MCG seeks boost from US clean-up

MANAGEMENT consultants are cheering President Bush's move to shake up corporate governance in the US, claiming it will bring in a flood of work for them. London-quoted Management Consulting Group, the former Proudfoot Consulting company, said the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will bring 'significant revenues' as American corporates rush to show they are cleaning up their acts.

MCG bought US group Parson Consulting in May for £38m and said it will pull out of providing internal audit services to businesses to fully leverage the selling of other consulting services.

Chief executive Kevin Parry foresees much work traditionally done by the major accountants coming up for grabs. 'We remain convinced the marketplace is increasingly demanding that consultancy services provided to financial and operational support functions are provided by firms without an actual or potential conflict of interest arising from the provision of audit services,' he said.

The three-year turnround of MCG, aided by its specialisation of aiding management teams under the cosh of economic circumstances, helped it lift turnover in the first half of the year by 79% to £55m, turning last time's £2.3m loss into a £4.1m pre-tax profit.