In a small, exclusive circle, we met in Berlin with the founders and partners of the group of companies that bear our Hidden Champions seal. The discussion focused on how the seal holders - collectively and individually - can better position themselves against global competitors such as McKinsey, Bain and BCG. We were delighted to welcome two prominent guests to this event: Pierre Deraëd, former Vice President at Bain & Company, who for more than a decade was responsible for Bain's brand strategy in German-speaking countries and ultimately in EMEA, and Steffen Klusmann, who as Editor-in-Chief of SPIEGEL, manager magazin, Capital and Financial Times Deutschland over the past two decades has shaped business reporting like no other. As well as giving exclusive insights into their work, they also shared practical tips and tricks on how they believe hidden champions can position themselves more strategically.

At the 9th German SME Summit in the Weimar Congress Hall, we celebrated the best consultants for small and medium-sized enterprises together with former German President Christian Wulff and over 1,000 guests. As a special highlight, the companies EY-Parthenon, b-k-p Consulting and MSP Management Support Partners were named Consultants of the Year. The evening was hosted by TV presenter Linda Zervakis in her tried and tested charming manner.

McKinsey, BCG and Bain - or would you prefer a hidden champion? In the German-speaking world, there are a number of boutique consultancies that offer an attractive alternative to the industry's big players - not only for their clients, but also for young professionals. For the latter, however, the industry is anything but transparent. To shed some light on the market, the WGMB has been hosting the Hidden Champions Award for over 20 years - the oldest and probably most prestigious award for consultants in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Until now, the award has mainly helped consulting clients to select the best experts for their challenges. As of this week, young professionals can visit the Hidden Champions career portal to get a detailed first-hand insight into the special features of the corporate culture, the various entry options from student to experienced hire, the specialisation of the award winners and many other aspects around the topics of application and career.

The auditing industry is being transformed by new software and artificial intelligence. The global giants are investing billions. In our new study with manager magazin, we indicate where the path will lead in the coming years. And we reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the major players in the auditing industry. Based on this, we have awarded Germany's best auditors for 2024/25. For the third time, we also identified the best universities for the subject of auditing. The University of Mannheim is catching up with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management - together they share the first place in our ranking.

Invited by manager magazin and WGMB, the most important players in the industry met in Berlin's Spreespeicher. In presentations, discussions and personal exchanges, more than 100 guests discussed what is driving the industry. In his keynote speech, Professor Norbert Winkeljohann, former Head of Germany and Europe at PwC and now member of the Supervisory Board of Bayer AG and Deutsche Bank, provided fascinating insights into the interaction between supervisory boards and auditors in times of increased regulation and activist shareholders. On the podium, he discussed with Andrea Bruckner (CEO of BDO) and Volker Krug (Head of Deloitte Germany) how the use of artificial intelligence will change auditing. The discussion was chaired by Dietmar Palan from manager magazin, and the evening was hosted by mm's deputy editor-in-chief Michael Freitag.

Gesine Braun and Christiane Sommer from Harvard Business manager asked the WGMB directors Bianka Knoblach and Dietmar Fink some insightful and thoughtful questions, opening up an exciting field of discussion - about the consulting industry in transition and the skills consultants need today to make clients successful and get ahead themselves. The interview can be read in the current issue of HBm under the apt title "It's the impact that counts".

On January 11, it was that time again: at the traditional Champions Dinner, the founders and managing directors of the consulting companies that have been awarded the Hidden Champions Prize celebrated their success at the China Club Berlin. In a relaxed atmosphere, the 90 invited guests once again had the opportunity to exchange ideas in a protected space - the "living room of the consulting industry" -, to hold confidential discussions and develop good ideas into even better ones - together. To mark the 20th anniversary of Germany's longest-standing consultancy award, two former recipients, Veit Schwinkendorf from Oliver Wyman and Andreas Rüter from AlixPartners, also attended the event. Together with Darya van de Sandt-Nassehi from TMG Consultants and Christian Horn from Horn & Company, they took an exciting look back, into the present and into the future of the consulting industry on the podium, eloquently moderated by Capital editor-in-chief Timo Pache. To round off the evening, all guests were able to take a virtual trip back to Berlin in the 1920s and walk along the Linden boulevard - just as it used to be.

