CMC Client Relationship Management & Ethical Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a client meeting, a consultant realizes the proposed solution would generate additional billable work for the firm but may not be the most cost-effective option for the client. Ethical practice requires the consultant to:
- Recommend the solution that best serves the client's interests and disclose any firm interest (Correct answer)
- Recommend the more expensive solution since the client can afford it
- Present both options and let the client choose without disclosing the firm's interest
- Defer the decision to a senior partner
Correct answer: Recommend the solution that best serves the client's interests and disclose any firm interest
CMC ethics mandate that client interests take precedence, and any firm interest in a recommendation must be disclosed.
Question 2: The principle of 'due care' in CMC professional standards primarily requires consultants to:
- Guarantee positive outcomes for every engagement
- Apply competent, thorough, and diligent effort appropriate to the engagement (Correct answer)
- Document every client communication in writing
- Charge fees proportional to the client's revenue
Correct answer: Apply competent, thorough, and diligent effort appropriate to the engagement
Due care means applying the level of competence, thoroughness, and diligence that a qualified professional would reasonably bring to an engagement.
Question 3: A client asks a consultant to sign a non-compete clause preventing work with any competitor for three years after the engagement. The consultant's most appropriate initial response is to:
- Sign immediately to secure the contract
- Refuse categorically without discussion
- Negotiate the scope and duration to ensure it is reasonable and does not unfairly restrict professional practice (Correct answer)
- Agree verbally but not in writing
Correct answer: Negotiate the scope and duration to ensure it is reasonable and does not unfairly restrict professional practice
Non-compete clauses should be negotiated to balance client protection with the consultant's ability to practice their profession fairly.
Question 4: Which client communication practice best reflects CMC ethical standards around managing expectations?
- Overpromising results to win the engagement, then adjusting expectations later
- Setting realistic expectations from the outset and communicating proactively about risks (Correct answer)
- Avoiding discussion of potential risks to keep the client confident
- Reporting only positive findings to maintain the client relationship
Correct answer: Setting realistic expectations from the outset and communicating proactively about risks
Ethical client management requires setting honest expectations from the start and proactively communicating risks as they emerge.
Question 5: A consultant receives a gift valued at $500 from a vendor seeking recommendation to the consultant's client. According to CMC ethical standards, the consultant should:
- Accept it as a normal business courtesy
- Accept it and disclose to the client
- Decline the gift and disclose the approach to the client (Correct answer)
- Accept it if the vendor is genuinely qualified
Correct answer: Decline the gift and disclose the approach to the client
Accepting gifts from parties with a business interest in the consultant's recommendations creates a conflict of interest; the gift should be declined and the approach disclosed.
Question 6: In the CMC framework, 'informed consent' in client relationships means the client has been given:
- A signed NDA before any work begins
- Sufficient information about methodology, risks, costs, and alternatives to make an autonomous decision (Correct answer)
- Approval from their board of directors for the engagement
- Written confirmation of the consultant's credentials
Correct answer: Sufficient information about methodology, risks, costs, and alternatives to make an autonomous decision
Informed consent requires that clients have full, comprehensible information about all relevant engagement factors before agreeing to proceed.
Question 7: When a consulting engagement ends, which practice best upholds the ethical principle of client stewardship?
- Retaining all project data for potential future use without client permission
- Transferring all deliverables, returning client data, and conducting a formal knowledge-transfer session (Correct answer)
- Archiving findings internally as firm intellectual property
- Requesting a long-term retainer before sharing final deliverables
Correct answer: Transferring all deliverables, returning client data, and conducting a formal knowledge-transfer session
Ethical engagement closure includes returning client data and conducting knowledge transfer to leave the client capable of sustaining outcomes independently.
CMC Client Relationship Management & Ethical Standards 3
During a client meeting, a consultant realizes the proposed solution would generate additional billable work for the firm but may not be the most cost-effective option for the client.
Ethical practice requires the consultant to: