What is Consulting?

Consulting is a professional service in which individuals or firms advise organizations on how to solve problems, improve performance, and achieve strategic objectives. Consultants are typically brought in when a company faces a complex challenge, lacks internal expertise, or requires an objective, external perspective. The role centers on diagnosing issues, structuring ambiguous problems, and delivering clear, actionable recommendations supported by data and analysis.

Consultants operate as structured problem-solvers. They begin by defining the problem, gathering relevant data, and conducting research on the company, its industry, and competitors. This is followed by rigorous analysis, often involving financial modeling, market sizing, or operational assessment, to identify key insights. The final stage is synthesizing findings into a compelling narrative, typically delivered through presentations to senior stakeholders. Execution support may follow, where consultants help implement recommendations.

Types of Consulting

The consulting industry is broad and spans multiple functional areas:

  • Strategy Consulting: Focuses on high-level decisions such as market entry, growth strategy, and competitive positioning.

  • Management/Operations Consulting: Improves internal processes, efficiency, and organizational performance.

  • Technology Consulting: Supports digital transformation, systems implementation, and data infrastructure.

  • Financial Advisory: Includes mergers and acquisitions (M&A), restructuring, and valuation.

  • Specialized Consulting: Covers niche areas such as healthcare, sustainability, human capital, or risk.

What is the Big 3?

The ‘Big 3’ is a term used to describe the top 3 management consulting firms in the world. These firms are McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Bain & Company. These firms generally have the highest paying jobs in the management consulting field and are the most exclusive in their recruitment efforts. Despite their prestige, the Big 3 firms are each many times smaller than the Big 4 firms.

What is the Big 4? 

The ‘Big 4’ is a term used to describe the top 4 accounting firms in the world. These firms are PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG). Even though the Big 4 are accounting firms, each has consultancy branches. Outlines of the Big 4 are listed below:

PwC

As a member of the Big 4, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) offers many job opportunities for consulting, audit, tax, and assurance. PwC has an active initiative to improve and implement technology into its consulting and audit divisions. PwC is one of the biggest SOM student recruiters and offers many leadership programs and summer internships, that can be leveraged into full time offers. They have expanded their tech consulting into involving cybersecurity and cloud/digital technologies.

EY

As a member of the Big 4, EY has an extremely large presence on Binghamton University’s campus, and is one of the biggest recruiters for SOM students interested in audit, advisory, and consulting. EY recruits many accounting and business administration majors, and recruits many graduates for its consulting services. EY Parthenon is a subsidiary of EY that focuses on global strategy consulting for international clients. EY Parthenon is typically very selective. EY has had a focus on technological advancement for the last decade, and having a plethora of technical skills will provide increased opportunities in the company.

Deloitte

As the largest of the Big 4, Deloitte has a wide range of opportunities for consulting jobs. Deloitte recruits out of Binghamton for positions within their Risk and Financial Advisory (RFA) practice. As an advisory practice, the general projects that the consultants will work on will usually be longer in duration than traditional consulting roles. The main roles within the RFA practice are their Cyber and Strategic Risk, Technology, Internal Controls, and Data Analytics divisions. Evidently, Deloitte’s Risk and Financial advisory practice is more technologically focused, but can still appeal to those who want some level of financial involvement.

kpmg

As the smallest of the Big 4, KPMG’s consulting practice recruits out of Binghamton for several positions.