About the Author.

Introduction.

1. The Inexorable Rise of the Professional Service Firm.

The sceptical invester.

Learning from PSFs.

2. Segmenting the Professional Services Industry.

Consolidation versus specialization.

 Life stages.

3. Determining the Relative Attractiveness of Segments of the Professional Services Industry.

Nature and level of competition.

Growth and cyclicality.

Entry and exit barriers.

Client dependency.

Recruitment and retention patterns.

Threat of service substitution.

Impact of government activity.

Pulling it all together.

4. Generic Strategies for Professional Service Firms.

Global service integration or bundling.

Vertical integration.

Global versus local specialization.

Sector versus product specialization.

Executing a strategy.

5. How Do You Tell How a PSF is Doing?

The balance sheet.

The P&L.

It's not just the financials...

6. Understanding the Underlying Economics of a PSF.

Organizational structure.

Utilization.

Charge-out rates.

Fee capacity and resource allocation.

7. Identifying Whether a PSF is Positioned to Maximize Returns to Shareholders.

Client strategy.

Service mix.

Pricing strategy.

Process efficiency and internal structures.

Recruitment, incentives and career management.

Financial and process control.

8. Corporate Finance and Valuation of PSFs.

What keeps potential investors awake at night?

Investment strategies and pricing.

9. The Future for Professional Service Firms.

Select Bibliography.

Index.