Hi there,

If people are your specific firm say that this is your specific firm's culture…listen.

At BCG Australia this was never a thing. But there are dozens and dozens of firms and offices which means thousands of permutations here.

It *shouldn't* be an issue, but if you “heard” from trusted colleagues at your specific office, and you heard from multiple of them, then it is probably at a thing where you work.

Additionally, if there's even a 10% chance of this, I would personally cut back on those expenses (or, find another project/principal/partner)

(editiert)

Hi there,

Q: Does incurring a lot of food and other expenses can be a reason a project principal or associate partner would not extend your time on a project. My expenses are aligned with the firm policy but I heard if your expenses are higher than other same-level colleagues, then they would rather have someone else.

If you are within the limits they assigned, that would be quite strange. If they want lower limits, why they don't just decrease the budget? 

On the other hand, as mentioned by Ian and Sofia, some companies might pay more attention to expenses. If you heard from reputable sources that’s the case in your company, that might be the case.

To clarify that, I would recommend to have an honest conversation with your partner/principal – most likely they will appreciate you cared enough to ask and will let you know if that’s an issue whatsoever in your company.

Best,

Francesco

Hi,

it can depend on how the project was sold - e.g. fixed expense budget of X% of the project cost vs. expenses as incurred.

In the latter case the client would possibly see the itemization of the consultants travel expenses. And if a lot of costs are incurred because the consultants are staying at high end hotels and having lavish dinners every night and billing the client for it, then this could reflect poorly on the consulting firm. 

So whenever there is increased transparency like that, I have seen managers and partners be more conservative with their spending behavior. Even if it was within company policy. But let’s be honest, company policies are often quite generous (differs by region of course).

Hope that gives some additional context.

Best

Hi there,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, while this is certainly not a frequent situation in strategy consulting, if you know from reliable sources that your current (associate) partner is rather sensitive about expenses, I would highly advise you to consider aligning them with the rest of the team.
• Generally speaking, though, as long as you comply with your employer's expense policies and align with the team, e.g., on hotel and dinner locations, there normally should not be any issues.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there, 

I spent almost 5 years in McKinsey and never heard of this. 

Don't worry, APs and Partners don't spend time tracking individual expenses. As long as your respect the policy and don't do anything outrageously different from your colleagues, there is nothing to worry about. 

If you're new in consulting, here are a couple of articles with tips on how to improve your performance in the beginning:

• How to Survive Your First Year as a Management Consultant
• The Truth About Consulting Work Hours: What You Need to Know

Best,
Cristian

Hello,

This is going to depend on the firm/role/project, but by and large as long as your expenses are in line with firm policy, it shouldn't be an issue. I can't imagine that a larger consulting company would care about this, but precise expenses could be a more salient pain point for a smaller company or a team serving a client with thinner margins (or a nonprofit). I recommend talking to the people at your company or on your team about this.

As long as you are within policy you should be fine. Expertise & performance are more important for selecting candidates for a project than anything else.