The Big Four are the heavyweights of the consulting world.

Collectively, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, and EY, earned over $95bn last year for providing business advice, and they sit at the centre of a $300bn global consulting industry built on the promise of delivering clarity, strategy, and transformation at scale.

But for many finance chiefs tasked with undertaking digital transformations, there is a growing sense that the return on investment no longer justifies the outlay.

There is little doubt these firms are hallmarks of quality; they are enormous for a reason and packed with elite talent.

The appeal of hiring these big names, along with other luminaries like McKinsey, Bain, BGC, and Accenture, has long been rooted in their reputation, scale, and perceived safety.

Recent hiring trends suggest, however, that businesses aren’t as quick to give large consultancies a seat at the table as they once were.

Finance and transformation leaders increasingly say they want more control over who delivers the work, and the ability to scale support up or down. And value is just as much a priority as a delivery model that integrates with their own teams, not operates around them.

“Clients are asking for control, flexibility, and accountability,” said Geoff Coleman Director of Recruitment SystemsAccountants. “They want expertise embedded in their business, not just a slick pitch at the start before the real work is handed off to a revolving door of consultants.”

Due to the many moving parts of their operations, consultancy engagements can be slow to mobilise, which is anathema to digital transformations. Scope is often locked up-front, costs can escalate quickly, and by the time teams are assembled and aligned, momentum may already be lost.

Senior oversight is frequently limited to steering meetings, while delivery is handled by rotating juniors at senior rates.

Consultants are also often distant from day-to-day operations in a manner that makes it harder to course-correct when projects drift; a frequent cause of consternation in digital transformations that require focussed, hands-on leadership.

The emergence of fractional talent

The Big Four will always have a place in the consulting landscape. But many businesses are expanding their approach to transformation delivery, looking beyond traditional models to build teams that are more adaptable, integrated, and cost-effective.

Contractors and fractional professionals have long played a role in resourcing, and their value is becoming clearer as organisations seek delivery models that flex to evolving needs, particularly across ERP, EPM, and finance transformation programmes.

“More businesses are choosing precision over packaging,” said Coleman. “They want senior capability without the full consultancy wrapper. Combining in-house Transformation talent capability with often ex-consultancy and industry professionals who have sat in your shoes to offer independent assurance on your transformation.”

Contractors typically join for a specific project or phase, bringing deep subject matter expertise and delivery focus. They often embed directly within teams in roles such as project managers, ERP developers, or business analysts.

Fractional professionals, meanwhile, offer senior-level oversight on a part-time or project-specific basis. These are often ex-consultants, or industry leaders, interim finance directors, transformation leads, or solution architects, who bring strategic capability without the cost of a full-time hire.

These models are particularly effective across ERP and EPM programmes where businesses need support for critical phases of a rollout or optimisation.

SystemsAccountants notes rising demand for specialists in NetSuite, Anaplan, OneStream, and Workday.

Fractional support also suits finance transformation, where interim FDs, FP&A leads, and data-savvy accounting heads can embed directly into teams to drive process improvement and systems change.

Companies are also turning to remote administrators and developers to support system changes, year-end surges, or legacy system transitions, without adding permanent headcount.

Crucially, these professionals offer independence. They’re embedded enough to understand internal dynamics, but objective enough to test assumptions and challenge delivery when needed.

“The consultant you brief is the one who shows up,” Coleman said. “The value is in experience, continuity, and accountability from day one.”

A new delivery model in action

Most businesses tackling ERP transformation report familiar challenges: limited bandwidth, overlapping priorities, and pressure to deliver.

Traditionally, this would trigger a call to a major consultancy. But increasingly, delivery teams are being built from specialist contractors and fractional professionals, tailored to evolving project needs rather than fixed consultancy scopes.

In one recent example, a retailer preparing for an Anaplan-integrated transformation hired a fractional programme lead, available two days per week, to manage timelines, steer stakeholders, and maintain delivery momentum.

A part-time solution architect scoped the integration and advised on system selection early in the project.

Remote NetSuite developers were engaged for targeted sprints, avoiding embedded consulting teams that add cost, layers of complexity, and delay.

This approach cut lead times and avoided the dreaded revolving door of junior faces or distant leadership.

Instead, the business retained ownership, made better use of senior expertise, and adjusted resourcing as the project evolved.

Shifting from headcount to impact

Nobody should be writing the obituary for the Big Four just yet. In many projects, contract-based professionals still work alongside consultancies, offering independent assurance, testing delivery, and keeping programmes on track.

And for some clients, bringing in a fractional programme lead or interim FD adds oversight and confidence to a partner-led engagement.

Over the past year, SystemsAccountants has seen a clear shift in businesses rethinking their needs entirely when it comes to outside help. What was once a workaround is now a deliberate strategy, used to complement consultancies or replace them with specialist talent, selected for fit rather than brand.

The hunt for value is a signpost of the current era, more organisations than ever need targeted delivery teams built around flexibility, accountability, and deep expertise to deliver the successful transformations they need.

“The big consultancy model has value and no one will get fired for selecting the large consulting firms,” said Coleman. “But it may not suit every project, where cost is becoming an ever more important factor in reducing consultancy spend as well.”

SystemsAccountants helps businesses source specialist talent to lead, support, and deliver change, with flexibility built in.