For 20 years, the WGMB has been awarding the best specialist consultancies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In an interview with Christian Baulig from Capital, Bianka Knoblach and Dietmar Fink talk about disrupted supply chains, rising capital costs, inflation, the far-reaching transformation of entire industries and the operational transition in the consulting business - and they show how the consulting market has changed since the first study in 2003.

Large companies dominate the consulting industry. Around a quarter of the approximately 40 billion euro turnover on the German consulting market is generated by 25 of roughly 16,000 companies - led by the big three: McKinsey, BCG and Bain. However, when it comes to the quality of consulting services, small, specialized consultants sometimes outperform the big players. For 20 years, we have been honoring such specialists with our "Hidden Champions Award", the oldest and probably most demanding seal of quality for consultants in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The next generation of award winners has just been chosen - just in time for the 20th anniversary with a completely new website, which now includes an interactive expert portal where potential clients can research the best specialists for their specific challenge.

The Swiss business magazine BILANZ focuses in its current cover story on the condition of McKinsey, drawing in many places on data and facts provided by WGMB. As much as we welcome a critical examination of the practices of the world's leading management consultancy, we do not share the conclusion that McKinsey's reputation is in decline. On the contrary: Our conversations with the key executives in Germany and Switzerland show, as BILANZ correctly reports, that trust in McKinsey remains unbroken in the top levels of business, despite the overflowing media reports about alleged and actual scandals. Even less in line with our experience is the claim that McKinsey consultants discredit feedback from the market as false when it calls into question their "overconfidence". We have been in dialog with McKinsey's leadership for 25 years and know that, as in most consulting firms, they deal with critical feedback in a professional and open-minded manner. Be that as it may: We will continue to accompany critical reporting with our insights on the market to ensure that it paints a complete and unbiased picture.

For the fourteenth time, we awarded the best consultants for small and medium-sized enterprises on the occasion of the 8th German SME Summit in the Congress Hall in Augsburg together with former German President Christian Wulff and more than 1,200 guests. As a special highlight, the companies etveture, division one and Conor Troy Consulting were named consultants of the year. The evening was hosted by Tagesschau anchor Julia-Niharika Sen.

"Tangible results are what's needed, not cloudy ones". What is driving the consulting industry? What is driving their clients? In an interview with Dietmar Student, reporter in chief at manager magazin and the most accomplished consulting expert among Germany's journalists, Bianka Knoblach and Dietmar Fink discuss where the consulting market is headed, what types of consultants will be in demand in the future, and how McKinsey's continued dominance can be explained.

In 2023, the consulting market is no different than the economy as a whole: it is characterized by countless, enormous changes, combined with a high degree of uncertainty as to how these changes can be managed and where they will take us. In this environment, it is becoming increasingly important, but also increasingly difficult, for consultants' clients to form an opinion about the specific strengths and weaknesses of individual consulting firms. Since 1998, we at WGMB have been supporting companies in this challenge with our studies - practice-oriented, research-based and independent. In its June issue, manager magazin exclusively reports on the results of our latest study on the leading management consultancies in Germany. 1,004 executives shared their experiences with firms such as McKinsey, Bain & Company and the Boston Consulting Group with us. Their judgments form the basis for our analyses.

McKinsey seems to be slipping from one scandal to the next - at least that's the impression given by investigative journalists Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe in a new book. The consultants are said to have undermined public health programs, placed themselves in the service of the Saudi state, and made dubious consulting assignments in South Africa under the former Zuma government - an involvement that turned the state system into a self-service store for corrupt businessmen. And yet, McKinsey's popularity among political and business leaders continues unabated. Why is that? The Neue Zürcher Zeitung addresses this question in a current feature based on a study by WGMB.

In times of what AlixPartners' Andreas Rüter calls the "total crisis", restructuring distressed companies is becoming a hot topic for McKinsey and its peers. The consultants are stepping up their efforts to reduce costs, optimize cash flows and cut staff. Roland Berger could be the biggest winner, according to a new study by WGMB presented by Handelsblatt in a feature story.