What skills does a business consultant need?

A business consultant needs 25 essential skills including consultation methods, business analysis, operational research, strategic planning, business processes. Core competencies include .

Will AI replace business consultant jobs?

The AI disruption score for business consultant is 27/100 (low risk). Some tasks may be automated but the role will evolve rather than disappear entirely.

Financial ServicesBusiness and administration professionalsISCO 2421

business consultant

Business consultants analyse the position, structure and processes of businesses and companies and offer services or advice to improve them. They research and identify business processes such as financial inefficiencies or employee management and devise strategical plans to overcome these difficulties. They work in external consulting firms where they provide an objective view on a business and or company's structure and methodological processes.

European Skills Framework

Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.

Essential (25)

consultation methodsconsultation methodsTechniques used to facilitate clear and open communication and the provision of advice between individuals, communities or the government, such as discussion groups or one-on-one interviews.business analysisbusiness analysisThe research field which addresses the identification of business needs and problems and the determination of the solutions that would mitigate or prevent the smooth functioning of a business. Busines...operational researchoperational researchThe application of scientific methods to provide solutions to administrative and management issues of organised systems as industrial, commercial, or governmental processes.strategic planningstrategic planningThe elements defining the foundation and core of an organisation such as its mission, vision, values, and objectives.business processesbusiness processesProcesses which an organisation applies to improve efficiency, set new objectives and reach goals in a profitable and timely manner.management consultingmanagement consultingThe process of giving paid advice with the aim of improving businesses performance and promote their growth.management systems standardsmanagement systems standardsThe standards that improve the performance of an organisation by outlining activities that helps to achieve goals and objectives. They also help to create an organisational culture that provides groun...perform business analysisperform business analysisEvaluate the condition of a business on its own and in relation to the competitive business domain, performing research, placing data in context of the business' needs and determining areas of opportu...apply change managementapply change managementManage development within an organisation by anticipating changes and making managerial decisions to ensure that the members involved are as less disturbed as possible.identify undetected organisational needsidentify undetected organisational needsUse the collected input and information from interviewing stakeholders and analysing organisational documents in order to detect unseen needs and improvements that would support the development of the...analyse business processesanalyse business processesStudy the contribution of the work processes to the business goals and monitor their efficiency and productivity.analyse business plansanalyse business plansAnalyse the formal statements from businesses which outline their business goals and the strategies they set in place to meet them, in order to assess the feasibility of the plan and verify the busine...interpret financial statementsinterpret financial statementsRead, understand, and interpret the key lines and indicators in financial statements. Extract the most important information from financial statements depending on the needs and integrate this informa...advise on financial mattersadvise on financial mattersConsult, advise, and propose solutions with regards to financial management such as acquiring new assets, incurring in investments, and tax efficiency methods.conduct quantitative researchconduct quantitative researchExecute a systematic empirical investigation of observable phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques.analyse financial performance of a companyanalyse financial performance of a companyAnalyse the performance of the company in financial matters in order to identify improvement actions that could increase profit, based on accounts, records, financial statements and external informati...advise on efficiency improvementsadvise on efficiency improvementsAnalyse information and details of processes and products in order to advise on possible efficiency improvements that could be implemented and would signify a better use of resources.analyse internal factors of companiesanalyse internal factors of companiesResearch and understand various internal factors that influence the operation of companies such as its culture, strategic foundation, products, prices, and available resources.analyse the context of an organisationanalyse the context of an organisationStudy the external and internal environment of an organisation by identifying its strengths and weaknesses in order to provide a base for company strategies and further planning.analyse business requirementsanalyse business requirementsStudy clients' needs and expectations for a product or service in order to identify and resolve inconsistencies and possible disagreements of involved stakeholders.analyse external factors of companiesanalyse external factors of companiesPerform research and analysis of the external factor pertaining to companies such as consumers, position in the market, competitors, and political situation.build business relationshipsbuild business relationshipsEstablish a positive, long-term relationship between organisations and interested third parties such as suppliers, distributors, shareholders and other stakeholders in order to inform them of the orga...align efforts towards business developmentalign efforts towards business developmentSynchronise the efforts, plans, strategies, and actions carried out in departments of companies towards the growth of business and its turnover. Keep business development as the ultimate outcome of an...liaise with managersliaise with managersLiaise with managers of other departments ensuring effective service and communication, i.e. sales, planning, purchasing, trading, distribution and technical.make strategic business decisionsmake strategic business decisionsAnalyse business information and consult directors for decision making purposes in a varied array of aspects affecting the prospect, productivity and sustainable operation of a company. Consider the o...

