It isn't your imagination, Australian businesses are teeming with consultants.
That's one view to draw from a new report which has found Australia has overtaken the UK and the US as the second most attractive consulting market in the world.
Firms in Australia were enthusiastic users of consulting services and were much more likely to call in the advisors than businesses in almost every other country, according to the report Planning for Growth in 2017 by research firm Source Global Research.
The DACH market (made up of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) had the most attractive market for consulting services based on the high earnings per consultant, slightly above average growth and client propensity to buy.
Second in the attractiveness index was Australia, where clients had the equal-highest (with the UK) propensity to buy consulting services, above average revenue per consultant and growth.
The rosy view of the Australian market was shared by the local head of strategy consulting outfit Bain.
"In our view, relative to large, mature markets such as North America and Germany, the premium consulting market in Australia has plenty of room to grow," David Zehner, the head of Bain in Australia and New Zealand
"The market for premium consulting services is growing because companies are increasingly aware of the value of external support.
"There is significant pressure on boards and management teams to find new sources of growth, both within the core and outside the core.
"Our clients are also dealing with external pressures outside their immediate control - changes in commodity prices, new competitors, and the advancements and disruptions driven by new technologies."
Digital transformation
The author of the report, Edward Haigh, said client demand in Australia is expected to pick up over the next year.
"[Australia] is a very mature market in which there are sophisticated clients who show a strong propensity for using consultants," Mr Haigh said.
"In fact, relative to GDP, the Australian consulting market is one of the biggest in the world, which tells us something about how well established consulting services are in the minds of clients."
The report, based on a global survey of more than 2700 senior users and buyers of consulting services, ranked 17 consulting markets around the world based on four factors: growth in the market, the average revenue per consultant, clients' propensity to buy services and the ability to find staff.
Mr Haigh said "digital transformation is the really hot topic at the moment, and that applies across all industries".
This observation is consistent with moves by consultants of all types, from the strategy firms through to the big four accounting and advisory firms and technology firms, to ramp up their digital services.
Source Global Research estimates the total Australian consulting market grew 4.4 per cent to $US4.4 billion ($5.9 billion) in 2015.
Their report does not take into account absolute market size for its index, rather the relative growth and opportunity in the 17 markets.
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