FIRM PRESTIGE RANKING

“My name is your name.”

And your name adds value to my name.

That’s prestige – the perception of status, stature, and standing. It is reputation, respect, and renown – the aura of influence and the rarified air of organizations with a track record of success at the highest levels. Prestige translates to authority, power, and importance – doing work of consequence and gleaning the prominence that comes with it. In words, prestige draws associations to words like distinction, talent, and love. In the mind, prestige conjures up images of first-class flights to Abu Dhabi and private meetings with CEOs.

In consulting, McKinsey carries the most prestige. That’s what the experts say. When Vault asked consultants to rate their rivals, McKinsey earned the highest average: 9.021. With McKinsey, think a 100-year history of working anonymously with the most influential organizations on history-making ventures. Picture a far-flung operation, deep roster of experts, supportive teammates, and a proven method to problem-solving – all driven by facts and feedback, where the expectation is uncompromising excellence.

An anonymous McKinsey survey respondent outlined what differentiates their firm in these words: “Independence, ruthless focus on impact, training and development at all levels, client relationships, privileged opportunity to work with clients on thorniest challenges.”

BCG GAINING GROUND

For the past seven years, the Boston Consulting Group has been the runner-up to McKinsey for prestige. That said, BCG continues to close the gap, perception-wise, with McKinsey according to surveyed consultants in North America. At 8.984, BCG is just 0.37 of a point behind McKinsey. Compare that to 2022, when the gap was .272 of a point (or 2020, when it was .236). Bottom line: BCG’s value proposition is growing in the minds of consultants, with its score rising by .226 of a point since 2020. Considering BCG’s always-impressive quality of work, you might just find BCG hitting the top spot in Prestige in the coming year.

“We have had several clients come to us after being dissatisfied with Bain and McKinsey,” notes one consultant. I have seen some of the work products from Bain and McKinsey and ours are far more detailed, rigorous, and tested.”

Bain & Company has gained the most ground in Prestige in recent years, despite being holed up in the #3 spot. How much progress? This year, Bain hit 8.951, an impressive jump over 2022 (8.755) and even 2018 (8.528). You could say the same about Deloitte Consulting, which has wrangled the #4 spot for as long as the MBB has clinched the Top 3. Maybe Deloitte’s biggest advantage, says one Vault survey respondent, is the people.

“This is a huge firm full of innovators who are always reimagining the business model and looking for the next thing. They are well balanced between government and commercial clients, and the transition to remote work was nearly seamless compared to the rest of the workplace (I think they did a full changeover in two weeks and then were busier than ever). They continue to work through the hybrid work/workplace of the future challenge like everyone else, but it’s working so far and I’m confident they’ll continue to listen, adapt, and focus on the right things.”

MINIMAL MOVEMENT

Alas, Prestige is a perception that’s difficult to dislodge. This year, 8 of the Top 10 consulting firms held onto their spots (with Oliver Wyman and Accenture flipping the 8th and 10th spots). At the same time, 9 of the 10 firms ranked 11-20 last year stayed in this same band (Northrop Grumman dropped from 18th to 21st, while AlixPartners climbed from 22nd to 18th).

In fact, you need to scroll way down Vault’s Prestige ranking to see any real movement against last year. NERA Economic Consulting jumped from 30th to 23rd, thanks to a .310 of a point improvement. Conversely, the Analysis Group dropped from 24th to 33rd (-.218), while Putnam fell from 37th to 44th (.277). How has NERA Economic Consulting been able to break through in a conservative industry? Think old-fashioned attention to detail, says one consultant surveyed by Vault.

“Our outputs are far more consistent and accurate than most competitors. Every output faces a rigorous verification process that leads to some of the best analyses in the industry.”

In recent years, EY-Parthenon has also been gaining steam. Ranked 5th for Prestige in 2024, the firm’s score has risen by 2.27 points since 2018. Alvarez & Marsal has made similar gains over the same period, which has resulted in it climbing from 35th to 17th. The same is true of AlixPartners, which went from 40th to 18th, buoyed by a 2.136 point improvement.  

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