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Professional Standards & Governance

ISO 20700:2017 - GUIDELINES FOR MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY SERVICES

ISO 20700 is an international standard providing practical guidelines for effective management consultancy services. It ensures both consultants and clients understand their roles and responsibilities throughout the consulting process.

 

KEY COMPONENTS

  • CONTRACTING: Activities aimed at reaching agreement to provide management consultancy services
  • EXECUTION: Performance of the management consultancy service
  • CLOSURE: Activities aimed at ending the assignment between consultant, client, and recipient

CORE POLICIES

  • Regulatory framework awareness
  • Stakeholder engagement and commitment
  • Code of ethical and professional conduct
  • Project governance and capability requirements
  • Communication protocols and data protection
  • Intellectual property protection and social responsibility
  • Health and safety, risk and quality management
  • Ongoing evaluation and improvement

The CMC Common Body of Knowledge encompasses the cluster of abilities, commitments, knowledge, and skills that management consultants should demonstrate to successfully complete assignments independently and unsupervised.

 

COMPETENCE CLUSTERS

BUSINESS COMPETENCE

  • Client Business Insight: Understanding client conditions in operating, regulatory, and competitive environments
  • Consulting Business Insight: Business of consulting including marketing, procurement, and delivery of services

TECHNICAL COMPETENCE

  • Functional Specialization: Business, management, and sector/industry expertise
  • Core Consulting Skills: Tools and techniques used to deliver professional services

PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOURS

  • Code of conduct and professional ethics
  • Commitment to continuous learning and development
  • Professional image and reputation management

The CMC Canada Uniform Code of Professional Conduct establishes professional obligations that protect the public, clients, other members, and the profession itself.

 

KEY PRINCIPLES

RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE PUBLIC

  • Legal Compliance: Act in accordance with applicable legislation and laws
  • Representation: Only represent the profession when authorized
  • Public Protection: Maintain standards that protect public interest

RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE PROFESSION

  • Knowledge: Stay informed of the Code of Professional Conduct and Common Body of Knowledge
  • Self-Discipline: Report unbecoming professional conduct by other members
  • Professional Image: Maintain good reputation and ability to serve public interest

RESPONSIBILITIES TO CLIENTS

  • Due Care: Act in client’s best interest with integrity, objectivity, and independence
  • Competence: Only undertake assignments for which consultant has relevant qualifications
  • Informed Client: Establish mutual understanding of assignment objectives, scope, and costs

RESPONSIBILITIES TO OTHER MEMBERS

  • Professional Courtesy: Inform other members before reviewing their work
  • Ethical Standards: Ensure all team members comply with professional conduct standards
Code of Conduct

Alberta Consulting Profession Regulations

One of the most significant aspects of a profession and its professional body has been the concept of self-regulation – versus regulation by government or other entity. Government, through its registration of professions recognizes the importance of self-regulation to both protect the public/clients AND continuing to advance the practice standards of the professionals – as we learn more, as technology advances, as the “state of the art” is enhanced, and as societal expectations evolve.

The Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Alberta (ICMCA) is a non-profit professional corporation under Professional and Occupational Associations Registration Act (POARA) of Alberta. We are regulated by the Province of Alberta under the following legislation:

Professional and Occupational Associations Registration Act (POARA)
Fair Registration Practices Act
Certified Management Consultants Regulation 166/2005

The assumptions behind self-regulation include:

  • One must have the specialized knowledge and experience in doing the work of the professional to adequately understand and assess whether a professional in question is performing to standards.
  • It is a responsibility and accountability as a professional to be watching peers, oneself and societal expectations and ensure self and colleagues perform to these standards of competency, act ethically and to Code of Conduct, plus fulfill their fiduciary duties.
  • Public/client/patient protection is a critical part of a “higher calling” of being a professional.
  • The Professional collective continuously identifies, develops, and updates the codification of best practices expectations to advance the standards of practice.
  • Promotion of client-first thinking plays a key role in providing the client with options and consideration of the implications of a solution for improvement – all with independent opinion and use of best practice knowledge and competency.

