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Consulting Firm Thought Leadership: Deloitte, E&Y, PwC, KPMG and BDO
Monadnock Research - 10 February 2012
Deloitte: Consumer spending index falls on sharp declines in the housing market; consumer spending to face economic headwinds in 2012. Disruptive innovation can help cash-strapped governments deliver more for less. Aging population - not the decline in economic activity - will be the long-term driver of public sector debt. Boards need to actively engage with the 'sustainability imperative'. Boards will need to adjust their strategies in light of the continued uncertainty in the economy. E&Y: 2011 year-end global IPO update. Global mergers and acquisitions decline 14% in Q4 2011. PwC: Brain Drain is Biggest Threat to T&L CEOs. Investors Look to Global Healthcare Market for Long-term Growth, Near-term Safe Haven. Threat of Recession Contains Risk of Further Bank Failures. Renewables M&A Hits New Record Highs. 80% of Global CEOs Concerned With Uncertain Economic Growth. PwC Launches 15th Global CEO Survey Results. Europe's economic crisis has left real estate investment and development on limbo - little relief expected in 2012. Digital banking to be the norm by 2015. Most Private Companies Expect Positive Growth, Majority Plan Upswing in Hiring. KPMG: Public sector fraud on the rise globally. Global Banking will look Fundamentally Different in 12 Months. Global Engineering and Construction Companies Adapting Quickly to Meet the Critical Demand for New Infrastructure. Emerging Markets Lead Social Media Adoption. Global Automotive Players Lack Clear View of the Future, but seem Certain about Electromobility and the 'Urbanized' Car by 2025. The case for statistical sampling in e-Discovery. BDO: Tech CFOs less optimistic about 2012 revenue growth. (645 words) . . . More
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Recent Firm Research: Accenture, KPMG, and PwC
Monadnock Research - 23 June 2011
MR - Physician employment trends will drive business strategy changes for payers, providers, and vendors; Businesses say it's possible to sustain growth, drive innovation, and simultaneously address societal challenges facing nations and communities - (Accenture). Multinational tax executives say global regulatory pressure to increase transparency is most significant change ahead; Banking execs look to M&A to fuel growth; complete economic recovery not expected in near-term (KPMG). Leveraging innovation to develop new products and services as important as raising existing market share (PwC) . . . More
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And in other news: Consulting Demand, BDO Censure, Pension Deficits, US M&A, Executives Lack Faith in Strategy, Sopra's Axway Spinoff, and CSC Institute
Monadnock Research - 10 June 2011
(MR) An Economist report discusses the rebound in consulting services, and the current shift from cost cutting to growth as the focus of engagements after the deepest consulting recession in decades. BDO financial advisory is censured by UK's Financial Services Authority for failures in its advisory role as a sponsor of Shore Capital Group. A recent Booz & Company survey of global executives found significant concerns and a lack of confidence in their own companies' growth and strategy efforts. US pension plan deficits increase by close to 18% in May 2011 According to Mercer research. Large transactions have fueled a 39% US M&A value increase in H1 2011 according to a PwC study. The Sopra Group board has approved the spinoff of Axway Software on the NYSE Euronext exchange in Paris. Accenture has named TBWA and Tag as advertising and production agencies. CSC has launched its Global Institute for Emerging Healthcare Practices to monitor worldwide healthcare trends, conduct studies, evaluate emerging best practices, and study potentially innovative uses of technology to improve productivity. (1,063 words) . . . More
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Accenture Predicts 2011 Technology Trends
Accenture - 7 February 2011
MR - The emerging world of information technology is one in which data is the central focus, social platforms evolve as a new source of business intelligence, and cloud computing is a driver of business growth, according to a new report from Accenture. One of the most significant trends Accenture identifies is the end of viewing everything through an application lens. The roles of application and data will be reversed, with data becoming the platform that supports application services. Architectures will be selected primarily to cope with soaring volumes of data and complexity of data management, not to support applications. Relational databases will make way for streaming databases, and social media will evolve into social platforms. Hybrid clouds - software and platform as a service in combination with internal applications - will cement IT's role as a driver of business growth. The role of people in data security will decline, replaced by automated capabilities that detect, assess, and respond immediately. Individual privacy will take center stage as a result of increased government regulation and policy enforcement. Superior user experiences that help to boost customer satisfaction become a focus. (985 words) . . . More
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Deloitte CEO James Quigley and Alchemy's Baghai Publish Leadership Book, "As One;" Service Offering Launched Through Center for Collective Leadership
Deloitte & Alchemy - 3 February 2011
MR - Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited global CEO James Quigley and Mehrdad Baghai of Alchemy Growth Partners have recently published a new book entitled "Collective Leadership: As One: Individual Action, Collective Power." The book focuses on the challenges and opportunities presented in creating an environment for large groups to work together toward a common purpose. The authors say the research debunks the myth that there are only two major styles of leadership - command-and-control and the newer collaborative model. The study undertaken for the book reviewed more than 60 cases of successful, collective leadership behavior over two years. The As One" framework includes eight distinct leadership archetypes: Architect and Builder; Producer and Creative Team; Senator and Citizens; Community Organizer and Volunteers; Captain and Sports Team; Conductor and Orchestra; General and Soldiers; and Landlord and Tenants. Deloitte also announced an associated service offering. The newly-created Deloitte Center for Collective Leadership will advance the study of As One through research, data collection, and analysis. (645 words) . . . More
