The Big Four accounting firms all feature in a top ten table of thought leadership rankings, with Deloitte narrowly missing out to IBM as number one for providing high quality research in the global consulting industry during the second half of 2015, with particular recognition for the work of Deloitte University Press
The top consulting firm slot went to IBM, who beat its competitors on resilience - through consistent and insightful use of both primary and secondary research - and in prompting action, while Big Four firm Deloitte was ranked number two in the world rankings.
Deloitte scored better than IBM on two key measures of differentiation and appeal, which the White Space bi-annual report, compiled by Source Global Research, focused on in its ranking of 24 global consulting firms, based on four evaluation criteria - resilience, differentiation, appeal and prompting action.
Boston Consulting Group was ranked at three, Capgemini Consulting at four and Bain in fifth position.
All Big Four firms were ranked in the top ten, reflecting major investment in the consulting arms of their businesses, which have expanded quickly through a number of acquisitions.
PwC was in sixth place, with KPMG ranked at number eight and EY coming in at number nine.
The report says that if IBM continues to publish reports like 'New and necessary in life sciences', and at the same time, pays attention to its weaker content that is less effective at challenging current thinking, it could be on route to achieving an all-time high score.
However, Source says that Deloitte could regain the lead if it continues to invest in Deloitte University Press, which it says is the firm’s key source of insightful and innovative content.
Rachel Ainsworth, head of thought leadership strategies and solutions from Source, said: ‘One thing that’s become very evident is that significant, sustained improvement requires significant, sustained effort. No firm has made a step change in the quality of its thought leadership by accident.
‘Change is never easy, but as those firms at the top of our table can testify, high-quality thought leadership can have a big impact on how firms are perceived by their target audience.’
Source’s research indicates the consulting arms of the Big Four accountancy firms continue to dominate the UK consultancy market, accounting for over a third of revenues, and are growing faster than the rest of the sector. It puts the UK consulting market as a whole at £6.79bn in 2015 and says the combined revenues of the Big Four reached £2.55bn, a rise of 11.5%.
The White Space bi-annual report, compiled by Source Global Research, ranks 24 global consulting firms based on four evaluation criteria - resilience, differentiation, appeal and prompting action.
