For more than two decades, large consulting firms have shaped the way organisations approach finance transformation. They defined the methodologies, built the playbooks, and delivered major programmes across the UK market. Their impact has been significant. Yet the needs of modern finance teams have changed—and traditional consulting has not kept pace.

Across our work with CFOs, finance directors, and transformation leads, one theme consistently emerges: the legacy consulting model is no longer fit for the operational, data-driven, digital reality of today’s finance function. Finance teams need speed, accuracy, and measurable outcomes—not theoretical frameworks, lengthy discovery phases, or change programmes that cost more to run than the benefits they deliver.

This is not a criticism of consultants. It is a criticism of a model built for a different era.

The UK market is entering a new phase of finance modernisation, and the firms that thrive will be those who evolve to meet the realities of automation, AI-readiness, process intelligence, and digital execution. Traditional consulting, however, remains anchored to outdated delivery structures and methods.

Below, we explore the five structural reasons this model is failing modern finance teams—and what the next generation of transformation partners must do differently.

1. The traditional consulting model is too slow for a world that moves in real time

Finance is now a digital operating function. Processes run continuously. Data flows continuously. Risk accumulates continuously. Yet consulting firms still deploy methodologies built around linear phases—discovery, design, build, deploy—each reliant on large teams, extensive documentation, and prolonged decision cycles.

Finance leaders simply cannot afford six-month diagnostics or transformation plans that take a year to validate.

In a period where:

• transaction volumes fluctuate daily,

• regulatory expectations evolve rapidly,

• automation opportunities emerge faster than teams can assess them,

• and AI adoption depends on operational discipline rather than ambition,

waiting months for clarity is no longer acceptable.

The most successful finance functions in the UK today operate with continuous insight, continuous optimisation, and continuous visibility. They need partners who can match that pace—not inhibit it.

2. Traditional consultancies still rely on interviews and workshops, not objective operational insight

This is one of the most profound gaps in the legacy consulting model.

Despite significant investment in digital capability, most firms still diagnose processes using:

• interviews

• brown-paper workshops

• stakeholder surveys

• anecdotal pain points

• manually assembled process maps

This approach is subjective, slow, and incomplete.

Interviews reveal perception, not reality. Workshops highlight symptoms, not root causes. And process maps often reflect how teams believe work happens—not how it actually flows through systems.

In contrast, modern finance teams require data-driven transparency: how processes execute, where inefficiencies sit, how much rework occurs, how long tasks truly take, and where value is lost.

This requires a layer of process intelligence, not opinions.

Traditional consulting still sells expertise.
Modern finance requires evidence.

3. The pyramid delivery model doesn’t work for operational modernisation

The hallmark of large consulting firms is their leverage model: a small number of senior partners supported by large teams of junior consultants. This structure is profitable—but not aligned with what finance leaders need.

The UK CFOs we work with consistently tell us:

• junior-heavy teams slow programmes down

• knowledge is lost through layers of delivery

• recommendations lack operational grounding

• documentation replaces action

• BAU teams are burdened with explaining processes instead of improving them

Finance modernisation requires senior operators, not analysts.
It requires people who have run finance functions, delivered system integrations, and executed transformation.

The modern finance leader wants a partner who brings hands-on capability, not theoretical PowerPoint. They want a team who can do the work, not observe it.

The consulting pyramid model actively prevents this.

4. Traditional consulting is too expensive and no longer delivers proportionate value

UK finance leaders are under extreme cost pressure. Budgets are thinning, hiring is constrained, and transformation demands are rising. Yet consulting fees have steadily increased—day rates, travel expenses, overheads, and charge-out multipliers designed to sustain large firm structures.

What we are hearing across the market:

• “We can’t justify the cost anymore.”

• “We end up paying for the brand, not the delivery.”

• “The benefits don’t reflect the spend.”

• “We need targeted expertise, not multi-million pound roadmaps.”

Finance teams value outcomes over scale.
Impact over infrastructure.
Transparency over time sheets.

The next generation of transformation partners must deliver senior expertise without the overhead. They must embed capability, not burn budget.

The market is ready for a leaner, more intelligent model.

5. Traditional consulting stops at strategy - modern finance needs execution

This is the single greatest shortcoming of the legacy model.

Large consulting firms excel at strategy. They develop high-level transformation plans, target operating models, and conceptual roadmaps. However, the gap between strategy and execution is where most finance transformations fail.

Finance teams are left with:

• recommendations but no capacity

• roadmaps but no doers

• business cases but no measurable delivery

• PowerPoint but no operational change

Without execution capability, strategy is theoretical.
Without measurable outcomes, transformation becomes political.
Without senior operators, change stalls.

Modern finance functions require partners who not only design, but deliver:

• process optimisation

• automation deployment

• system implementation readiness

• operational diagnostics

• AI-readiness frameworks

• benefits tracking

• workflow redesign

Traditional consulting rarely provides this.
A modern partner must.

A New Model for a New Era of Finance Transformation

The UK finance landscape is changing at speed. Automation, AI, regulatory pressure, and digital systems have redefined what finance teams must deliver. Yet the consulting industry has not kept pace.

Finance leaders now need partners who can:

• uncover operational truth through data—not anecdotes

• diagnose processes objectively, not subjectively

• deliver rapid insight, not extended programmes

• deploy senior operators who execute, not juniors who observe

• align technology to measurable value

• prepare the function for AI and automation

• embed continuous improvement, not one-off transformation

• operate with low overhead, transparency, and accountability

This is the foundation of the modern transformation partner—a do-tank, not a think-tank; a firm built around insight, evidence, and execution.

Traditional consulting helped organisations navigate the last era of transformation.
It will not lead them through the next.

The Market Is Moving. Finance Leaders Are Moving. The Model Must Move Too.

As UK finance functions continue to digitise, CFOs are increasingly choosing partners who are:

• leaner

• faster

• more specialised

• more transparent

• more operationally grounded

• more aligned to measurable outcomes

This shift is already underway—from large consulting structures to agile, data-led, execution-focused models.

Tierpoint Partners was built specifically for this moment.

We exist because finance teams are demanding a different type of partner—one that combines senior expertise, operational intelligence, and hands-on delivery to achieve measurable, sustainable impact.

Traditional consulting isn’t failing because it is incompetent. It is failing because the world it was designed for no longer exists.

A new era requires a new model. And modern finance leaders are ready for it.