Optional (27)

business intelligencebusiness intelligenceThe tools used to transform large amounts of raw data into relevant and helpful business information.business lawbusiness lawThe field of law concerned with the trade and commerce activities of businesses and private persons and their legal interactions. This relates to numerous legal disciplines, including tax and employme...organisational policiesorganisational policiesThe policies to achieve set of goals and targets regarding the development and maintenance of an organisation.financial statementsfinancial statementsThe set of financial records disclosing the financial position of a company at the end of a set period or of the accounting year. The financial statements consisting of five parts which are the statem...business incubationbusiness incubationThe process through which an individual or an organization contributes to the development and growth of a business start-up. It includes physical facility support (such as offices), networking support...market entry strategiesmarket entry strategiesThe ways to enter a new market and their implications, namely; exporting via representatives, franchising to third parties, collaborating joint ventures, and opening of fully-owned subsidiaries and fl...quality standardsquality standardsThe national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.business process modellingbusiness process modellingThe tools, methods and notations such as Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) and Business Process Execution Language (BPEL), used to describe and analyse the characteristics of a business proce...business analyticsbusiness analyticsThe disciplines and technologies for solving business problems through employing quantitative methods such as data analysis and statistical models.business communicationbusiness communicationThe process of effectively communicating within the workplace and to external bodies to achieve organisational goals.trading softwaretrading softwareThe finance and trading integrated software solutions.business strategy conceptsbusiness strategy conceptsThe terminology related to the design and implementation of major trends and aims which are taken by an organisation's executives, while keeping in mind its resources, competition and environments.organisational learningorganisational learningThe process for continuous improvement of an organisation through obtaining experience to be used to generate knowledge with the aim of sharing it within the organisation itself.corporate lawcorporate lawThe legal rules that govern how corporate stakeholders (such as shareholders, employees, directors, consumers, etc) interact with one another, and the responsibilities corporations have to their stake...human resource managementhuman resource managementThe function in an organisation concerned with the recruitment of employees and the optimisation of employee performance.advise on risk managementadvise on risk managementProvide advice on risk management policies and prevention strategies and their implementation, being aware of different kinds of risks to a specific organisation.identify processes for re-engineeringidentify processes for re-engineeringIdentify potential to restructure a company or part of its operations, e.g. by exploiting information technology.interview peopleinterview peopleInterview people in a range of different circumstances.advise on communication strategiesadvise on communication strategiesProvide companies and organisations with consulting services concerning their internal and external communication plans and their representation, including their presence online. Recommend improvement...advise client on technical possibilitiesadvise client on technical possibilitiesRecommend technical solutions, including systems, to the client within the framework of a project.advise on environmental risk management systemsadvise on environmental risk management systemsEvaluate requirements and advise on systems for environmental risk management. Ensure the customer does his part in preventing or limiting adverse environmental impact through the use of technology. E...implement a management systemimplement a management systemMake and monitor the changes in business processes that are needed to create a system that collectively manage different parts of the business of an organisation.make data-driven decisionsmake data-driven decisionsCollect data such as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for an organisation and use the information to formulate actions and strategies.report analysis resultsreport analysis resultsProduce research documents or give presentations to report the results of a conducted research and analysis project, indicating the analysis procedures and methods which led to the results, as well as...define organisational standardsdefine organisational standardsWrite, implement and foster the internal standards of the company as part of the business plans for the operations and levels of performance that the company intends to achieve.advise on sustainability solutionsadvise on sustainability solutionsAdvise companies on solutions to develop sustainable production processes, improve material efficiency and reuse and reduce carbon footprint.seek innovation in current practicesseek innovation in current practicesSearch for improvements and present innovative solutions, creativity and alternative thinking to develop new technologies, methods or ideas for and answers to work-related problems.