Executive Summary

Deloitte Consulting and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young retained their No. 1 and No. 2 positions on the list of largest management consulting firms. BearingPoint, formerly KPMG, made the biggest gains.

Through acquisition and internal expansion, BearingPoint increased the number of full-time consultants in L.A. County by 64 percent to 179 in 2002 from 109 in 2001, moving to No. 3 on the list from No. 7 last year.

For the firms on the list reporting both current year and previous year employment figures, the number of consultants fell 10.9 percent, to 1,791. Cuts at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, which trimmed its ranks by 268 consultants, accounted exclusively for this loss. Excluding Cap Gemini, the list would have showed gains of 3.6 percent in L.A. County consultants.

Name changes were in vogue as consulting practices sought to distance from their accounting company roots. Other changes include Accenture (formerly Arthur Andersen’s consulting group) and the impending change to Braxton by Deloitte Consulting later this year.

Nicki Taylor

The Pacesetter

Deloitte Consulting

Deloitte Consulting once again tops the list, with 439 full-time management consultants in L.A. County, 70 more than at No. 2 Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Deloitte reported a 33 percent increase in management consultants worldwide in 2002.

With offices in 33 countries, the firm counts among its clients more than one-third of the Fortune 500, including Phillip Morris, Kaiser Permanente and Hewlett Packard.

Despite a tough economic climate, company-wide revenues were up in 2001. Revenues in its Americas region were $2.4 billion in 2001, up 7.6 percent from the $2.2 billion in 2000. The increase worldwide was even greater Deloitte reported revenues of $3.5 billion, an 11.1 percent increase over the year earlier.

Americas Director Manoj Singh, in the firm’s most recent annual report, cited three key industries that fueled growth communications, financial services and health care. Communications saw 30 percent growth in 2001, with the company focusing on telecommunications firms that directly support the Internet.

Singh acknowledged that some industries have slowed down in 2001, but touted Deloitte’s strength in the life sciences, public sector and energy practices.

Nicki Taylor