Brexit – Crisis, or Opportunity?

Brexit – Crisis, or Opportunity?

The professional services world has been in profound shock since July’s unexpected referendum result and with good reason – uncertainty is rarely ever good for business, particularly if that uncertainty directly concerns the free trade and open borders that, in a globalised, highly specialised industry, you rely on.

At first glance, Brexit would definitely appear to be bad news for consultants everywhere – with merger & acquisition business now at a virtual standstill, having shrunk by 50% on the previous year in the run up to the vote alone, belts will be tightened in many areas. Investments flowing in is, really, our lifeblood – when they flow in, companies expand and look to management consultants to manage and scale that expansion. When it stalls… well, we all know what happens.

But is it all doom and gloom? Yes, there are certainly challenges, but with our European relationship amounting to a complex and many-headed beast which will be difficult and time-consuming to unravel, there is much for consultants to tackle at the same time – a prudent business plans for the future, and where the future is uncertain and could yield more than one outcome, is best advised to plan multiple strategies for the likely outcomes, and who is best placed to answer that call?