“Extract Value from Consultants shows how to wring out efficiencies and get the most of your investment of time and money. By applying the broad suggestions in the book, a bank consulting project will have a better chance for the best outcome at a just cost.” So says the book review posted on the website of American Banker’s Association’s Banking Journal – see http://www.ababj.com/briefing/book-review-extract-value-from-consultants-how-to-hire-control-and-fire-them.html

The financial services industry is the largest user of management and IT consulting services (US$100 billion in America or 25% of total consulting revenues) so banks have a significant opportunity to improve on the way they manage consultants to deliver maximum value. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the consulting firms), executives are often too trusting of the consulting relationship and therefore do not apply sufficient oversight and management of their consultants. Instead, the consultants manage their banking clients in well plannned and sophisticated ways.

As the authors have served the financial services industry for a combined 50+ years, they have observed the significant amount of value that has been left on the table by banking executives when they use consultants. They wrote their book as they felt it was time to ‘even the odds’ in favour of the banking clients that use consultants so that bankers obtain greater business value at lower consulting spend using a variety of techniques outlined in the book.

What is your perspective – do you believe that consultants are managed effectively by banks to deliver maximum business results at reasonable consultant spend?