Some research firms estimate the market size at $21 billion while others who look at specific niches suggest GRC software is a $1.4 billion market on its own. No matter how you define it or which market pundits are correct – Compliance is big business, it is growing rapidly and it is here to stay.

If you Google Compliance the alphabet soup of acronyms that present themselves can be overwhelming. Starting with GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance) as a category and quickly moving to OSHA, HIPPA, SOX, ADA, AML, FINRA, EPA, PCI and dozens of others. It is amazing anyone can get any work done given the “red tape” that accompanies almost every corporate action. The sad truth is that while we have certainly had an explosion of new regulators and regulations of late, it doesn’t appear to be slowing any time soon. More importantly, we have demonstrated over time that the regulatory burden rarely if ever scales back. Once we establish requirements and reporting, they tend to stay in place for a very long time.

The good news is that many entrepreneurial companies have identified this market opportunity and the solutions & services now available to CFOs, CIOs and Chief Compliance Officers is unprecedented. In light of the growth rates and the size of the market, many large technology, consulting and outsourcing companies are seeking strategic acquisitions that can give them market share, leadership and access to this market. Not to be outdone by the large corporates, the Private Equity community has identified these same trends and capital is being put to work both as growth equity and buyouts.

At Clearsight we believe we are on the front end of a significant market opportunity to position yourself for tremendous success in this rapidly growing and historically recession resistant market. Stay tuned for more to come about both the opportunity and the deal activity that we expect to see accelerating in the coming months.

Most notable are the larger acquisitions completed by PWC for Diamond Technology Group and more recently PRTM.  Not to be outdone, Deloitte has also completed a number of consulting acquisitions over the past couple of years.  These firms, who are typically regarded as highly conservative and bureaucratic, have become aggressive and agile in the M&A market.  Each of these firms continue to operate as a private partnership, but they have instituted processes and policies to enable them to in many cases pay premium values for consulting assets.

To discuss the trends we are seeing in the consulting industry, please contact Greg Treger.

Form more information, please see click here: Accenture Acquires Zenta