Institute of Consulting

Chancellor George Osborne has announced an employment allowance that will give every employer in the UK £2,000 off national insurance contributions.
The politician said that one-third of all employers will pay no jobs tax at all as a result of the move, with this applying to some 450,000 small businesses.
He commented: "The last Government put a tax on jobs but this Government has announced a tax off jobs.
"This means an employer can hire one worker on £22,000 a year or four workers on minimum wage."
The employment allowance is to be introduced from April 2014.

Speaking in his Budget 2013 speech, the politician announced that a single-tier state pension, which will provide retirees with a guaranteed pension of £144 a week, is to be implemented in 2016.

Last week I took part in a very interesting debate about the impact of the economy on interim managers and consultants at a London conference hosted by interim management company, Russam GMS.

After last night's nail biting defeat for England in the European Championships, many of us will now want to focus on positive events ahead like the London 2012 Olympics.

As all the news reports have been showing, the stage is now set with final preparations being made for what promises to be a spectacular and positive event for London and Britain.

Consulting is attracting people of different ages and backgrounds because it offers a rare combination of challenge, diversity and work flexibility. But what are the realities of working as an independent consultant and how can you start out successfully?

If you are looking for your next challenge and want to work in a different industry sector or for variety of different clients and can offer specialist skills and knowledge, then consultancy might be the ideal career move for you.

Credit Ratings agency Moody's recently stated that the London Olympics would only provide a short lived fillip to the British economy rather than any major boost, but I would challenge that.

In spite of news that Britain is back in recession, there was some positive news for consultants with a new report from the Management Consultancies Association(MCA) showing that consulting fee income is returning to pre-crisis levels. The UK management consulting industry’s fee income grew by just under 5% in 2011 and the total number of fee earning consultants increased by 10%.

Once again, consultants seem to have been bashed in the news, this time by the Government for not paying their fair share of tax. But is it really fair to say that Mr Alexander's concerns are about consultants not paying their fair share of tax?

News out yesterday showed that Britain is back in recession - the first double-dip recession since 1975. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that GDP fell 0.2 per cent, after a 0.3 percent drop in the fourth quarter of 2011. Two quarters of negative growth mean that we have officially entered a recession, just three years after the last one in 2009.

Economists had expected the economy to grow by 0.1% so these figures have come as a bit of a shock.

Depending on who you talk to you, people tend to have mixed views about the UK consulting industry. Some of the common criticisms levied at consultants are the fact they charge too much and are sometimes not perceived to add sufficient value.