From healthcare to financial accountability, US corporations are facing a slew of new regulations. Topping the list are the mandates of the “Affordable Care Act” (aka Obamacare) as well as the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,” both signed into law in 2010.

All this is good news for the nation’s consulting companies, which an increasing number of businesses are contracting to help them with everything from regulatory compliance to employee perks. It’s no surprise that earnings at US consulting firms are rising and have increased more than 10 percent annually since 2010.

Below, we profile two smaller consultancies (market capitalizations just over $1 billion) that are reaping rewards from regulation.

FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN)

Recent Price: $34.30; 52-Week High/Low: $24.70 – $39.14; 2013 Earnings Estimate: $2.79

Palm Beach, Fla.-based FTI employees 4,000 people and operates in 24 countries. It helps businesses worldwide navigate changing regulatory environments, but also lawsuits, mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructurings.

Some of FTI’s recent jobs include: forensic accounting to verify that the owners of the Minnesota Vikings can finance a new stadium; tracking illegal money flows in Somalia; assisting various midsize companies find new sources of financing and clean up their balance sheets.

Until recently, one of FTI’s most lucrative operations had been merger and acquisition (M&A) consulting. Because of the downturn in such deals since the financial crisis, FTI posted a loss of 92 cents a share in 2012, its first loss in a decade, as its M&A business dried up.

Even though M&A activity is likely to remain fairly sparse, analysts currently estimate that FTI’s earnings per share will rebound to $2.79 this year and to $3.15 in 2014. That’s largely due to a growing workload focused on helping companies adapt to new US financial and consumer-protection regulations.

Despite the improving outlook, FTI is still trading at a significant discount to its peers, at just 11.8 times forward earnings, and it’s also priced at a 20 percent discount to sales.

FTI is on solid footing financially, with $157 million in cash and a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.3.

Huron Consulting Group (NSDQ: HURON)

Recent Price: $47.98; 52-Week High/Low: $28.51 – $59.39; 2013 Earnings Estimate: $3.08

While FTI is diversifying away from M&A and might be considered a turnaround play, Huron Consulting is heavily reliant on the health care sector, which brings in about half its annual revenue.

Chicago-based Huron was launched in 2002 by 24 consultants formerly at accounting/consulting firm Arthur Andersen, after it collapsed due to its role in the Enron scandal. Huron had its own miniscandal in 2009, when kickbacks related to acquisitions were discovered, and its then-CEO and CFO resigned.

Huron has since then re-established itself in the legal, financial, education and life sciences arenas. It primarily works with hospitals, health systems and physician groups to reduce costs, maximize reimbursements from both federal and private insurers, and to help them transition to the value-based care mandated under Obamacare.

As the pace of Obamacare groundwork picked up ahead of the 2014 launch, Huron’s earnings more than doubled in 2011 (up 132 percent) and were up 72 percent last year. For the second quarter of 2013, earnings more than doubled again—up 138 percent year-over-year—coming in at 71 cents per share.

For full-year 2013, earnings are forecast to be $3.08 per share, on revenue of $640 million. Next year, earnings are expected to come in 16 percent higher ($3.58 per share) on revenue of $730 million.

In addition to sporting a low debt-to- equity ratio of 0.3, Huron throws off free cash flow of about $3.50 per share in an average year. Much of that cash has so far been used to pay down long-term debt, which dropped from $257 million in 2011 to $194 million at the end of last year.

Debt repayment has left the company with only $5 million in cash on its balance sheet, which would be worrisome would it not for Huron’s high growth rate.

Despite being one of the fastest-growing consulting companies, Huron’s shares are priced at just 14.5 times the 2013 earnings estimate vs. more than 27 times for its industry average.