TL;DR
Consulting firms often act as expensive cover for corporate mismanagement, leading to losses for shareholders and employees. The situation highlights how easily even sophisticated financial actors can be fooled into trusting those whose self-interest lies in masking problems rather than addressing them.
Story
Another consulting firm bites the dust? Shocking. These guys aren’t miracle workers; they’re highly paid validators of already-made decisions. Think of them as expensive window dressing for CEOs who need plausible deniability when their schemes go south.
It’s a game as old as time. Remember Enron? Those guys had armies of consultants crafting intricate narratives to hide their mountain of debt. Same thing here, just a different flavour. These firms, often staffed by fresh-faced Ivy League grads with more debt than experience, create a veneer of legitimacy for what’s often nothing more than a thinly veiled power grab.
The human impact? Shareholders lose money. Employees lose their jobs. And the public gets another reminder that the system is rigged. All while the consultants cash out, leaving behind a trail of financial carnage. It’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck in slow motion – predictable and painful.
The red flags are glaring. If a company keeps hiring consultants to ‘fix’ recurring problems, it’s not the consultants who are the problem; it’s the underlying business model, the management team, or both. Always scrutinize any statement coming out of a consulting firm with more than a pinch of salt. Remember, they are selling a service, not providing some sort of financial safety net.
In short, this is not a new problem; it’s a symptom of a larger issue of greed, unchecked power, and the way corporate structures have gotten away from the average human being. Nothing has really changed from 2008; just the names, the players, and the specific financial tools they use to achieve the same goals. Be skeptical. Be informed. Don’t become a statistic.
Advice
Always question the narrative presented by consultants and never take their pronouncements at face value. Be skeptical of overly positive forecasts and examine the fundamental business model of the companies they advise.
Source
https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/1lksohj/why_does_consulting_even_exist/