The results of Consulting's annual executive outlook are in—and the numbers are promising, to say the least. Onward and upward would seem to be the mantra this year as both the results of this year's Executive Outlook survey and our exclusive interviews with firm leaders indicate.
Continued positive economic momentum combined with the election of what most expect will be a very pro-business administration leads to a rosy forecast among consulting executives. Sprinkle in enough upheaval and turmoil to key industries such as healthcare and financial services, along with what appears to be bipartisan support for increased infrastructure spending, and the result is a real "Pedal to the Metal" mentality. That's the title of this month's cover story and 14-page section where we look where we were, where we are and where we're going.
Based on our interviews, consulting firm leaders are even more confident than they were last year—when they felt pretty darn confident. There's simply no denying they're very satisfied with their firm's overall financial performance in 2016 and are especially giddy about their forecasts for the year ahead.
The going—and growing—is good, but most economists still warn that we're most likely in a slow-growth mode and the global economy will continue to have to settle for growth below 3 percent. But consulting firm leaders say they are seeing no signs of a slowdown as they continue to report pipelines remain strong.
A staggering 98 percent of executives are forecasting growth, and 91 percent are saying that growth will exceed 6 percent. Both of those numbers are up over last year. The forecasts and projections of top-line growth is significant, but what about the bottom line? Looks good, too. According to our survey results, about 80 percent of firm leaders reported improvements to their net profits in 2016.
Joseph Kornik Publisher & Editor-in-Chief jkornik@alm.com
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