PETERBOROUGH, NH--(Marketwire - July 28, 2009) - In coming years, there will be a spate of new regulations -- governing everything from banking to accounting to carbon emissions to healthcare -- that, if passed, will strengthen demand for the Risk Management consulting services needed to meet compliance deadlines. While corporate executives look forward to looming compliance issues with great consternation, Risk Management consultancies see changes to Basel II and the emergence of carbon cap-and-trade as bright spots amid an austere forecast period.

New research from Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory, "Risk Management Consulting Marketplace 2009-2012," indicates that if modifications to Basel II are enacted as expected, there will be a fundamental paradigm shift in how banks operate. In response to changes in operations, banks will need to create a core business strategy; Kennedy analysts portend that efforts to weight the pros and cons of each will effectively grow client demand for Risk consulting.

"In addition to Basel II, there's the carbon cap-and-trade regulation," said Jess Scheer, Associate Director of Research, Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory. "This could generate significant client demand for Risk Management consulting services. First, companies would need an external audit of their emissions to verify their compliance. Second, those companies not in compliance would need help in improving their operations to reduce risk. Third, this kind of work would require highly sophisticated skills, limiting the likelihood of commoditization."

Failure to comply to these, and other new regulations expected to develop around IRSF and TARP, will simply not be an option for multinational corporations; Kennedy research shows the Big Four already gearing up to meet client demand. With regard to carbon regulations, Deloitte is anticipating that, once effective, they will continue to expand. Eric Hespenheide, Global Leader of Deloitte's Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Practice, said, "I think we will see a multi-year effect as this ripples through the economy. There will be strategy and implementation consulting needs. And over time, some of the work may eventually become commoditized into an annuity business. However, there will be opportunities for Risk consultants to figure it all out."

Each practice's approach to packaging Risk consulting will essentially dictate their client relevance and further, how it will endure the current downturn. Today's six strongest providers are identified in "The Kennedy Vanguard of Risk Management Consulting Practices." Among the consultancies assessed by Kennedy are: Ernst & Young, FTI, Aon, Deloitte, PwC, IBM, Protiviti, Navigant, Accenture, Kroll, Grant Thornton, and Oliver Wyman.

About Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory

Since 1970, Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory, a division of Kennedy Information, has been the world's leading source of market analysis on the Management Consulting and IT Consulting industries, serving the most highly regarded professional services firms and Fortune 500 companies across the globe. Kennedy provides accurate and reliable market sizing and forecasts for consulting services world-wide; needs analysis and vendor profiling for buyers of consulting services; timely and insightful intelligence on the top consulting firms in their respective markets; and operational benchmarks that measure consulting performance. Kennedy's research spans multiple service areas, client vertical industries, and geographies.

Kennedy's stand-alone consulting advisory unit, Kennedy Information Advisors, provides results-oriented strategic guidance to buyers and sellers of consulting services.