The very same forces that disrupted so many businesses, from publishing to retail, are starting to reshape the world of consulting and professional services firms.

It’s about time too. The big four (EY, KPMG, Deloitte and Pwc) as they are known, other than mass consolidation, have barely changed their business models in around 100 years.

Historically, the process works by sending smart outsiders into organizations for a set period of time to offer their expertise on what they believe businesses are doing wrong. It is then their role to recommend solutions for the most difficult of problems.

Perhaps the most salient of change has been the way in which these behemoths have morphed into a one-stop-shop, offering everything from legal services and insolvency procedures to capital markets advisory work and advice on cyber security.

There’s no doubt that technology is largely driving this shift. And what we are increasingly seeing, is the big four creating runaway technology arms to help advise businesses on how best to harness and implement technology back into their businesses effectively.

And it is the role of this week’s guest, Bill Briggs, CTO of Deloitte Consulting to do just that. Describing his role as “imagining tomorrow, but getting there from today,” Briggs’ time at Deloitte has been spent delivering complex transformation programs to clients spanning a huge variety of industries.

He sat down with Hot Topics Editor, Tom Lytton-Dickie, to discuss topics ranging from his role as CTO, to how Deloitte has brought technology into the heart of its organization, to the changing state of the boardroom and what startups can best do to ensure they remain on an upward trajectory.

“The best thing a startup can do” he explains, “is have a very compelling vision for a very bounded problem, with very clear value out of it.”

To learn more about how Deloitte, a cornerstone of the big four professional services firm, is changing, listen to the full podcast above.