Colorado Independent
Consultants Network, LLC
The old term “You get what you pay for” is generally true. The single highest expense of any consulting firm is salary, and this is what the majority of your professional service fees go towards.
While your fees pay for professional salaries, there remains a large gap, at traditional firms, between the service fees and the salaries received by the individual consultants performing the work. Part of this gap represents overhead costs and profit margins, both of which CICN has minimized.
The table below illustrates where your professional fees are going with CICN and traditional firms.
Is your organization benefiting from higher fees charged by traditional firms?
While your fees pay for professional salaries, there remains a large gap, at traditional firms, between the service fees and the salaries received by the individual consultants performing the work. Part of this gap represents overhead costs and profit margins, both of which CICN has minimized.
The table below illustrates where your professional fees are going with CICN and traditional firms.
Is your organization benefiting from higher fees charged by traditional firms?
CICN Adds Value
Both CICN and traditional firms offer experienced consultants.
With traditional firms, newer staff, often times recent college graduates, are typically used to perform the majority of the work. While generally supervised by more experienced staff, newer staff are learning how to perform audit and consulting work using your project as a training ground at your expense.
Although CICN has set a minimum experience level of 5 years for all affiliate consultants, most consultants have 10+ years of relevant experience. While there is always a learning curve in evaluating a new business process, you can be assured of getting an experienced audit and consulting professional with CICN.
With traditional firms, newer staff, often times recent college graduates, are typically used to perform the majority of the work. While generally supervised by more experienced staff, newer staff are learning how to perform audit and consulting work using your project as a training ground at your expense.
Although CICN has set a minimum experience level of 5 years for all affiliate consultants, most consultants have 10+ years of relevant experience. While there is always a learning curve in evaluating a new business process, you can be assured of getting an experienced audit and consulting professional with CICN.
Internal Audit professionals who have worked for major accounting and consulting firms (as is the case with CICN) have been exposed to numerous projects within many varying industries. These consultants have expertise in jumping into unfamiliar territory and quickly learning the nature of the business, associated risks, and specific processes.
This background will allow an experienced consultant who may initially be unfamiliar with a specific industry or business process to quickly learn the nature of the business and associated process. In rare circumstances, such as highly technical processes or heavily regulated industries, a professional with specific subject matter expertise may be required.
Both CICN and traditional firms offer access to a number of professionals with experience in varying industries. Offering professionals with a variety of experience is accomplished differently with CICN and traditional firms.
Traditional firms retain employees on payroll while CICN maintains an affiliate network of professionals. Depending on the nature of the project, these professionals may perform the actual work, or be used on a consultative basis to provide guidance.
This background will allow an experienced consultant who may initially be unfamiliar with a specific industry or business process to quickly learn the nature of the business and associated process. In rare circumstances, such as highly technical processes or heavily regulated industries, a professional with specific subject matter expertise may be required.
Both CICN and traditional firms offer access to a number of professionals with experience in varying industries. Offering professionals with a variety of experience is accomplished differently with CICN and traditional firms.
Traditional firms retain employees on payroll while CICN maintains an affiliate network of professionals. Depending on the nature of the project, these professionals may perform the actual work, or be used on a consultative basis to provide guidance.
CICN affiliates are required to maintain their professional certifications through the issuing authority (the applicable State Board of Public Accountancy for CPA’s and the Institute of Internal Auditors for CIA, CISA, CFE, and other IIA certifications). Maintenance of these certifications requires a specified number of Continuing Professional Education hours. Specific Continuing Professional Education requirements for the above mentioned designations are contained in the links below:
In most cases, your consultant should be spending the majority of their time in your offices to best understand your business. This model reduces the need for physical office space. Since most CICN affiliates are home-office based, your professional fees are significantly reduced, without sacrificing quality.
Traditional firms incur costs associated with maintaining a physical office, as well as costs to promote internal programs within the firm. These costs are passed on to the clients in the form of professional fees.
While national initiatives by traditional firms can provide value, is your organization receiving sufficient value from these initiatives to justify the fee differential?
Traditional firms incur costs associated with maintaining a physical office, as well as costs to promote internal programs within the firm. These costs are passed on to the clients in the form of professional fees.
While national initiatives by traditional firms can provide value, is your organization receiving sufficient value from these initiatives to justify the fee differential?
What is included in professional fees:
Traditional
Firms
