AI in consulting

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a revolutionary concept that has changed how multiple industries function and the quality of services offered. From driverless cars and personal assistants to customized and personalized products. Especially in the business world, AI has made it possible to better understand collected data to enhance, prevent, grow, and streamline all aspects of business. As in other industries, AI has taken hold in consulting. According to a study by the INSEE, consulting is the third largest industry where AI is most implemented in the United States with an adoption rate of 30%. Stephen Hawking warned that AI could sound the death knell of civilization. A fear of AI has emerged in the professional world stemming from the premise: machines can replace humans and lead to mass unemployment. This article is based on an interview with Redouane El Amrani, professor of IS and digital transformation for consultants at Audencia Business School who has carried out many digital transformation projects using AI, big data, and the blockchain. The main objective of this article is to demonstrate and provide the reader with a good understanding of how AI is currently implemented and used in the BIG 4’s consulting companies and how AI could evolve in the near future of consulting.

How is AI impacting the BIG 4’s consulting business?

Rate of generative AI adoption in the workplace in the United States in 2023, by industry

Source: Insee

How is the BIG 4’s consulting business benefiting from AI technologies, especially in the fields of financing and audit? 

Large financial advisory and auditing firms have seen their industries significantly disrupted by the advent of AI and automation. These technologies can significantly improve the way firms operate and the services they provide to clients. El Amrani believes that the benefits of AI for these firms are manifold, including data collection and analysis, administrative tasks, and productivity improvements. 

First, AI helps firms collect data in bulk and analyze it quickly. Consultants can use AI tools to collect data on sales, operations, supply chain, and other aspects of the business. AI tools can process this data much faster than an average human, allowing consultants to deliver timely and accurate results to their clients. For example, with AI, path testing can also analyze all available data, rather than focusing on certain randomly selected data, which can provide a more complete picture. 

Second, AI is highly efficient in managing routine administrative tasks, such as invoicing, record keeping, and regulatory compliance. Robotic process automation (RPA) can help businesses streamline these tasks and suggest logical decisions. By freeing up junior employees from administrative duties, they can focus on more meaningful tasks and improve engagement and productivity. 

Finally, AI can enhance productivity in financial consulting and audit firms by automating repetitive tasks and using virtual assistants to schedule meetings and manage records. This frees up time for junior employees to focus on more engaging work, increasing overall efficiency and satisfaction. However, as El Amrani points out, one must be aware that the adoption of AI technologies will require significant changes in organizational structure, including the need to upskill employees in new areas, rethinking job roles and responsibilities, and potentially restructuring teams and departments to fully integrate AI into their operations.

AI is a real asset to clients 

Big 4 firms invest in AI to facilitate not only internal tasks but also exchanges with clients. The missions that firms perform at clients’ premises require them to access a large number of data (accounting reports, internal files, presentations, etc.). These are then analyzed by the teams to focus on relevant data. This long and tedious work is now being carried out by AI, which makes it possible to collect data in open source, data transmitted by customers, and then analyze them. This transfer of information is done in a secure manner to guarantee the independence of the work carried out by audit and consulting firms.

In addition, as El Amrani emphasizes, use of AI by Big 4 companies for customers is based on availability, since the AI can improve the customer relationship by being available all the time to answer the queries and requests of its interlocutor. This helps build customer loyalty and also frees up time for operational teams.  

Finally, AI also gives clients the possibility to have a multidisciplinary contact, because it has various and diverse skills beyond the financial and accounting fields, which allows clients to obtain a more complete response to their situation without involving other teams with expertise in tax or strategic subjects. 

But might AI be a threat to the consulting industry? 

Over a hundred years ago, people didn’t even know what electricity was and now it’s a regular necessity in our daily lives. Artificial Intelligence is the new electricity, used by the very large majority of industry, and which really transformed the way that companies work and operate. AI has similar potential, there is no industry where it can’t have an impact in terms of automating and changing processes, to launch new kinds of services and innovations.

These are challenging times for large consultant companies and small independent consultants, as they are forced to respond to the changes brought by AI. Consultants certainly fear AI more than other sectors like manufacturing, transportation, finance, and enterprise. Only time will tell how fast and deeply AI will threaten the consulting industry and how it will affect their business. While AI will definitely change the industry, it will also help it by giving consultants more powerful and efficient tools to better analyze data and thus enable a better understanding of the companies they work for. It will take many years for AI systems to become so sophisticated that they provide valid decisions, so until then the consulting industry may rest assured that its work will not be taken over by AI.

The main purpose of most technological advancements is to be able to do more work better, faster, and in less time with less cost. That is why artificial intelligence systems can be seen as a threat to the consulting industry. What consultants provide that AI can’t provide is still human interaction and levelheaded advice, which most companies still prefer. Use of this medium should be understood as a tool, and not as a machine that will replace the consultant.

By Kamel Djouadi, Louis De Tudert, Lucas Morin