Management consulting is «a rapidly growing sector». However, there is still “ample room for improvement, given that the price level in Italy is structurally lower than in other large European countries. I am thinking of France, Germany and the UK. But above all among the public there are ample margins for improvement and profitability ».
Marco Valerio Morelli, CEO of Mercer Italia, is preparing to close his mandate as Assoconsult president, a position he held between 2018 and 2022. The next president, who will be appointed with the assembly tomorrow, will find himself quidifying a sector made from a company that, even in these years of emergency linked to Covid, have not only been able to extricate themselves on the market, but even grow. The data from the Management Consulting Observatory, created by Assoconsult in collaboration with the University of Rome Tor Vergata, indicate for 2021 a turnover increased by 10.9%, rebounding substantially after the first phase of the pandemic from Covid 19, now exceeding an estimated aggregate value of 5.1 billion. For 2022, a further +11.4 percent is expected. The strongest pull came from the big names in the sector, for which 2021 ended with + 10.2% followed by + 3.5% in 2020. Recovery (+ 12.2%) also for medium-sized consulting firms , after a loss of 3.8% in 2020. As for small and micro consulting firms, they grew respectively by 10% and 13.1%: a sustained growth which, however, failed to cover the decline in 2020 (respectively of -15.6% and -19.5%).
In fact, consulting is a polarized sector: micro companies, with less than 3 employees, are almost 21,500. Since 2010 they have dropped from 30% to less than 16% of the sector’s turnover. There are 36 large companies (over 50 employees) and since 2010 they have risen from 41% to 60% of the turnover in the sector. «It is also true – Morelli points out – that 2021 represented a year of growth for everyone. And this is positive, as another strength of ours should be underlined, which lies in the combination of turnover growth and the development of highly qualified employment. In 2021 we employed almost 46 thousand graduated professionals: + 10.3% ». All this in a context in which management Consulting in 2021 employed over 52 thousand people, with around 45.900 professionals. Compared to 2010, the employment of professionals grew at an average rate of 5.4%, in line with the average increase in turnover. The big names increased by 9.6% each year, while the other companies grew at average annual rates between 2.4% and 5%.
«Around 30% of the top management of listed companies has had experience in consulting. It means that in fact we are a school of leadership and we create value “, comments the outgoing president Morelli who now invites us not to waste the golden opportunity of the NRP:” We need skills and highly motivated and skilled people. The PNRR is also based on measurements of the results which are fundamental for the respect of the milestones. So you need skills, method and the possibility of benchmarking that the consultancy is able to ensure. Here are the strengths on which the sector can and must make its contribution ».