Vault’s Verdict

With the threat of economic volatility on the horizon, there’s likely no better-positioned firm in the global consulting market than A&M. Known for its abilities on both sides of the business cycle—with turnaround and restructuring a particular specialty—this is a firm with little to fear no matter what 2023 and beyond brings.

As an employer, A&M is famed for its eat-what-you-kill philosophy, with limited base salaries and very little in the way of additional perks. With that in mind, the firm tends to attract people who want to work hard, play a role in developing business, and take home outsized rewards for doing so. As such, it’s an attractive option for seasoned veterans with a large book of contacts, but also a place where younger consultants can learn and develop very quickly.

Firm Culture

“A&M has an entrepreneurial, growth-oriented culture. We set the bar high for ourselves and take accountability, with a high degree of integrity for what we do and how we do it. We have fun - we subscribe to ‘like what you do and like whom you do it with.’”

“Deep industry expertise and a focus on value creation rather than operational cost or revenue improvement. Since we work with PE firms often, our focus is on how we make a firm more valuable rather than how we improve what it does. This allows more space for creativity and drives a different economics around return on consulting investment.”

“It is rare to find a place where you can make a difference every day, but still have a multi-billion dollar firm behind you. I can see A&M SEAA changing before my eyes, and I see it contributing to a greater story about how A&M globally will continue to succeed. As a leader in the firm, I take that seriously and drive the changes that I believe will be in the best interest of the firm both locally and globally. This firm is a place that gives you the space to lead, in just this way. That's a rare opportunity.”

“The best consulting firm I have worked for and hence continue to stay with. The firm and its leadership rewards merit, gives the freedom to try things and does not look down on failures that you come across when you take the journey. Like what you do and like who you do it with.”

“This is a place to come if you are confident in your ability to realize actual change for clients and you are able to chart your own career path on the platform using mentors and creativity.”

Quality of Life

“A very high level of care for employee wellbeing at all levels. A great inclusive culture with strong collaboration. The strongest teamwork I have ever experienced in the workplace - a lot of fun too.”

“Best - Everyone in team is cooperative and there is sense of empathy. You may enjoy team outings which are organized from time to time.

Worst - the working hours are difficult if you are on a short projects. It may go up to 75-80 hours a week.”

“Depending on engagements, work can take precedence. However, people I work with are clear about balancing health and wellbeing with necessary leave time and cool off periods.”

“Like other consulting firms, travel is a must. The firm makes an effort to allow employees to take the time they need for personal matters, even during client engagements. Travel is greatly reduced during COVID and a lot more has become virtual. This may be a fundamental change to the industry.”

“Work is very project dependent. On a due diligence project, work-life balance takes a hit with working hours stretching to 15-16 hours a day. However, the firm ensures that there is no work to be done on weekends. In case there are no active projects, you can work 6-7 hours a day and take the rest of the time off.”

Compensation

“Bonus component is strong but base pay needs to improve. Very little additional perks provided.”

“Firm's compensation package is first rate. The model is really transparent and incentivizes all the right behaviors. Worst part is that revenue for bonuses is based on collections, which means that customers who are stretching DSO or MDs who are not diligent can cost the team money.”

“Lack of visibility on process for translation of performance scores to hike and variable payout.”

“Pay for financial performance with is both good and bad. Good that success is rewarded. Bad in that compensation can be lumpy from year to year.”

“They need to benchmark with other consulting firms of similar repute/stature and see how far behind they are. That’s the main reason for high attrition in last year.”

Career Development

“Best: Promotion path can be aggressive if employees perform well and bring in new opportunities and are good at business development.

Worst: The hard skills of forensic technology may not be easily transferable to other industries. It is because this industry is very specialized, but nothing related to the firm.”

“Career development opportunities are plenty, the individual should seek for such opportunities by being vocal.”

“May not be the best place for lateral hires - need time to build relationships internally to be recognized, and then figure out a path. Training is encouraged and there are resources internally to learn from the global counterparts or past work experiences.”

“Promotion processes overall for the firm are good. But certain departments have favoritism towards certain team members.”

“The best aspects of the firm are the leadership team and the entrepreneurial spirit of the entire organization. The worst aspect is generally the pace (which is very, very fast).”

Community Engagement

“All consultants have equal access to interesting/high-quality work and promotion opportunities.”

“Firm promotes D&I across levels by creating awareness, interactive sessions and actively looking for recruiting people from diverse backgrounds and I feel it promotes meritocracy and equal access to high-quality work and promotion opportunities.”

“Open and liberal culture with only merit being the deciding factor behind recruitment.”

“We are working to bring a more diverse team into the firm, particularly with respect to gender. As a disabled person, I am impressed with the firm's accommodations and their larger commitment to diversity.”

Business Outlook

“Amazingly positive outlook. Company continues to grow. The innovation largely plays out on the financial side. There is an emerging differentiated value proposition with respect to IT, but it is just emerging and isn't fully formed. Once it is in place, I believe it will accelerate our growth even more.”

“Expanding fast in Southeast Asia and Australia, superb growth.”

“Tremendous opportunity to serve extensive global clients in SEAA region.”

“Well defined and positioned Commercial Due Diligence product with PE clients.”

“Need to make better foray into corporate sector clients for larger deals.”

Hiring Process

“Our interview process involves getting a lot of interviews to allow candidates to understand the company as well the management.” 

“Referred candidates can be sent communications along with the person who has referred for the status of the company.”

“Smart, efficient, operationally sound to execute ideas.”

“The ideal candidate is an entrepreneurial self-starter with high levels of EQ. Candidates that can thrive in a fluid environment will succeed. Candidates that are looking for continual structure and direction may struggle.”

“We are looking for fresh graduates, but in particular people who may not have taken a traditional path to consulting. We are a company driven by deep industry knowledge and so for lateral hires we often focus on experience in industry rather than experience in consulting. Ideally we would balance the two.”

Interview Questions

“Case interview around product management. Case for managing retail cash flow and cost reduction. Agile organization implementation.”

“Process of solving a problem encountered during work in steps.”

“Senior Leaders - Experiential interviews/ References.

Juniors - Case studies testing data analysis/ structuring/ numerical ability on profitability/ performance improvement.”

“Strategy and Market-entry related cases are generally asked in interviews. Guesstimates are used to understand the thinking approach of the candidate.”