| | It’s unlikely that most
people would choose 2003
as their ideal year to
launch a consultancy
firm, but that’s exactly
what Parson Consulting
did when it opened its
London office (shared
with sister firm
Proudfoot Consulting).
The firm has rapidly
grow from a small base,
and according to Parson
Consulting MD Mark
Hutchinson, the timing
was perfect for the
financial specialists.
“Sarbanes Oxley meant
that auditors were keen
to retreat from work
they normally do, and
with the big outsourcers
coming in to buy
consulting business
there was a slight
vacation of the
specialist financial
consultancy space,” he
says.
It’s a space that
Parson has rapidly
expanded into.
“Last year we
quadrupled our fee
income and this year our
‘run rate’ is to double
that again,” says
Hutchinson who estimates
that Parson is now the
third or fourth biggest | |
|
| | financial specialist
grouping the UK even
taking into account the
specialist divisions at
IBM or Deloitte
The group’s growth
has been fuelled by the
growth in demand for
compliance work in the
wake of Sarbanes Oxley,
and also the resurgence
in demand for
traditional management
consultancy.
“We find there’s no
shortage of demand for
what we do,” says
Hutchinson. “People like
the fact that we’re not
going in with seven-
figure proposals in the
back of our minds, they
like the specialist
focus.”
By providing a
crossover of compliance
work with generic
services with process
enhancement and
performance improvement,
Parson has been able to
put a positive spin with
the avalanche of
financial regulation
that has swept over
business in the last few
years.
“A lot of people are
forced to do the
compliance work, “ says | |
|
| | Hutchinson. “So they
say, let’s do it in a
way that benefits us.”
This mixture of work
also works when it comes
to recruiting staff.
“It would be harder
if we were a pure audit
business trying to get
people to do purely
compliance work,” says
Hutchinson. “You’d
basically have to bribe
people to do it.”
Parson recruits
qualified accountants
with two or three years'
accountancy experience
“In our work you do
need to be able to think
like an FD thinks CIMA
or ACA,” says
Hutchinson. “One of the
reasons we’re successful
is that we have sat on
that side of the table,
we’re very practical
businesslike people
who’ve been in their
shoes.”
The firm is less keen
on those who’ve purely
pursued consultancy
careers, and put
potential recruits
through assessment
centres:
“It’s amazing how
many consultants in
their 30s and 40s who | |
|
| | are OK at interview but
turn out not to be very
good,” says Hutchinson.
Although Hutchinson
says he’s not “a great
optimist about the
economy”, he is bullish
about 2005, although he
warns that “the way
customers behave isn’t
like they used to.”
There’s not only a
greater willingness to
comparison shop among
the competition, but
also clients are more
willing to put together
their own teams:
“There are a hell of
a lot of out of work
financial directors and
financial controllers
out there working on
compliance projects in
jerry-built teams,” he
says. “We see that a lot
particularly in
investment banks.”
Parson’s “secret
weapon” may well be its
route to market. As well
as benefiting from
introductions from
sister firm Proudfoot it
has a direct sales force
of telemarketers and
specialist account
directors who develop
leads before the
practice directors come | |
|
| | in to discuss specific
projects. This not only
creates more leads but
frees consultants from
having to prepare
proposals when they
could be working with
clients. It also seems
to be popular with
clients, who appreciate
having someone outside
the project to manage
the relationship.
“It certainly works
for us, says Hutchinson.
“We wouldn’t have been
able to grow so quickly
without it.”
Related links: View
the latest consulting
opportunities at Parson
Consulting
All views expressed
in this article are
those of Mick James and
do not necessarily
reflect the views of
Top-Consultant.com and
Consulting-Times.com
Contact Mick with
your views or
suggestions at:
mick.james@top-consultan
t.com
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