Consulting Discussions
Utilization Rate

Let’s discuss gender pay gaps by assessing our own discrepancies. I’ll start. I’m a 29 YO female, almost 6 years experience total, at a 115 base, guaranteed 126 if I meet utilization, with potential for more bonus. No target school or MBA. I’m happy with where I’m at, but are my male counterparts on here making more or relatively the same?

Does D still penalize you for taking PTO? Did they change it recently? What is the utilization target for D Ms? How many days can you carry over to next year?

What’s everyone’s utilization? Mine was over 100% the last few months, curious to see how others are doing.

New to FDD from audit. Any advice on getting utilization up? Frequently bouncing around on a deal two days at a time. Have the skill and talent to do great work, just need to show it

So my friend at PwC said they’re having “utilization concerns” and think it might negatively impact them come EoY… here’s my question - why do firms track this if staffing ultimately has your fate? I don’t think we track this, which makes sense to me because staffing says “hey you’re going to be doing X for date Y-Z.” How can you benchmark people on something driven by business demand?

Anyone switched from Deloitte to Guidehouse? Any pros/cons between the two? (e.g. utilization differences, differences in bus dev expectations)

Thoughts on leaving PA primarily due to the metrics based culture (utilization, dtc, use of X digital tool, revenue, margin, etc). I find this aspect of PA stressful and exhausting but not sure if this is something you just get used to. Currently a manager and seems like the metrics just change over time / don’t get easier.

Is vaccine discrimination lurking at Kearney MEA?

The company said that it won't be mandating vaccines. But a recent email from HR asked for every employee's vaccination status.

Should unvaccinated consultants fear discrimination (can't travel, won't be staffed, will have low utilization, will be at risk)?

Honest question for an open debate

FDD folks, do you work often over the weekends ? If yes, can you give an idea of how many weekends? I heard utilization rate was around 80-90% is it true ? Just trying to compare with audit hours.. thanks !

What are the consequences for not hitting your utilization target?

It’s come to my attention there is a salary exempt employee who has utilized all of their PTO. Was unwell two days last week and being “coached” by another elevated position to tel payroll make a deduction from their upcoming paycheck. would you address it and if so what would be the advice you’d give?

Just need to rant: super annoyed with the whole “utilization and billable hours.” We have FTO, which I love but the utilization takes away from it. For 2 weeks I barely was able to make 30 hours, which is awesome because I wasn’t stressed. But my utilization has now dropped, so I have to work extra to “make it up” if I want to take vacations and actually use the holidays the firm has given. GT has like 11 days off for for the holidays/NYE and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to take that

Evaluating D consulting offer for an M.
1. Does vacation ding your utilization? What are the utilization targets for M?
2. WLB: what are the avg. work hours in D? How does it compare with MBB?
3. Culture: How would you describe the work culture at D? Has it improved over the past year?

Has anyone ever utilized their company’s sabbatical program?

Thinking about starting to take annual (or more likely, every other year) sabbaticals once I’ve reached a level I’m happy with in the company (not racing for more promotions)

If you’d never, ever take a sabbatical, would appreciate that insight too.

New SALT person here-- could someone help me out with recognizing if/when an underlying investment utilized the 163(j)? We received an underlying Federal K-1 that shows Line 13k but I can't figure out if it was utilized or not. Is that line even included taxable income to begin with? TIA!

What happens if you don’t meet utilization targets in a year?

I switched from audit to advisory and have been here 2 months and my billable hours are way less than I was expecting (avg 30 a week). I’ve had good feedback on my projects and ask for more work in my down time, but the change of pace from when I was in audit is stressing me out.

How is everyone staying motivated at work while going through fertility treatments? On days when I have appts or get my period, all I want to do is google and read forums about it. My utilization is tanking (not because I’m blowing off work, but because I need to find and take on new work) but can’t get the energy to). I’ve told my manager about what I’m going through and she is supportive, but feeling guilty when I hear about how busy everyone around me is and I just can’t find the motivation.

