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Former consultancy managing partner here. (My conscience would only allow me to be in that industry for 3 years.)

Consultancies exist for one reason only: to maximize the delta between what we charge customers and what we pay employees/contractors. Charging $400/hr for someone we're paying $80/hr is non unusual. In fact, it's probably the norm.

What could possibly go wrong?

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>Charging $400/hr for someone we're paying $80/hr is non unusual

It's a funny business, as these posts reveal. But there's nothing magical about the profit margins in consulting. There are some efficiency gains with streamlining HR and expertise and knowledge sharing. Throw in some profit, and that's what they are able to charge clients.

If it was excessively expensive, companies would do the work themselves. Many do, to lesser or greater degrees of success.

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