MAS REVIEWER PRELIMS

I. What is a consultant?
Consultant someone who has expertise in
a specific areas and offers unbiased opinion
and advice for a fee
II. Reasons for becoming a consultant
1. Share knowledge to help client
2. Build business network
3. Having no boss, being independent
4. No fear of being laid off
5. Having flexible source of income
6. A means of giving back to the community
by providing expertise
III. Attributes essential to successful
consultant
Good physical and mental health
Good judgement
Responsibility, vigor, initiative
Independence
Intellectual Expertise
Professional Etiquette and Courtesy
Stability of Behavior
Self-Confidence
Strong analytical ability
IV. Future Prospects
1. Management Consulting will become even
more specialized
2. The consultants orientation will be
towards being an insight provider
3. Management Consulting will tend either to
remain small of become quite large
4. They will develop more sophisticated
means of marketing their services
V. The Consulting Industry
Information Technology
Consulting and Systems Integration
Corporate Strategy
Operations Management
Human Resource Management
Outsourcing
VI. Main Types of Consulting Firms
1. IT Firms
2. Accounting Firms offering consultancy
3. Major Consulting only firms
4. Independents

VII. Career Structure in Consulting

Firms
1. Analysts responsible for gathering
information and processing it for the
consulting team
-most graduates would start here
2. Consultants are analysts who have
been promoted
-undertake the evaluation of the client
business and make recommendations on its
behalf
3. Senior Consultants or Managers
more
experienced
consultants
have
responsibility for leading a consulting teams
undertaking a project
-more involved with members of the client
team
4. Business Development Managers
responsible for developing firms products
and building relationship with client
-have 5-10 years of consulting experience
5.
Directors
or
Partners

most
experienced
consultants
who
take
responsibility for the development of the
organization as a whole
-have 10+ years of experience in the field
VIII. Nature of MAS by Independent
Accounting Firms
1. Management Advisory Services
function of providing professional advisory
services
-the primary purpose is to improve the
clients use of its capabilities
2. Management Consulting independent
and objective advisory services in order to
help the client identify and analyze
management problems and opportunities
-involves Consultation and Engagement
Consultation providing advice
information during a short time frame

and

Engagement an analytical approach and

process is applied in a study of a project
Engagement typically involves:
1. Ascertaining the pertinent facts and
circumstances
2. Seeking and identifying objectives
3. Defining the problem or opportunity for
improvement

4. Evaluating and determining possible

solutions
5. Presenting findings and recommendations
6. Implementing the solutions, if possible
Independent Accounting Firm maybe
involved in:
-planning and scheduling actions to achieve
the desired results
-advising and providing technical assistance
in implementing
In combination with knowledge and
experience in areas in:
1. Office organization and management
methods
2. Office and management functions
3. Systems and procedures
4. Data processing methods
5. Quantitative Methods
6. Financial Management
To produce solutions such as:
-A management information system
-A sales reporting system
-A work measurement program
-Improve production control
-An organization plan with statements of
duties and responsibilities
-An electronic data processing
IX. Rationale for using Management
Consultants
1. Independent View point this enables
him to see the true nature of the problems
and distinguish between feasible and
infeasible solutions

2. Professional Advisor and Counselor

possesses special knowledge, skills, and a
variety of personal attributes that make him
the most desirable candidate to undertake
an engagement
3. Temporary Professional Service
probably less expensive to the company
hiring new managers or employees to
provide professional advisory services
4. Agent of Change these changes are
intended to assist managers in the
administration of organizations
X. Independent Accounting Firms roles
in MAS
-to provide advice and technical assistance
which should provide for client participation
in the analytical approach process
XI. CPAs objective in Engaging in MAS
-to utilize the essential qualifications it has
available to provide advice and technical
assistance
which
will
enable
client
management to conduct its affairs more
effectively
These essential qualifications are based in
part on attributes acquired on conducting
other aspects of practice and include:
1. Technical Competence
2. Familiarity with the clients finance and
control system
3. Analytical ability and experience in
problem solving
4. Professional independence, objectivity and
integrity