The rating of the leading consulting groups in Russia in 2002

Table 1. List of the largest Russian consulting groups, 2002
Table 2. Strategic planning and organization development - services
Table 3. Financial management - services
Table 4. Tax consulting
Table 5. Personnel management and selection - consulting
Table 6. Organization of production of goods and services - consulting
Table 7. Marketing and PR - consulting
Table 8. Information technologies - management consulting
Table 9. Information technologies - development and system integration
Table 10. Economic law - legal consulting
Table 11. Assessment activity

Within the framework of the regular research of the consulting market the rating agency "Expert RA" made the rating of the leading consulting groups of Russia by results of 2002. The results are published on April, 28, 2003 in magazine "Expert" N 16 .

The Russian consulting market has reached the next stage of its development. Not only outstanding development rates testify to this fact. Now among the leaders are those who offer concrete, step-by-step improvements in business of the client (step-by-step technologies) and at the same time the exclusive "know-how" inaccessible to competitors.

The results of 2002 show that the revenues of 150 consulting groups of Russia (without taking into account the activity of international companies) has increased by 70% (!) as compared to the previous year and made 9,5 billion roubles. The structure of the market for consulting services has changed drastically over the last year.

The share of the sector of administrative consulting in the sphere of information technologies year has increased by seven percentage points, and its growth has made 170%. It allowed it to become the most fast-growing type of consulting in 2002. The leader in this direction is IBS company.

Anther not less dynamical kind of consulting in 2002 became consulting in the field of personnel management and selection. Its growth for the year has increased by 140%. A leading position in this sector belongs to "EKOPSY consulting". The greatest demand is for estimation and training clients` managers.

The earnings of consultants for the services in tax consulting has increased twofold and reached 1,5 billion roubles, what makes 14,2% of the total revenues.

The share of marketing and public relations consulting, which had been insignificant before, decreased even more by 2,6% up to 1,9. Legal consulting also has lost its position. Its share in the total market volume has decreased from 10,7% to 6,6%. And the annual growth has made only 6,5%.

Trends of the audit & consulting market

Richard Buski, Managing Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers

- Does your company feel the strengthening of competitivity in the Russian audit & consulting market? What noticeable changes have happened for Big 4 companies in the last year?

- The Russian audit market is developing rapidly. In contrast with 1989, when we re-opened our Russian office after our "exit" from the country in 1913, the market has been drastically transformed. At present about three thousand audit firms and in the order of 15 thousand certified auditors now operate in the market. The market trends are rather positive to me. For instance, one issue, which has been actively discussed lately, - the creation of a self-regulatory professional organization that could unite all auditors working in the Russian market.

Such an organization could play an essential role in the development and evolution of the audit profession, in the accounting reforms and in improvement of the investment climate in Russia in general. Within the framework of such organization, we could join our colleagues from other companies in improving the professional standards, in dealing with the issue of the professional ethics code development, which the Russian market badly needs now, in re-educating the auditors. And, most importantly, in explaining to the public at large the essence and the role of an audit in the market economy.