7 Small Jewels Since its inception, Consulting magazine has done its best to highlight the best firms the profession has to offer, regardless of size. To that end, Consulting has recognized more than 50 of the smallest fish in a big consulting pond as part of its annual Seven Small Jewels. Firms with fewer than 250 billable consultants are eligible. Since receiving the award, some firms have more than outgrown their "Small Jewel" status.

2009
Alas Consulting
Cumberland Consulting
Excella Consulting
Impact Advisors
Insight Sourcing Group
Teklink International
Worldwide Trade Partners

March April 2008
2008
Censeo Consulting Group
The Claro Group
Cliff Consulting
MarketSphere Consulting
Pariveda Solutions
Strong-Bridge
True Partners Consulting

2007
Acquity Group
Healthia
IBB Consulting
ICO
Pace Harmon
Saint Consulting
SICOFIN

2006
Acme Business Consulting
Anderson Performance Improvement Company
BPM Partners
EBPartners
Monitor Networks
PCubed
Point B

2005
Adventis
Innosight
Gestalt LLC
Molecular
Putnam Associates
Strategic Business Partners
West Monroe Partners

2004
Archstone Consulting
Balanced Scorecard
Collaborative Inc.
Chicago Consulting Actuaries
Doblin Inc.
Huron Consulting Group
Katzenbach Partners
Prophet
March April 2005
2003
The Alexander Group
Princeton Consultants
CDG & Associates
Bridge Strategy
Canopy International
M.F. Smith & Associates
RHR International

2002
Crossroads, LLC.
Fuld & Company
Halifax Corp.
Kepner-Tregoe
MMG Partners
Tigris Consulting
TPI Inc.

Huron Consulting GroupIt's hard to image that a consulting firms with more than $650 million in revenue and 2,000 employees was ever a Small Jewel, but Huron Consulting Group was just that. Founded back in March 2002 by ex-Arthur Andersen executive Gary Holdren, Huron's humble beginnings as a start-up didn't last long. Its meteoric growth in its early years was capped by an IPO in the fall of 2004 and annual revenues of $150 million.Several key acquisitions later, including healthcare specialists Wellspring Partners in 2007, fueled the firm's revenue ride to more than $500 million by the end of 2007. But by mid 2009, trouble was brewing.

Holdren, the firm's CEO, and other Huron executives stepped down amidst an accounting scandal related to how businesses that Huron acquired between 2005 and 2007 redistributed portions of their acquisition-related payments.

As a result, Huron had to restate its earning and cut its 2009 revenue outlook to a range of $650 million to $680 million from an expected $730 million to $770 million. Jim Roth, formerly vice president of Health and Education Consulting for Huron, is now the firm's CEO.
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