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Deloitte Forecasts 2011 Trends in Technology, Media, and Telecom
Deloitte - 20 January 2011
MR - Deloitte sees smartphones, tablets, and netbooks, representing 465 million of the 815 million computing device units to be sold in 2011, according to the tenth annual Deloitte forecast of top trends in technology, media, and telecommunications. Deloitte's other predictions: No standard will emerge for smartphone or tablet operating systems. Enterprises will purchase more than 25 percent of all tablet devices in 2011. The percentage of businesses in developed countries that use at least one eGovernment service will increase to 90% from 75%. Calls for online privacy and regulation will increase, but broad use of cookies continues. Battery technology advances, but at a much slower pace than technology in the platforms it powers. Hydrogen's promise will get some traction in 2011, but not in the automotive sector. Television's growth in share of advertising revenue will continue to eclipse all else. DVR penetration will reach 50 percent in the U.S. and U.K., advertising revenues will be unaffected. "Push"-based TV programming continues to beat "pull." Social network advertising increases significantly in penetration, but not as a source of revenue. Online gaming shows a redistribution of revenue. Live performances will diversify to combat the effect of aging acts, led by music festivals. Temporary pop-up retail music outlets jump to 1,000 to meet demand; On-line music sales in at least one category will outpace legacy CD sales. 3G technology continues to be viable; 4G wireless networks not yet in large-scale carrier adoption. Volume of data transferred over public WiFi to outpace cellular broadband volume. Twenty-five percent of big-box stores will offer free in-store WiFi to customers. Video calling will be cheaper, better, and more widely available than ever, but a demand-spike is unlikely. (1,950 words) . . . More
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Maureen Broderick publishes "The Art of Managing Professional Services: Insights from Leaders of the Top Firms"
Broderick & Company - 16 January 2011
MR - Maureen Broderick of Broderick & Company has recently published The Art of Managing Professional Services: Insights from Leaders of the Top Firms. The book is based on over 130 interviews with leaders of the world's top consulting firms and offers Broderick's perspective on practical and proven best practices on how to master the ten areas that firm leaders need to focus on to build and maintain a strong organization. Forty best practices are featured in the book that highlight those ten key insights for managing professional services firms, which are: how to create and maintain a shared vision, values and culture; best programs to recruit, train and retain; great people; strategies to develop and manage a profitable portfolio of clients; what it takes to innovate services and share knowledge; the key metrics to monitor financial health; Insights into effective positioning, marketing and selling firm services; proven practices for rewarding and managing the partnership; a guide to both long-term and annual strategic planning; balancing structure and governance in a consensus-driven organization; and secrets for leading "incredibly smart and independent people." Clients can gain insights from the book into the challenges firms face in providing world class services, and into what it takes to maximizing engagement outcomes and value from strategic relationships. (250 words) . . . More
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Innovation Spending by Top Historical R&D Spenders Down for First Time in 13 Years
Booz & Company - 3 November 2010
Booz & Co. - Total R&D spending among the world's top spenders on innovation dropped in 2009 for the first time in the 13 years studied, according to the 2010 Global Innovation 1000, a study of corporate innovation spending conducted by Booz & Company. The study found that the 1,000 companies that spent the most on research and development decreased their total R&D spending by 3.5 percent to $503 billion in 2009. This followed a relatively strong 2008 where R&D spending continued to grow despite the recession. More than half of all companies tracked cut their R&D spending in 2009 and nearly all the cuts came in just three industries: Auto, computing and electronics, and industrials. The other industries examined all increased spending to some degree. Revenues for the Innovation 1000 plunged 11 percent from $15.1 trillion in 2008 to $13.4 trillion in 2009 - nearly three times the rate of decline in R&D spending. But the study also found no statistically significant relationship between financial performance and the amount spent on innovation. What really matters are the particular combinations of talent, knowledge, team structures, tools, and processes that successful companies put together to enable their innovation efforts. And innovators that achieve this state of 'corporate coherence' consistently outperform their rivals on several financial measures. (1,300 words) . . . More
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Procurement Organizations Remain Focused on Cost, Despite Evidence of Negative Consequences
KPMG & the Economist - 27 October 2010
KPMG - A majority of industrial companies continue to focus on cost as their top supply chain management priority, despite emerging evidence that excessive focus on cost damages relationships with strategic partners, and that new supply chain management approaches are gaining hold among leading competitors, according to the findings of a recent KPMG International study. Thirty-eight percent of leading respondents from North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific acknowledged that a focus on cost has harmed supplier relationships. The study found that bellwether companies: develop deeper relationships with strategic suppliers; engage in collaborative innovation; make strategic investments in key suppliers; bring some strategic supply chain elements back in-house; and leverage global and regional supply chain partners to optimize speed, quality, and cost. China continues to present significant IP risk, and strategic relationships with Chinese suppliers of respondents tend to focus on production of goods involving little IP, assembly tasks, and warehousing. (946 words) . . . More
