Preparations for MCA Awards 2021 to begin in June
Earlier in the year it was announced that the 2020 edition of the MCA Awards would be postponed until November, due to the current Covid-19 lock-down. In a statement acknowledging the hard work of this year’s nominees, CEO Tamzen Isacsson and President Nadun Muthukumarana have announced that work for the 2021 ceremony is already due to begin at the start of June.
The management consulting market of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland remains the globe’s second largest, following a decade of solid growth. However, Britain’s economy is in a uniquely precarious position as the Covid-19 pandemic takes its toll – with Brexit negotiations still on-going – and recent research suggests UK consultants could therefore be about to see a huge drop in fees.
Alongside the long-term impacts the current crisis is expected to have on the consulting sector amid the current lock-down, short-term impacts have also seen the traditionally travel-intensive industry drastically change its operations. One signifier of this was the fact the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) was forced to suspend its annual award ceremony.
The MCA has been the industry’s collective voice for more than six decades. Its members make up more than 60% of the UK’s £11 billion consulting industry, and employ roughly 45,000 professionals, while working with more than 90 of the leading FTSE 100 companies and the vast majority of the public sector. The MCA had already announced the short-list of nominees – and the awards have been rescheduled to November 2020, having previously been due to take place on April 23rd.
As the original date for the ceremony passed, MCA CEO Tamzen Isacsson commented, “This evening the 23rd April we had planned to be hosting our MCA Awards 2020... Tonight, quite rightly, the applause from our doorsteps, will be for those working in the NHS and all the key workers across the UK who are helping to keep vital supplies and services running during these difficult times. We find ourselves in extraordinary times, with many of our clients facing significant challenges in the UK and across the world and our sector has been quick to react and support public and private sector organisations facing these unprecedented conditions. The critical external support the experts in our firms can give will be needed, at the right stages, now more than ever.”
Shortly before the commencing of the UK’s national lock-down, the MCA had announced that Deloitte Partner Nadun Muthukumarana had been elected as its new President. According to Muthukumarana, work is already set to commence for the awards ceremony’s 2021 incarnation.
Muthukumarana stated, “For 23 years the MCA Awards has been the key event in the consulting industry calendar, a time when the industry comes together… to celebrate in partnership with our clients the work you do every day. The MCA will soon be launching the MCA Awards 2021 on June 1st, and full details will be announced in due course with the submission deadline at the end of October 2020. This will be a key moment to recognise huge efforts being made by teams and individuals to support clients through critical challenges, to show externally the value of your work and finally, but importantly, to support your sector and your trade association.”
