📈 A decade of the escalation 🇩🇪💰 The chronicle of the increase in the federal government's advisory expenditure in Germany (FRG)

Published on: June 23, 2025 / update from: June 23, 2025 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

A decade of the escalation: The chronicle of the increase in the advisory edition of the Federal Government in Germany (FRG) - Image: Xpert.digital

Government's advisory costs explode - new numbers show shocking development

External advisors cost federal government more and more - controversy by billions of bills

The Federal Government's expenditure for external advisors has increased dramatically in the past ten years and have developed into a controversial political issue. The present data show a worrying development that goes far beyond the already known figures for 2022 and 2023.

The structure of the German federal administration

The federal government consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers in accordance with Article 62 of the Basic Law. Since May 6, 2025, the Federal Government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has comprised a total of 17 ministries. These ministries are the top of the federal administration as the highest federal authorities and are responsible for different policy areas, also called departments.

The federal ministries have several central tasks: they prepare laws and advise the government. In addition, they perform the essential task of the political state management and at the same time form the top of the federal administration. Each Federal Minister heads his department on his own responsibility as part of the guideline competence carried out by the Federal Chancellor.

The paradoxical development: personnel structure and growing consultant dependency

The development of consultant expenditure against the background of the staff equipment of the Federal Administration appears particularly problematic. The Federal Administration has grown continuously in recent years and can now fall back on around 300,000 employees, many of them highly qualified civil servants and experts. In less than ten years, the staff was increased by around 50,000 jobs.

Despite these extensive personnel resources and the existing expert knowledge in the federal ministries and authorities, the trend is unbroken to commission external companies and law firms as a consultant. According to current estimates, around 2,600 external consultants work for the federal government every day. If these consultants had their own ministry, it would be one of the largest in Germany.

Current dimensions of the consultant expenditure

The most recent figures illustrate the extent of the problem: In 2023, consultant expenses reached a new high with 239.4 million euros. This corresponds to a drastic increase of 53.8 million euros compared to the previous year 2022. At the same time, the number of advisory contracts increased from 765 in 2022 to 816 in 2023.

The Federal Audit Office has sharply criticized this development and found that the government's expenditure has risen by 39 percent since 2020. This cost explosion is particularly remarkable against the background of the current budget crisis, while saving in many social projects.

Criticism of the Federal Audit Office and the lack of strategy

In its current test report, the Federal Audit Office criticized the Federal Government for providing more and more money for external consultants and even giving up core functions of the administration. It is particularly problematic that there is a lack of a strategy to change this, as well as to transparent reporting to the parliament.

To date, there is no strategy in the federal government to reduce external advisory needs. In addition, many services have been felled from the IT area, especially in the IT area, which is no longer guaranteed to ensure effective parliamentary control.

Extended overview of the consultant expenses according to ministries

The following detailed lineups show the dramatic development of consultant expenditure in the individual ministries and illustrate how this problem extends through the entire federal administration. It becomes clear that not only individual departments are affected, but there is a systemic problem of the German Federal Administration, which urgently needs a fundamental solution.

Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI)

The BMI leads the list of the largest consumers of taxpayers for external advice

The BMI leads the list of the largest consumer of taxpayers' money for external advice - Image: Xpert.digital

The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) leads the list of the largest consumers of taxpayers' money for external advice. In 2019, expenditure reached its maximum of 154.3 million euros before the redefinition of the consulting services. According to this redefinition, the cost in 2020 dropped drastically to 50.1 million euros. In the following years, however, the expenditure rose again continuously: 2021 to 56.9 million euros, in 2022 they stagnated at this high level at 56.9 million euros, and in 2023 they increased again to 59.7 million euros, which corresponds to an increase of 19 percent since 2020.

Between 2017 and 2021 alone, the BMI spent a total of 492.9 million euros for external consultants. A large part of the expenses could be found on “cross-departmental projects such as IT consolidation”.
The German Federal Administration faces an unprecedented challenge: expenses for external consultants have developed dramatically in the past ten years and raise fundamental questions about the efficiency and independence of state administration. This development not only affects individual departments, but runs through the entire federal government and its 17 ministries.

Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)

Upward trend of the expenses of taxpayers' money for external advice at the BMF

Upward trend of the expenditure of taxpayers' money for external advice at BMF - Image: Xpert.digital

The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) has a remarkable upward trend in its expenses. Development shows significant fluctuations: While the expenditure of 24.0 million euros in 2017 got to 52.7 million euros in 2019, they reached their maximum in 2020 with 72.4 million euros. After a significant decline in EUR 31.1 million in 2022, expenditure in 2023 again increased to EUR 38.2 million. The question of the driving factors of this persistent upward trend at the Ministry of Finance remains central to the assessment of the housekeeping.

Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure/Transport (BMDV)

The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMDV) is constantly one of the largest expenditure items in the federal budget - Image: Xpert.digital

The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMDV) is constantly one of the largest expenditure items in the federal budget. In 2017, expenditure amounted to 28.0 million euros, of which 15.4 million euros were spent on truck toll advice alone. In the following years, expenditure increased continuously: in 2019 to 47.7 million euros and in 2020 to 63.2 million euros. Over the period from 2017 to 2021, the total amount of the expenditure of the Ministry of Transport added up to 196.9 million euros.

Federal Ministry of Health (BMG)

The Ministry of Health shows a particularly dramatic cost development in the use of external consultants - Image: Xpert.digital

The Ministry of Health shows a particularly dramatic cost development in the use of external consultants. The expenditure rose from 0.13 million euros in 2014: in 2015 to 0.37 million euros, in 2016 to EUR 0.46 million, to EUR 1.01 million, in 2018 to EUR 2.91 million, in 2019 to 17.5 million euros and finally reached 41.9 million euros in 2020. The explosion of consultant costs in the BMG is particularly noteworthy: from 134,654 euros in 2014 to over 41 million euros in 2020-an increase of 300 times. During the Corona pandemic, 21 million euros alone went to a single consulting company for “operational management services to support the procurement staff”.

Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVG)

Cost development when using external advisors by the Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVG) - Image: Xpert.digital

The Ministry of Defense, which is in the center of the “consultant affair”, shows remarkable spending patterns. In the first half of 2019, the Ministry spent 155.0 million euros - almost as much as all other 13 ministries. It is striking that in the first half of 2020 the only ministry was not reported. For the period from 2017 to 2021, only 32.5 million euros were specified, whereby these numbers are incomplete, since corresponding contracts were still checked at this time.

Further ministries

Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK)

December 2021 - April 2023: 16.5 million euros for external legal advice

Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS)

2020: 0.7 million euros
2017-2021: 2.5 million euros

Federal Chancellery

2017-2021: 3.3 million euros

Chronology of the increase: Overall development of the federal government's advisory expenditure (s)

Chronology of the increase: Overall development of the Federal Government's consultant expenditure (s) - Image: Xpert.digital

The chronology of the increase in the federal government's advisory expenditure shows a worrying development of total expenditure. From an initial value of 32.1 million euros in 2014, the costs initially rose moderately to 38.2 million euros in 2015, which corresponds to an increase of 19 percent. However, 2016 marked a dramatic turning point with an explosive increase to 101.1 million euros - an increase of a remarkable 165 percent compared to the previous year.

This upward spiral continued in the following years: In 2017, expenditure reached 145.5 million euros (plus 44 percent), in 2018 they continued to increase to 181.4 million euros (plus 25 percent). The consultant costs reached the absolute maximum in 2019 with 296.7 million euros, which corresponds to a new drastic increase of 64 percent.

In 2020, expenditure due to a redefinition decreased significantly to 172.2 million euros, which corresponds to a decline of 42 percent. However, this decline turned out to be temporary, since the costs rose to 209.2 million euros again in 2021 (plus 21 percent). After a short -term decline to 185.5 million euros in 2022 (minus 11 percent), the consultant expenditure again reached 239.2 million euros, which corresponds to an increase of 29 percent.

