Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving any sort of organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice and accessing consultants’ specialized expertise regarding concerns that call for additional oversight.

As a result of their exposure to and relationships with numerous organizations, consulting firms are typically aware of industry “best practices”. However, the specific nature of situations under consideration may limit the ability or appropriateness of transferring such practices from one organization to another. Management consulting is an additional service to internal management functions, and for various legal and practical reasons, may not be seen as a replacement to internal management. Unlike interim management, management consultants do not become part of the organization that they’re providing services to.