Though you can be a consultant in just about any field these days, the following are the current lucrative consulting businesses:

Accounting consultant: Accounting is something that every business needs, irrespective of size. An accounting consultant can help a business with its financial matters.

Advertising consultant: An advertising consultant is normally hired by a business to develop a good strategic advertising campaign.

Auditing consultant: From consultants who audit utility bills for small businesses to consultants who handle major work for telecommunications firms, auditing consultants enjoy the fruits of their labour.

Business consultant: This person knows how to turn a struggling business into a profitable one. If you have good business sense, then you can do well as a business consultant.

Business writer: Most business people are known for having trouble when it comes to writing business reports or even a simple memo. If you can tap into this field you will never find yourself wanting. There is a lot of money to be made there.

Career counselling: Because more and more people are finding themselves victims of corporate downsizing, career counsellors will always be in demand. A career counsellor guides the clients into a profession or job that will help him or her to be happy and productive as an employee.

Communications: Communications consultants specialise in helping employees in both large and small businesses to communicate better with each other, which ultimately makes the business more efficient and operate smoothly.

Computer consulting: This is the most lucrative. From software to hardware, and everything in between, if you know computers. Your biggest problem will be not having enough hours in the day to meet your clients' demands.

Editorial services: From producing newsletters to corporate annual reports, consultants who are experts in the editorial field will always be appreciated.

Human resource consultant: As long as businesses have people problems, consultants in this field will always enjoy a never-ending supply of corporate clients, both large and small.

Insurance consultant: Everyone needs insurance, and everyone needs an insurance consultant to help them find the best plan and pricing for them.

Marketing consultant: Every business, no matter how small, needs clients or customers in order to succeed and they need marketing consultants to help them with this function.

Payroll management: Every working person needs to be paid for services he provides. Many companies, realising that payroll is not their core function now, outsource this function to payroll consultants.

Public relations consultant: Getting good press coverage for any organisation is a real art. When an organisation finds a good public relations consultant, they don't let go since they know how important this function is with regard to the company's reputation and identity.

Tax consultant: A tax consultant advises businesses on the legal methods to pay the least amount of tax possible.