Billions over the years

The total amount is particularly alarming: Between 2017 and 2021 alone, the federal government spent more than 1.073 billion euros for external consultants. In the past ten years, expenses add up to more than 1.6 billion euros.

Problematic developments and criticisms

Definition change as a covering tactic

A particularly critical aspect is the change in the definition of “consulting services” in 2020. This led to an apparent reduction in expenses by over 40 percent, although actually no less consultants were employed. For 2020, the Federal Government spoke in parliamentary inquiries of 433.5 million euros in consulting costs, while the official consultant report only distributed 172 million euros - a difference of more than 260 million euros.

Growing dependency

According to estimates, around 2,600 consultants work for the federal government every day. If you had your own ministry, it would be one of the largest in Germany. As early as 2020, the budget committee expressed concern that the federal administration could become too much dependent on external advice and lose its own skills.

Missing transparency

The majority of the consulting contracts remain non -transparent because the advisory companies have to agree to publication. This makes parliamentary control and public traceability difficult.

Tax funds for external advice: Federal government ignores budget committee claims

The federal government's advisory expenses have increased from 32.1 million euros to almost 240 million euros in the past ten years - a despair of costs. Despite repeated claims by the budget committee to “substantially reduce” the use of consultants, the federal government was unable to achieve a sustainable reduction. In 2023, the expenditure even reached the second highest values since the start of reporting. This development raises fundamental questions about the efficiency of the Federal Administration and the responsible handling of tax money.

The redefinition of the consulting services: a calculation trick to cover up increasing advisory expenditure

The so -called “redefinition of the consulting services” from 2020 represents one of the most controversial aspects in the debate about the exploding consultant costs of the federal government. This apparently technical change change turned out to be a skillful arithmetic trick in order to defuse political pressure and to obscure the actual expenses for external advice.

What did the redefinition mean?

Until the 2019 reporting year, the annual advisory reports were based on a definition specified by the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), which had remained largely unchanged since reporting in 2007. The original definition recorded external consulting services as a “paid service, which serves the goal of developing and evaluating practical recommendations for specific decision -making situations by the client”.

In 2021, the budget committee decided that the consultant report should be used as a result of a changed definition of the concept of consultants from 2020. The new definition supposedly should "improve the transparency of reporting" and now also includes support services "which are characterized by significant advisory services and thus possible influence".

The crucial point: certain services in the IT area, on the other hand, are no longer expressly considered external advice. Specifically, “operational services in the IT area for the development of IT (specialist) procedures or the provision of capacity as well as specialist knowledge” are no longer subject to reporting.

The political background of the redefinition

Pressure of the budget committee

The redefinition was not carried out in the air empty, but as a direct reaction to massive political pressure. As early as 2020, the Bundestag's budget committee had called for the Federal Government to take steps "to reduce the use of external consultants and external support forces". This claim was determined in a so -called tendency deadline, which is binding for the ministries.

Scholz 'refusal for real reduction

The attitude of the then Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz is particularly revealing. At the end of November 2020, the Ministry of Finance replied to a corresponding report of the green politician Sven-Christian Kindler that there were “no plans” to reduce the number of consultant contracts. Scholz did not consider it any necessary to evaluate the previous use of the external experts.

Scholz defended the commitment of the expensive advisors verbally and argued that external consultants would only be used if the corresponding expertise for individual projects did not exist among the thousands of the federal government.

The arithmetic trick and its dramatic effects

The numbers speak a clear language

The effects of the redefinition were dramatic and exposed at the same time. The apparent reduction in costs from 2019 to 2020 was not based on actually reduced expenses, but on a “simple trick: the federal government changed the definition of what counts as a consulting performance”.

The dimension of this arithmetic trick becomes clear by the following numbers:

According to the official advisory report: 172 million euros for 2020
According to the parliamentary request for the same year: 433.5 million euros
Difference: More than 260 million euros were veiled

Systematic exclusion of costly areas

The targeted exclusion of the IT area from the reporting obligation was particularly perfidious. Projects in the area of IT, scientific reports, studies and much more have not been considered a consulting service since then, but as a “implementation performance”. This is particularly cynical, since IT and digitization projects are a focus of the consultant expenses.

