Client Relationship Management & Ethical Standards Flashcards

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:

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.

The principle of 'due care' in CMC professional standards primarily requires consultants to:

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.

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:

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.

Which client communication practice best reflects CMC ethical standards around managing expectations?

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.

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:

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.

In the CMC framework, 'informed consent' in client relationships means the client has been given:

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.

When a consulting engagement ends, which practice best upholds the ethical principle of client stewardship?

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.