Orange County’s top management consulting firms reported a 2.2% bump in consultants to 1,924 in the year ended June 30, based on research for the Business Journal’s annual list.
And the companies grew their total local employment at a faster clip, 3.7% to 4,434. Firmwide, their hiring rose 7% to 1.2 million.
This week’s Special Report features a list of the 40 largest management consulting firms in OC ranked by local employment.
“Anything that has some financial pain from the standpoint of government regulation, there are tons of consulting to go around,” said Roger Weninger, managing partner at Seattle-based Moss Adams LLP’s Irvine office, which ranked 12th with 40 consultants.
The list also includes a new twist—consultants who work for accounting firms, of which there are 15 firms on the list totaling 808 consultants.
Overall, OC’s accounting and consulting firms—both those on the list and those that aren’t—employ 14,600 among 1,930 firms, the majority with fewer than 10 employees (see graphic, page 20).
On the consulting list, only 12 firms added consultants, while 11 reduced their counts. The remainder made no change or didn’t report numbers for the prior year.
Management consultant firms provide an array of specialists in information technology, operations, strategy, and mergers and acquisitions aimed at improving the performance of businesses.
• Dublin-based Accenture’s Irvine office remains at the top of the list, the perennial No. 1, with 309 consultants, up 11% (see separate article, page 33).
• No. 9, Beacon Resources in Newport Beach, a unit of the DLC Group in Woodland Hills, increased its count by 15 consultants, a 32% rise to 61.
• Another large grower was No. 17, Tevora Business Solutions in Lake Forest, which boosted its consultants to 24, a 50% increase, the biggest jump on the list after No. 26, London Consulting Group, which grew its consulting staff to 13. Tevora provides security to computer networks.
• Profit Recovery Partners LLC in Costa Mesa increased its consultants headcount by 11 to 103 for the No. 6 ranking. The firm provides services in IT, finance, personnel and logistics.
• A notable decline came at No. 2, New York-based Deloitte LLP, where the number of consultants at its Costa Mesa office dropped by 11% to 279. Its countywide employee base rose 7% to 857, which makes it the largest accounting firm.
• No. 23, the Lyndon Group LLC in Newport Beach, reduced its consultants staff by 27% to 16.
