Disadvantages 

• The internal consultant may not bring the objectivity to the consulting relationship that an external firm can. 
• An internal consultant also may not bring to the table best practices from other corporations. A way to mitigate this issue is to recruit experience into the group and/or proactively provide diverse training to internal consultants. 
• Where the consulting industry is strong and consulting compensation high, it can be difficult to recruit candidates. 
• It is often difficult to accurately measure the true costs and benefits of an internal consulting group. 
• When financial times get tough, internal consulting groups that have not effectively demonstrated economic value (costs vs. benefits) are likely to face size reductions or reassignment. 

Governmental Spending on Consulting - United Kingdom 

From 1997 to 2006, Labour governments have spent £20 billion for management consultants and at least another £50 billion for IT systems, up significantly from the £500 million a year spent by the previous Conservative government.^[2] From 2003–2006 spending on consultants has risen by a third, from £2.1 billion in 2003–04 to £2.8 billion in 2005–06, largely due to increases in spending by the National Health Service. In the past three years £7.2 billion has been spent on consultancy services from large consultancy firms.^[3]