The Federal Ministry of Finance openly admitted the veil: the significant reduction in the expenses listed “very much” based on the new definition.

Effects on parliamentary control

Worry of democratic control

The change of definition had drastic consequences for parliamentary control. Sven-Christian Kindler, who was sitting for the Greens in the budget committee for 15 years, criticized: "The change in the definition continues to enable the Federal Government not to make expenditure on external advisory services transparent".

The practical effects are significant: "What is not in the reports, we now have to get other ways, such as small inquiries. This is significantly more effort for us". This makes the democratic control function of the parliament significantly difficult.

Loss of comparability

The retrospective application of the new definition from 2020 also destroyed the comparability of the numbers over the years. With the new definition, the expenditure in detail 06 (BMI) fell “like the total expenditure to be reported by more than two thirds of EUR 154.3 million in 2019 to EUR 50.1 million in the following year”.

Evaluation: Number Maculator instead of real reform

Disacification instead of transparency

The analysis of the available documents and statements clearly shows that the redefinition of the consulting services was primarily used as a stactic. Instead of implementing the required “substantial” dismantling of consultant dependence, the Federal Government under Finance Minister Scholz chose the path of the number maculator.

The Federal Audit Office sharply criticized this development and warned of a lack of transparency in consultant missions. In an internal test report, the inspectors of the Federal Audit Office told the budget committee to communicate their criticism of the planned regulation, since they “none of the exemptions listed by the Ministry of Finance”.

Continuation of problematic development

After 2020, the numbers show that the redefinition has not changed the basic problem. Since 2020, expenditure (according to the new definition) has increased by 39 percent to just under 240 million euros in 2023. This shows that the redefinition was only a cosmetic correction to defuse political pressure.

Federal government deceives public: how consulting costs can be disguised by booking tricks

The “redefinition of the consulting services” from 2020 was a crucial attempt to disguise the exploding consultant dependency of the federal government. Instead of implementing real reforms and reducing the consulting costs substantially, as required by the budget committee, the federal government chose the path of accounting trickery.

This arithmetic trick not only undermined parliamentary control, but also deceptively deceived the public about the true extent of consultant dependence. The fact that, despite the alleged “reduction”, around 2,600 advisors work for the federal government every day, the redefinity exposes the redefinition as what it is: a maneuver of veils at the expense of democratic transparency and the responsible handling of taxpayers.

The shadow bureaucracy: How external consultants German taxpayers and undermout the state's ability to act.

The shadow bureaucracy: How external advisor German taxpayers and undermined the state's ability to act - picture: xpert.digital

The analysis shows that the exploding costs are not due to individual cases, but to structural deficits in public administration and in procurement. Ministeries, especially the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), are increasingly stored by core tasks, especially in the strategically critical IT sector. This happens despite years of having an urgent, urgent and largely ignored warnings from the Federal Audit Office, which sees the "integrity of the administration" in danger.

The main profitors of this system are the global industry leaders - McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the "Big Four" (PWC, KPMG, EY, Deloitte) as well as other large players such as Accenture, Roland Berger and Capgemini. Your supremacy is cemented by non -transparent framework contracts that undermine the competition and ensure privileged access to tax funds.

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State in the consultant trap-how global consulting giants control the German administration

A constructive alternative approach to the expensive flood of consultants of the federal government

A constructive alternative approach to the expensive flood of consultants of the federal government - Image: Xpert.digital

The German federal government faces a serious problem that affects both taxpayers and the integrity of the administration: the uncontrolled dependence on external consulting companies. In its most recent report, the Federal Audit Office has had a clear criticism of the lack of strategy of the government to reduce this costly dependency. The numbers speak a clear language and reveal the extent of this problematic development.

This development is all the more worrying when the Bundestag's budget committee had already called for a substantial reduction in consultant costs in 2020. However, the Federal Government has not fulfilled these claims, as the Federal Audit Office unequivocally determines. Instead, the government's annual advisory reports show little willingness to make changes in the use of external consultants.