I’m 2.5 weeks out of training and haven’t been utilized to the full extent. I haven’t been staffed and rarely have been asked to complete smaller one-off projects. Who should I talk to? MD? Associate? Other analysts? Broader question is ‘how do I ask for work?’

How can I ask the partner to bill for OT? I’m staffed in a project but since I’m new (5months) Im told can only bill to the training code ( doesn’t help utilization). I have been working 10+ hour days for the past 2 weeks. Based on the calls that I’ve been part of this partner seems to be a big advocate for WLB. I have a call with him tmr and wasn’t planning on gauging him but the timing seems to be there and idk if I’ll be able to hop on a call with a partner for a v long time ( at EY btw)

New to consulting, but it seems like utilization targets really only function to incentivize folks to avoid the bench. In terms of billing actuals, isn’t everybody better off if you just bill 40/45/whatever your target is? Better forecasting and budgeting (good for project lead), client paid for hours so we charge for them (good for partner), peace of mind for hitting utilization target (good for consultant who doesn’t have to worry as much about hitting target). Am I missing something here?

Recently I switched company and my current ctc is 35LPA. But my take home is only 2lakhs. And almost 60k going for taxes. I have housing loan and utilized full 80c. Appreciate guidance from other how they manage their taxes if they are at higher slab.

Currently interviewing with BRG in their Turnaround and Restructuring division and was wondering if anyone knew whether their compensation structure is similar to A&M's, as in the bonus being tied as a % to your billable / utilization rate? And if so, are there restrictions of any kind, like it starts applying after you hit a title, etc?

Hi 🐠, need some advice. Was told by my manager that time doing research (for info related to my client) is not client billable and has to be charged to the overhead code. This strikes me as fundamentally wrong, esp bc this is a flat rate project so the hours will just affect my utilization / internal metrics, not how much the client is billed. I asked for a non-billable code that counts towards utilization but was told my utilization is fine even though I’d be billing <40hrs & to use OH code

Does EY have a traditional consulting track and a project delivery model or specialist track separately? Asking since I came across posts on LinkedIn for “cyber security senior” it didn’t say staff so I just want to know if it’s an internal organization/group with EY with a flat structure where you aren’t expected to do BD/proposals and utilization isn’t a key metric.

Recently transferred service lines and need advice. I’m starting to get a bit worried about my growth and experiences within the new SSL, as I’ve barely been utilized since transferring more than a month ago. Does anyone have tips on how to get my name out there and land a spot on some projects? I’ve been reaching out to everyone I’ve met in this SSL regularly, letting them know I have availability and expressing my interest in learning more, but my network is pretty limited (<10 people)

I just started as a Consultant about 3 weeks ago and I’ve been having difficulty finding a project that utilizes my skill set. What can I if my company is having difficulty staffing me on a project? I feel bad that I’m not being utilized

I heard at Andersen Tax they publish everyone's utilization to the office and highlight the ones who didn't work enough. Is this true?

I was thinking about jumping over there after this busy season but if that would be a dealbreaker for me.

My organization is looking into softwares that track financials, utilization rate, etc. Does anyone have recommendations on which software to look into? Thanks!

Recently started B4 accounting advisory - my projects keep getting delayed or cancelled and for the last few months I’ve only worked about two weeks. My next engagement just got cancelled and now I’m seriously worried about my utilization and about getting fired after just starting. My counselor was aware of my situation but didn’t mention too much about it and I’ve been reaching out + letting people know I’m available this whole time. Don’t know what else to do and how concerned I should be

As a experienced hire SC (1 month in), aside from building a network blah blah blah. Is doing firm work going to benefit my year end review in any way? I’m billing 45hrs to my client weekly and I hear utilization doesn’t matter first year. Don’t want to waste my time on firm work if it doesn’t benefit me yet. Thoughts?