The professional body itself – The “Institute”, has a number of elements it must advance in leading the members of the profession and also carrying out its self-regulation responsibility:

  1. Professionals Recognized as Professionals by the public.
  2. Integrity of the Certification Process.
  3. Clear Competency Standards, Knowledge/Education requirements, and Code of Practice/Ethics.
  4. “Community” of Professionals – Active, engaged, challenging, continuously improving.
  5. Self-Regulation as a collective responsibility to protect the public/client – with active vigilance and fair mechanisms for reporting, investigating and adjudicating complaints/concerns.
  6. Master Professionals: Mentors, Leadership of New Practices, Future Issues Exploration.
  7. Continued Relevancy & Sustainability.

Elements of these items above may be carried out by staff (if the profession has the resources to hire) or volunteers; but key areas are mainly the responsibility of experienced certified professionals such as Initial Certification and Self-Regulation investigation and adjudication.

The world of governance has undergone significant adjustment in the past 10-15 years, as the public has become increasingly aware of best practices and what societal expectations there should be, in return for granting a Public Trust/Social Contract to Boards.

Best Practices in Governance today include:

  • A full understanding of Fiduciary Duty – Board works to consensus vs. taking votes.
  • Ensuring Board and Management work in partnership to develop a strategic plan and measures of success, to which staff are held accountable to the Board to achieve.
  • A focus on continued relevancy of what they provide, to sustain the organization.
  • Balanced attention to oversight of management/operations; strategic pursuit, clarity of priorities plus allocation of resources; and generative exploration of future issues that will impact the organization and the people/clients they serve.

Additional Governance Best Practices for Professional Bodies include:

  • Prioritization of processes that enhance Public Protection/Safety.
  • Advancement of the Profession – relevancy, competencies, scope of practice, knowledge, mentoring of next-generation professionals, and collaboration with other professions based upon continuously evolving needs of society and clients.
  • Support to/fostering of effective self-regulation of professional members.
  • Continued advancement of Trust in the profession by all stakeholders in society.

In recent decades, the concept of Public Members being appointed to Boards and possibly investigation/ adjudication panels has become popular to ensure that the professional bodies do not ‘lose track’ of the public protection responsibility as it also carries out the other important work of the Institute/College. These public members must work hard to understand the profession itself; while also having the confidence to be a value-adding voice to dialogue regarding the affairs of the professional body; reaching of consensus at the Board/Council table; and keeping public protection as an important perspective and priority amid many other competing priorities.

 

Registrants of ICMCA (also known as CMC-Alberta) also have a membership in the Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CAMC, also known as CMC-Canada). CMC-Canada is a founding member of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI – also known as CMC-Global). Registrants of ICMCA have the privilege to partake in events and publications of CMC-Global. Four members of CMC-Canada serve as Delegates to CMC-Global Annual Meetings and provide leadership within ICMCI.

An association is a not-for-profit organization created to provide benefits to like-minded individuals of a common interest. The Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CAMC) is just such a national association. It provides many benefits to members including:

  • Access to Professional Liability, E & O and other insurance plans at reasonable rates
  • Discount services, benefits and travel/hospitality rates
  • Templates of commonly used consulting models, approaches and resources
  • Book Summaries and other Consulting Practice resources
  • Zoom/Quickbooks Subscriptions and other Practice Administrative Software
  • National database of members for clients searching for consultants to assist them or for consultants looking for collaborative support from one or more colleagues.

Check-out CAMC Member Benefits

In addition, CAMC facilitates the organization and agreement across all the Canadian Regional Institutes to common CMC standards which are in compliance with the global CMC standards. CAMC represents Canada at the global level as a founding member within ICMCI.

In Canada, all the Certifying Institutes have further agreed to award a National Certificate which has reciprocal recognition in all provinces and territories. CMC-Canada provides common training curriculum and course access, and co-ordinates examinations across Canada. Finally, CMC-Canada also provides some common Institute administration services on behalf of the Institutes.

The Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Fellow Certified management Consultant (FCMC) designations are recognized and administered by country-specific Institutes of Management Consulting in 50 countries. In the other countries, our CMC-Global Institute handles training and certification.

In addition, there are several other designations in use in various countries and in compliance with global standards overseen by ICMCI. These include:

  • Accredited Consulting Practice (ACP)
  • Academic Fellow (CMC-AF)
  • CMC Firm

For more information about these designations please go to our ICMCI Website.

