As the dust begins to settle from the first two years of AI obsession, consultancies are returning to polishing their most valuable asset, the human being.
The Big Four accounting and consulting firms — Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC — have along with their peers poured billions into their AI capabilities and bombarded staff with messaging around its importance. McKinsey chief executive Bob Sternfels last month said his firm had a “workforce” of 20,000 AI agents supporting its 40,000 staff, which was still growing.
But combined with years of job cuts at almost every major firm and a grim mood during a slump in demand for advice after the Covid-19 pandemic, the firms’ fascination with AI has left human consultants feeling neglected, and worried about being replaced.
“The technology was so exciting that people forgot about the other legs of the stool for a few years,” says Jack Azagury, Accenture’s former group chief executive for consulting, who now chairs strategic advisory firm BRG and advises private equity firm TowerBrook. This year will be a “year of cultural repair” as firms refocus on their human staff, he adds.
In 2026, the consulting sector is expected to hit its stride again with Source Global Research forecasting revenue growth of 6 per cent after a few years of stuttering performance.