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Defense Procurements to Dominate $142 Billion in 2011 U.S. Federal Contracts
INPUT - 8 October 2010
INPUT - The top 20 contract opportunities planned by federal agencies for fiscal 2011 are dominated by procurements out of defense agencies, according to a new report from INPUT. According to the new report, Top 20 Federal Contract Opportunities, more than 80 percent of the approximately $142 billion in total contract value for 2011 will be associated with defense agencies. INPUT says another notable trend is increased prime contract opportunities for vendors, especially small businesses. Agencies are shifting a number of single-award contracts to multiple-award contracts; including, in some cases, setting aside a separate set of awards for small businesses of varying socioeconomic classes. In the report, five out of 20 are expected to be awarded to a single vendor. (505 words) . . . More
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Seventy-percent of Global Business Leaders Seek Cuts in Government Spending
KPMG International - 30 September 2010
MR - Seven out of 10 business leaders said that government debt should be reduced primarily through cuts in public spending, according to research from KPMG International. KPMG surveyed 538 business leaders from 26 countries around the world for the report, entitled "Paying the Bill." Cutting public spending was also the top choice for 77 percent of Europeans; 69 percent of Americas; and 54 percent of Asia-Pacific respondents. With 72 percent of businesses concerned about their country's level of public debt, and 43 percent very or extremely concerned, the survey shows that cutting public spending is the most popular method of managing the public debt. (1,045 words) . . . More
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Authors Continue to Conceal Consulting Ties to Companies Associated with Medical Research
Monadnock Research - 13 September 2010
MR - It has become standard practice in medical journals to require authors to disclose their relationships with industry. However, these requirements vary among journals and often lack specificity. As a result, disclosures may not consistently reveal author-industry consulting ties, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine entitled From Disclosure to Transparency: The Use of Company Payment Data. Nondisclosure rates remain high, with 50 percent for articles directly or indirectly related to consulting payments. The accuracy of disclosures did not vary with the strength of journals' disclosure policies. (274 words) . . . More
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Unprecedented Public Sector Deficits Demand New Approach to Government Finances in Major Economies
KPMG and Oxford Economics - 14 August 2010
KPMG and Oxford Economics - A rethink of the way that governments operate, combined with tough cuts to public budgets, is critical if Western industrialized economies are to reduce the major public sector deficits they have incurred in dealing with the recession, a new study from KPMG International and Oxford Economics has found. The KPMG/Oxford Economics study found that maintaining status quo, with current government fiscal policies left unchanged, G7 deficits could reach as much as 200 percent of GDP over the next 10 years and over 300 percent in Japan. (1,165 words) . . . More
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Workplace Ethics and Trust a Casualty of the Great Recession
Deloitte & Harris - 26 July 2010
Deloitte & Harris Interactive - Just over one-third (34 percent) of employed Americans plan to seek new employment when the economy improves. Of those that plan to depart, 48 percent cite loss of trust in their employer and Forty-six percent say lack of transparent communication from organizational leadership are the primary motivators for pursuing new employment at the end of the recession, according to Deloitte's fourth annual Ethics & Workplace Survey. A large majority (65 percent) of Fortune 1000 executives concerned about the possibility that staff members will soon be looking elsewhere for work, believe trust will be a factor in any voluntary attrition. (570 words) . . . More
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Companies are Adopting Indirect Procurement Best Practices at Slower Rate than Anticipated
A.T. Kearney - 30 June 2010
A.T. Kearney - Indirect procurement categories like IT, marketing and advertising, facilities management, MRO, Logistics and professional services, have become increasingly important to Chief Procurement Officers and their organizations, according to the results of a recent study from global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, the Indirect Procurement Study (IPS). Indirect spend accounts for 60 percent of third-party spend in non-manufacturing companies; more than 90 percent in financial services; and often 50 percent of spend in manufacturing. More than two-thirds of respondents measure financial and internal key performance indicators such as addressable spend, identified savings and addressable categories. But less than half of the respondents track compliance management metrics such as spend integrity or accuracy, and supplier commitments, scorecards and reviews. (465 words) . . . More
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Professionals Concerned with Risk of Procurement Fraud at their Organizations
Deloitte - 8 June 2010
Deloitte - More than three-quarters of business professionals (76 percent) polled during a recent Deloitte webcast on the subject of procurement fraud expressed concern about the risk of fraud within their organizations and/or the vendors with whom their organizations work. More than half of the respondents (52 percent) chose solicitation/negotiation as the procurement lifecycle activity that posed the greatest risk. Twenty four percent thought contract performance was the procurement activity presenting the greatest risk for fraud. (355 words) . . . More
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