Client & Public Protection

The Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Alberta is a Professional Institute dedicated to both the advancement of the Profession and the Protection of clients and public from the impact of poor management consulting advice, work and/or recommendations.

The process for becoming a CMC starts with an application and proof of achievement of minimum entry standards as described in the ICMCA and the other Institutes of Management Consulting across Canada regularly update the standards for initial certification.

All candidates for CMC certification must prove their competency to these standards through a combination of consulting client engagement reviews, mentoring reports, client references and an oral examination.

In addition, knowledge levels in various areas of management consulting are required through the completion of courses/exams in:

  • Essentials of Management Consulting – proposal writing, client contracting, consulting team leadership, analysis procedures, etc.
  • Project Management
  • Ethics and Professionalism
  • Personal & Interpersonal Skills

Finally, Candidates for certification go through an Oral Exam conducted by experienced, carefully chosen Assessors that explore the Candidate’s knowledge, experience, judgement and ethics.

All the above elements are then reviewed and assessed by the ICMCA Registration Committee which then grant or decline certification.

This certification process ensures only excellent practitioners gain the CMC designation.

CMC’s as part of a professional community in Alberta are responsible for maintaining our standards amongst our own.

  • We watch, we encourage, we report colleagues whose practice standards are slipping.
  • In addition, every CMC commits to engaging in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses, activities, writing, course design/leadership and/or community service which will continually advance their practices.
  • Each CMC is required to annually review and renew their attestation to our Universal Code of Professional Conduct.
  • ICMCI has a Practice Review and Discipline Committee which annually, proactively reviews 10-15% of our members’ CPD

 

Any client, member of the public or a member-consultant can submit a Complaint to our office. This kicks-off a process as mandated by Alberta Government’s Professional and Occupational Association Registration Act.

Our Practice Review and Discipline Committee then starts into the assessment of the complaint and a quasi-judicial process.

The outcome of the complaint process can result in:

  • Dismissal of the complaint, or
  • Requirement for client restitution, and/or
  • Requirement for remedial training or coaching, and/or
  • Fine(s); and/or
  • Rescinding of their CMC certification.

Making a Complaint about a CMC

Making a complaint about a CMC is significant issue, and one the ICMCA takes seriously.

According to the POARA Act we are required to proceed as follows once a complaint is lodged:

Complaint Proceedings

Conduct

19. Any conduct of a member of a registered association that in the opinion of a Discipline Committee or of a governing body reviewing an order pursuant to section 35

  1. is detrimental to the best interests of the public,
  2. harms or tends to harm the standing of the profession or occupation generally, or
  3. displays a lack of knowledge of or a lack of skill or judgment in the practice of the profession or occupation, whether or not that conduct is disgraceful or dishonourable, constitutes either professional or occupational misconduct or unskilled practice of the profession or occupation, whichever the Discipline Committee or the governing body finds.

1985 cP-18.5 s19

Making a Complaint

20(1) A person who has a complaint that the conduct of a member of a registered association [ICMCA] constitutes:

  1. unskilled practice of the profession or occupation, or
  2. professional or occupational misconduct, may submit a signed, written complaint to the Chair [of the Practice review and Discipline Committee].

(2) Proceedings on a complaint with respect to a member of a registered association whose registration was cancelled or suspended pursuant to this Act may, notwithstanding the cancellation or suspension, be commenced within one year following the date of cancellation or suspension as if the cancellation or suspension had not occurred.

1985 cP-18.5 s20

Notice of Complaint

21 (1) On receiving a complaint under section 20, the chair shall serve notice of the complaint on the member of the registered association named in the complaint.
2. The notice shall include a request for a written response to the complaint in accordance with the regulations.
3. Within 30 days after service of the notice under subsection (1), the chair shall direct 

that:

  1. no further action be taken, if the chair is satisfied that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious, or
  2. that a hearing be held before a Discipline Committee not more than 60 days after receipt of the complaint, or within any longer period on which the chair and the member agree, to consider the complaint.

1985 cP-18.5 s21

Thereafter – the proceedings of investigation, discipline decision-making, and any appeal are further outlined under the Act and undertaken by the ICMCA Practice Review and Discipline Committee.

File a Complaint