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Consultancy is used by businesses or individuals who require expert advice from consultants with specialist knowledge and experience in a particular field.  By consulting with experts companies gain assistance with business decisions and forge a plan to move forward in a specific area, while individuals can receive advice to make decisions in any area of their lives from health to personal finance.

Businesses use consultants to advise on a broad range of subjects.  An environmental consultant can assist a company to reduce their negative impact on the environment, which may also reduce costs and pollution charges, enhancing profits.  A strategy consultant will assess the company’s current performance and contribute to decision and developing a plan for growth or change.  Management consultancy also includes the employment of experts to make decisions, but covers areas from operational improvement to human resourcing and training.

Consultants are generally self-employed or employed by an external agency.  In this way they work with a large range of businesses and can take an objective view, while bringing a breadth of experience unavailable to those who are consistently employed within the single business.  Using consultancy is recognized as good business practice to ensure a person or group of individuals has external appraisal and influence on business strategies and decisions which will affect the business.  Consultancy can be seen as disproportionately expensive and meaningless, but hiring an expert only when needed can have a significant effect on the profits and performance of a business.