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Posts Tagged ‘cost effective’

(Why it may be better for you to use a smaller consultancy practice sometimes)

Having worked for one of the largest accountancy practices in the world, let me start of by saying that large consultancy firms do have a hugely important role in helping the free market economy run effectively by providing high quality legal, accountancy and other business related services. They have access to a huge bank of highly trained and skilled individuals and have gained a reputation for providing a quality service that has been earned over a period of many years.  Finally, there are a number of transactions that are of such a size and complexity that only the largest consultancy firms would have the resources to meet the needs of their clients adequately.

However, the vast majority of businesses are small to medium sized and the majority of the needs of these businesses are likely to be met more effectively by the business advisory and consultancy firms who would describe themselves as “mid –tier”. The reasons for this are as follows:

• More personalised approach – With smaller consultancy practices you are more likely to work with someone who can closely relate to the unique pressures of running your business as it is  quite possible they have faced similar issues themselves.  Also, you  should get a solution that is tailored to your own specific circumstances because of the time that the smaller consultancy practices are able to devote to their clients.
• Highly skilled teams – Smaller consultancy practices often have people who have trained with the bigger consultancy firms or have worked for large organisations and are able to match the large consultancy firms in terms of knowledge and skills. Quite often the smaller consultancy practices will have an in depth knowledge of a particular business sector or industry class which may well tie in with your business.
• Costs – Large practices carry large overheads and this is reflected in the charge-out rates to clients. Smaller companies will often be able to provide similar services for a fraction of the cost.

In summary, there are areas of the market where big consultancy firms are the right solution for the right business. However, for the majority of small to medium sized businesses, the smaller consultancy / business advisory practices will deliver a service which will meet and often exceed their needs