What's Behind The CMC?

In selecting management consultants, managers are well advised to seek individuals who meet the profession's standards of competence and ethics. The CMC designation is a valuable aid in this quest. Certification by the Institute of Management Consultants is the mark of excellence among management consulting professionals. Twenty thousand consultants from over twenty nations have now been awarded the CMC by one of the certifying institutes which comprise the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes. The CMC qualifications of all national institutes meet a minimum global standard recognized by all. IMC USA is a founding member of the Council, established in 1987 to advance worldwide certification.

CMC Certification

When you see the initials CMC following a consultant's name, it means that he or she is a Certified Management Consultant and has met strict certification requirements of the Institute of Management Consultants. The Institute was founded in 1968 by the principal associations in the consulting field to establish publicly recognized standards of competence and professional conduct for the individual management consultant. Applicants for Institute certification undergo thorough investigation of their consulting experience; they are interviewed by a panel of senior consultants to verify their technical competence; and they must pass a written examination evidencing their familiarity with the Institute's Code of Ethics, which they have pledged in writing to follow.

What's Behind IMC?

Founded in 1968, the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) is the leading association representing management consultants with members in the U.S. and overseas. It is an outgrowth of combined efforts by the principal associations and societies in the field to establish management consulting as a self-regulating profession, meriting the same public confidence and respect as medicine, accounting or law. Toward the achievement of this goal, IMC provides the essential attributes of professionalism:

• A publicly acceptable means of verifying the qualifications of individual practitioners.
• A Code of Ethics governing professional practice.
• An organization of professionals devoted to advance the profession, to
• administer its programs and to maintain its standards.

The primary purpose of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) is to serve as a voice for those in the field and to establish professional and ethical standards for management consultants.

Code of Ethics

CMCs pledge in writing to abide by the Institute's Code of Ethics. Their adherence to the Code signifies voluntary assumption of self-discipline above and beyond the requirements of law. Key provisions of the Code require that CMCs:

• Safeguard confidential information
• Render impartial, independent advise
• Accept only those client engagements they are qualified to perform
• Agree with the client in advance on the basis for professional charges
• Develop realistic and practical solutions to client problems.

The Institute enforces the Code by receiving and investigating complaints of violations and by taking disciplinary action, including revocation of certification against any member who is found guilty of Code violation.

IMC Code of Ethics

Clients: We will serve our clients with integrity, competence, and objectivity.
We will keep client information and records of client engagements confidential and will use proprietary client information only with the client's permission. We will not take advantage of confidential client information for ourselves or our firms. We will not allow conflicts of interest which provide a competitive advantage to one client through our use of confidential information from another client who is a direct competitor without that competitor's permission.

Engagements: We will accept only engagements for which we are qualified by our experience and competence. We will assign staff to client engagements in accord with their experience, knowledge, and expertise. We will immediately acknowledge any influences on our objectivity to our clients and will offer to withdraw from a consulting engagement when our objectivity or integrity may be impaired.

Fees: We will agree independently and in advance on the basis for our fees and expenses that are reasonable, legitimate, and commensurate with the services we deliver and the responsibility we accept. We will disclose to our clients in advance any fees or commissions that we will receive for equipment, supplies or services we recommend to our clients.

Profession: We will respect the intellectual property rights of our clients, other consulting firms, and sole practitioners and will not use proprietary information or methodologies without permission. We will not advertise our services in a deceptive manner and will not misrepresent the consulting profession, consulting firms, or sole practitioners. We will report violations of this Code of Ethics.

Why hire a CMC?

When you consider using a management consultant, look for the CMC designation...

Your project and your organization deserve nothing less.

The CMC (Certified Management Consultant) designation is awarded to those select consultants who have demonstrated a history of substantive results for clients, adherence to the canon of ethics of the Institute of Management Consultants USA, and professional practice management. Global standards of technical competence and professional conduct are set by the 43-nation International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI).

At this time, about 1,000 consultants in the United States have been recognized with the CMC. That is less than 1% of all active professional management consultants. The advantages to the client organization in ensuring that consultants engaged for projects possess the CMC designation include:

• A history of results and excellent performance, as evidenced by client testimonials, references, and repeat business. Evidence of that successful track record is required for CMC certification.

• Adherence to the highest ethical standards of the profession, as manifest by successfully completing both written and oral ethics examinations on the consultant’s commitments to the client, fiscal responsibility, and to the public and the profession..

• Experience in the field, since a minimum of three years of continuous consulting and successful results are required for certification.

• Life-long professional education, provided by the IMC USA in the form of national conferences, local workshops, topical research, the IMC USA Academy for Professional Development, newsletters, and other chapter professional development offerings.

• A reference network for challenging client problems, including the IMC USA national database, local chapter reference sources, and the combined wisdom of the knowledge management created and maintained within IMC USA membership.

All these give you confidence in knowing that the consulting resource you’ve chosen has passed the toughest certification in the profession, and must maintain that degree of performance through renewal of that certification every three years to current global standards.

For more information on the IMC, please visit their web page IMC - USA