Studies

The German consulting market saw only minimal growth in 2025. At €51.4 billion, market volume was just 2.8 percent above the previous year—significantly lower than in earlier years and clearly below the momentum observed in many international markets. In nominal terms, this represents a slight increase; in real terms—after adjusting for inflation—there is hardly any growth left. The conclusion is clear: the industry is no longer expanding across the board but is undergoing structural change. Or, more pointedly: 2025 was not a year of more consulting. It was a year of different consulting. Read the full findings in our market barometer, available here as a free download (in German).

Anyone seeking to join the ranks of Germany’s best auditors must submit to the toughest judgment of all: that of their own clients. More than 2,000 senior executives have shared their experiences with us. Who are the leading auditors for the mid-market? How is the competitive landscape at the top end of the market—around Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG—evolving? Where do the key players’ distinctive strengths lie? We have compiled the data and findings in our latest study—and manager magazin, in its latest issue, presents the interpretation of the results and the stories behind the numbers.

Whether and to what extent management consulting contributes to economic performance has been debated for many years. In a new study, we examine for the first time at the macroeconomic level the relationship between consulting expenditures and key economic indicators in Germany. The results, published in the peer-reviewed European Journal of Management, show that higher spending on consulting is systematically associated with higher gross value added: on average, an additional one million euros in consulting expenditure is linked to an increase of 50 to 60 million euros in value added. Similar relationships are observed for revenue and gross operating surplus. The effects occur primarily with a time lag; dynamic analyses further suggest that consulting often does not operate as a short-term impulse but unfolds its impact through continuous and deliberate processes. An exception may apply to specialized fields such as restructuring and turnaround consulting, which are typically designed to generate immediate effects but account for only a small share of the overall consulting market and therefore remain largely invisible in aggregate data.

“Technological change, global crises, economic slowdown—rarely have companies needed support more urgently than they do today,” writes Christian Baulig in his cover story on our new consulting study in the business magazine Capital. Challenges are becoming more complex—and for many clients it is becoming increasingly important, yet also increasingly difficult, to form a clear judgment about the areas in which individual consulting firms’ specific strengths lie. This is especially true for those consultants who shine more through performance than through volume; who do not seek the spotlight but instead possess deep expertise in their specialist fields—expertise that their clients rate more highly than that of the three grandees of the consulting industry, McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. We call these firms the “Hidden Champions” of consulting. Since 2003, we have given them a stage and—provided they pass a demanding evaluation process—have awarded them the Hidden Champions Award, the oldest award for consulting firms in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Thirty consulting firms bear the title Hidden Champion 2026/27. In the assessment of more than 1,100 clients across 32 disciplines, they have prevailed over McKinsey, BCG, and Bain.

Currently, management consultants are expected to do one thing above all: help German companies regain their competitive edge. At the same time, in the age of AI, they themselves are under unprecedented pressure to perform. This “two-front transformation” is reshaping the business of McKinsey, BCG and their peers. “Execution is everything now,”writes Eva Buchhorn in her cover story for manager magazin. She portrays an industry that must reform itself just as much as it transforms the businesses of its clients. Our new 2,500-page study shows who is succeeding particularly well—and in which areas. manager magazin is reporting exclusively on the results.

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.

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.

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.

In its current issue, the business magazine BILANZ reports exclusively on the results of our new study on the management consulting market in Switzerland. The Swiss market is booming in the wake of the shaking of global supply chains, the mega-topics of digitalization and sustainability, and the uncertainty caused by the Ukraine crisis. Financially, consultants are doing better than ever at the moment. “With the current demand, we could be twice as big!” says Bain CEO Massimo Lusardi, who, together with BCG and McKinsey, has firmly established his consultancy in the top 3 of the leading firms. The market volume in Switzerland is almost 2.4 billion Swiss francs.

Starting next year, many companies will have to prepare a sustainability report. A lucrative area of business for auditors – and an opportunity to attract new talent. At the same time, the consequences of the Wirecard scandal are shaking up the hierarchy of the audit industry in Germany. 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 2022/23. For the second time, we also identified the best universities for the subject of auditing. The Frankfurt School of Finance and Management defends its first place from the last round, closely followed by the University of Mannheim.

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