Part of me would love to work for one given the high salaries, but what do they *actually do*? Why do they get so much money? And do you need to be an accountant to work for one?
In: 1
Lots of different things.
1. IT is a big one. A lot of companies need help setting up and implementing a full IT system, but don’t actually need such a level of staff to maintain it once its set up.
2. A particular niche in a certain industry. For example, a consultant may not know everything about retail, but they may know inventory planning. So an otherwise successful retailer that just has too much inventory at the end of the season may bring in a consultant to try and identify why it keeps missing the mark.
3. Turnaround and restructuring services: Basically when a company is in really bad situation, you need a special set of expertise (like bankruptcy planning and management).
4. Office of the CFO. Companies with bad internal finance functions can bring in consultant to help build out a better processes.
5. Expert witness work. Let’s say a land owner is suing a developer, saying that the improper way they build is caused damage to the land. You may need one party to prove yes, the building was done improperly, and then another to actually calculate the damage caused by said improper build. And of course, for the other party experts to refute both of those points.
This of course isn’t exhaustive, but some of the things big consultants can do.
Latest Answers