problems for you. She is more likely to find the causes of these problems and suggest solutions. But the main work is yours. There will be no change without your participation. You may have to face the resistance and sabotage of employees who do not want to rebuild and accept the new.

If consulting firm promises you mountains of gold at the first meeting, without even studying the company's business processes - this should alert you. Competent consultants will first look at how things are going with the customer, and only then decide what can be done about it.

Don't wait until the last

If the ship of your business is already sinking, it may be too late to hire a consulting firm, or you will pay a lot of money for urgency and complexity. Do not delay contacting consultants - call specialists as soon as you see that problems are brewing.

Let's summarize. The consulting company can help solve the problem if it has qualified specialists with relevant experience, and you will write down the task in detail.

Order service

The Vault website has released a ranking of the most prestigious consulting firms. It's a bit like the Oscars in the film industry, rankings are based on a survey of consultants who rate their peers and competitors. Vault conducted its study over six weeks, in March and April, and collected votes from 9,000 consultants from 65 US firms.

For the prestige of the rankings, consultants were not allowed to vote for their own firms, but were asked to rate only those consulting firms they were familiar with. The consulting company is rated on a scale from 1 (least prestigious) to 10. The rating has been compiled for 14 years in a row, and every year McKinsey comes out on top. Indeed, the top four places are unchanged from last year: McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Bain and Deloitte Consulting.

Fifth place this year has shifted. In 2014, Booz & Company was at the site, but last spring, PricewaterhouseCoopers bought it and gave it the unfortunate name "Strategy&" Suddenly the firm lost its name, even though Booz's history was confusing even before the acquisition. Booz & Company was founded in 1914 and grew into the government consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton (where Edward Snowden worked under contract to the NSA before he leaked classified data). Booz & Company, a corporate business consulting company, spun off in 2008 and was acquired by Carlyle Group in 2008. Are you confused yet? In fifth place this year: Booz Allen Hamilton, up from sixth last year. Strategy& dropped to 19th place.

Why is prestige so important in the consulting business? For job seekers submitting their resumes to McKinsey or Boston Consulting, this can open up new opportunities, it's like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal for a journalist. Also, people just care about prestige. For many people, it defines their career. They want to work for the most prestigious consulting firms.

The ranking of consulting companies is dominated by huge firms with several thousand employees and several offices. Exception: Bridgespan Group, which is located in Boston's Copley Place. The company has 158 employees and focuses on the non-profit sector. She spun off from Bain in 1999 but retained her ties to the firm. Bain consultants can take time off work from six to 12 months at Bridgespan.

Top 10 most prestigious consulting firms:

1. McKinsey & Company

2. The Boston Consulting Group

3 Bain & Company

4 Deloitte Consulting

5 Booz Allen Hamilton

6. PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC

7. EY LLP Consulting Practice

9. KPMG LLG (Consulting Practice)

10.IBM Global Business Services

Our top 10 consulting companies in the world will tell you about a dozen well-known agencies and companies that are engaged in consulting.

10 Manning Selvage & Lee

9 Ketchum

8 The Hoffman Agency

7 Porter Novelli

6 Waggener Edstrom

5 Hill & Knowlton

4 Burson-Marsteller

3 Edelman

2 Weber Shandwick

1 Fleishman-Hillard