Consultants: nice to have, but not essential. That at least seems to be the message struggling financial services companies are sending, as consultants such as KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers find themselves with time on their hands instead of rushing to the rescue of grateful clients.
At least one firm has asked its consultants to work only three or four days a week, without mentioning it to clients, while PwC was able to find six partners free at once to have lunch with a couple of journalists this week.
