This Month
Are you guilty of using this year’s most awful jargon?
Here’s the past 12 months in words and phrases that professionals love to use, and what they’re really saying. We hope to never see any of them again.
- Updated
- Edmund Tadros
‘Powerful message to consulting’: McKinsey to pay $1b for opioid crisis
The business consulting giant has agreed to pay the money to end a US Justice Department criminal probe into its role in bolstering sales of pain pills.
- David Ovalle
McKinsey pays $190m to resolve probes into South Africa bribes
The firm participated in a years-long scheme to bribe government officials in South Africa, according to US officials.
- Stephen Foley
November
NAB tapped Bain & Company for its strategy refresh
Consulting firm Bain was called in to help National Australia Bank with its new strategy focusing on customers, it can be revealed.
- Edmund Tadros
October
US legislators push to investigate McKinsey over its China work
A group of Republicans are demanding US government officials probe the consulting firm over its work with the Chinese government and state-owned enterprises.
- Didi Tang
September
Autobarn owner’s new chief winds down McKinsey plan
The Better Than Before program resulted in an “unacceptable” profit decline, as analysts suggested any new bid needed to be above $6 per share.
- Simon Evans
August
McKinsey partner set to pop up at Bankwest
Commonwealth Bank-owned Bankwest is transitioning to a digital-only bank by the end of 2024.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
AI curiosity is defying consulting slump: McKinsey
McKinsey is seeing an increase in the number of clients seeking artificial intelligence-linked projects, as faster adoption of the technology helps the consulting titan and its peers boost revenue following a period of tumult.
- Ambereen Choudhury
July
- Opinion
- Consulting
Is McKinsey a partnership? Court case, leadership battles stir debate
A former senior partner is suing McKinsey after he was fired for having “communicated about document deletion” relating to the firm’s advice to opioid manufacturers.
- Stephen Foley
May
Why McKinsey wants to send its consultants back to class
McKinsey has launched an internal training academy to develop that most sought-after of modern executives: a leader who understands a company’s business and technology needs.
- Edmund Tadros
Why so many top executives start in accounting, consulting
BOSS delves into the career paths of the senior executives at Australia’s 20 biggest companies to discover where they started – and the critical skills and experience they gained.
- Sally Patten
April
McKinsey uses Chumbawamba to boost morale
The firm sought to rally partners at a meeting, but has been hit by news of a criminal investigation and lawsuit from a former senior partner in the past week.
- Ambereen Choudhury and Amy Bainbridge
McKinsey offers staff nine months’ pay to leave
The management-consulting firm is dangling the pay, along with career-coaching services and other resources, to some UK staff who would like to leave.
- Matthew Boyle
March
Win promotion in 2½ years or go, McKinsey now tells consultants
The company is raising the “up or out” pressure on staff as the global industry struggles following several years of aggressive hiring.
- Ambereen Choudhury
February
Diversity advocates McKinsey, BCG, Bain land pay gaps over 30pc
Strategy firms that advise clients to increase the diversity of their workforces and leadership teams have gender pay gaps that are up to double the national gap.
- Edmund Tadros
Call to ban McKinsey from US government contracts for China work
Top Republicans have called for McKinsey to be banned from securing US federal contracts after a think tank led by the firm gave policy recommendations to Beijing.
- Demetri Sevastopulo and Stephen Foley
Consultants slam brakes on hiring in the UK
The professional services sector, considered a bellwether for Britain’s economy, is cutting costs amid a dearth of deals.
- Irina Anghel
January
- Exclusive
- Aviation
Qantas calls in McKinsey for operational overhaul to fix late flights
The appointment of the global management consultancy comes after BCG was engaged for similar work and follows Vanessa Hudson’s elevation to chief executive.
- Kylar Loussikian and Ayesha de Kretser
What it’s like to get managed out at McKinsey
The strategy consulting firm lost 2 per cent of its Australian workforce in 2022 through its “up or out” approach towards struggling staff.
- Hannah Wootton
December 2023
McKinsey, BCG don’t want public to know junior partners earn $700,000+
McKinsey told a Senate inquiry it was “not able to share the remuneration of our individual partners”, while BCG said partner pay was “tied to a global structure in a highly competitive global market”.
- Edmund Tadros