Institute of Consulting

The Institute of Consulting (IC) is the professional body for consultants and business advisers in the United Kingdom. It replaced the former Institute of Business Consulting (IBC) in January 2011, which was itself formed as the merger of two predecessor bodies, the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) and the Institute of Business Advisors (IBA). The Institute of Consulting is an organisation within the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

The IC offers several grades of membership, qualifications, training and awards as well as a range of tools and resource to support members. The institute also operates an accreditation process for its members.

During a conference held in Paris during the 1950s, the Big Four consultancy companies at that time agreed to form the Management Consultancies Association. This was developed further into a professional institute and the Institute of Management Consultants came into being in 1962. Having changed its name during the 1990s to the Institute of Management Consultancy to enable corporate membership, the organisation began discussions about merging with the CMI in 2005. This led to the IMC becoming an organisation within the CMI later that year, but the two institutes remained as separate entities.

At the time of the merger with CMI, the IMC were themselves approached by the Institute of Business Advisors (IBA) about combining membership. After lengthy discussions, the IMC and IBA merged in 2007 to become the Institute of Business Consulting, an amalgamation of their two previous names.

Both the IBC and CMI suffered as a result of the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. In 2010, the organisations established closer working links and relationships and, following feedback from members and the changing scope of their work, removed the word 'business' from the name, becoming the Institute of Consulting.

There are 4 grades of membership within the IC:

• Affiliate – For anyone starting out in the consultancy field with little or no experience, or for anyone who just has an interest in consultancy and wishes to keep up to date with the profession. There is a sub-grade for those studying, Studying Affiliate, for individuals who are enrolled on an IC qualification course or are undertaking study outside of the IC, offering the Affiliate membership grade at a discount rate.
• Associate (AIC) – For individuals who have a small amount of experience in the consultancy or advisory fields. This grade offers resources for Continuous Personal Development free to members. Associates are entitled to use the postnominals AIC after their name to indicate their membership.
• Miembro (MIC) : La categoría más popular, reservada a personas con al menos tres años de experiencia como consultores o asesores empresariales. Los miembros pueden usar las siglas MIC después de su nombre para indicar su acreditación y pertenencia a la organización.
• Miembro (FIC) : El grado más alto de membresía disponible, que requiere al menos 10 años de experiencia, tres de los cuales deben ser en un puesto estratégico. La membresía de Miembro del IC ofrece beneficios adicionales, incluida la posibilidad de convertirse en mentor. Los Miembros tienen derecho a usar las siglas FIC después de su nombre para indicar su estatus dentro del instituto.

El Instituto de Consultoría cuenta con varias cualificaciones disponibles para sus miembros y ofrece cursos tanto para miembros como para no miembros. Ofrece diversas certificaciones y diplomas: ^{[ 1 ]}

• Consultoría
  • Consultor de Gestión Certificado (ChMC)
  • Consultor de gestión certificado
  • Certificado en Fundamentos de Consultoría de Gestión
  • Diploma en Consultoría de Gestión
• Asesoría empresarial
  • Certificado en apoyo empresarial
  • Diploma en Apoyo Empresarial
  • Asesor de negocios certificado

• Instituto Colegiado de Gestión
• Esquema de la consultoría