Chartered Management Consultant (ChMC) or Certified Management Consultant (CMC)?

Hi all,

I'm scouting around for a professional management consulting certification and the web allowed me to zero in on these two certifications:

1. ChMC offered by Chartered Institute of Management Consultants (cimcglobal.org)
   1. This appears to have a tie-up with Capella
   2. Exemption from exams appear to be available
   3. Exams (if no exemptions granted) are online and appears pretty straight forward
2. CMC offered by International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (cmc-global.org)
   1. A coalition of various national institutes
   2. Certification appears tedious - several interviews, project paper and testimonials from clients needed

On the whole, the ChMC appears more time-efficient to pursue. However, I am not too sure of the legitimacy of the organisation and the utility of such a certificate. Any comments would be most welcome!

 

https://www.accaglobal.com/ca/en/member/membership/partner-quals/cmi.html big in the u.k
https://www.cmc-canada.ca/whoweare/partners/academic big in Canada

 

Transferability to MBA Degree Program
Once you have completed the Management Consulting Certificate, continue building advanced management skills while saving time and money by transferring up to 15 Management Consulting certificate credits into select Capella MBA specializations.

http://cimcglobal.org/about.html

How to Get Certified
The ChMC designation is available only to management consultants who have chosen to undergo a rigorous, intensive process of upgrading their skills and training.

The requirements for certification are:

• A university degree
• Three years consulting experience
• Completion of online educational program

http://cimcglobal.org/certified.html

 

The questions is, what would you want this certification? I had few certifications myself and stopped paying them because of the little value. Most employers only want specific certifications and just adding certifications to your resume with no purpose, it adds an overhead of membership fees and certification fees. Most bodies ask between 200 to 300 and give nothing in return but just the right to keep using the certification. It is a business model.
CMC has value for a Canadian resident as it can help you to get liability insurance as an independent consultant and it has some government recognition. ChMC has no recognition and it seems to rely on CMC for recognition, in few words, they seem to offer a similar set of letters so people think you are CMC.

In the Business World, there are few certifications that have value for employers such as CPA, CFA, PMP, etc. Be careful about just getting certifications that are businesses to make money. Many people get them so they can impress others with letters (e.g. John Smith MBA ChMC CICA CICO, etc).

 

Internationally, I may add CA, ACCA, and CMA. They are all accounting. You will make a decent living somwhere in the world, not necessarily in the USA.

 

It is more of a marketing tool for a management consultancy, rather than to tick any boxes for prospective employers. Realised that many institutes / academies issue these, especially for the business coaching players, but not so much for the management consulting gigs as of now.

 

Interesting to note that ACCA is into fasttracking members into CMgr.

 

Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) is another one i want to add. It is a specific auditing designation out of the USA. A fast tract for ACCA also. Very useful in big corporations. You get to basically have oversights over accounting.

 

Your customers will hire you based on references not so much based on certifications. An MBA, DBA or PhD is more than enough for management consulting. If the customer needs some financial advise or accounting then CFP or CPA might be worth it as many banks accept a CFP or CPA report.

The CMC, C anything in Management is kind of a scam to me. They require you to pay fees every year to keep you in an online directory.
As these certifications are not statutory designations, if you really want to see the value, you can always put in your CV a ChMC and see if you get any difference in terms of business. If customers start approaching you because of this, they you can just apply for it and get it. I would test it before getting one, I would be surprised if it makes any difference in your life.

I few experiences with these certifications and have not noticed any difference (I was Chartered Manager in Canada and it was just a fee scam with no value from recognition or services to members).

 

Is that not fraudulent?

 

ChCM you can get it by just paying the fees and showing an MBA. If you want to be ethical, you can put in your CV ChCM (Eligible).
Long time ago I requested info for this credential and the requirement was just fees and a copy of the diploma.

 

CIA and CFE appears to be gaining brand recognition.

In addition, there is also a fast track to get a CMA for ACCA members that are not based in the States.

 

I reckon most of these Cs are just resume padders? If one has got a doctorate and some rigorous exam-based Cs, that ought to do the trick. Everything else may just be vanity.

 

Focusing on a designation with a technical skill underlying it, is an almost guaranty to earn a decent income. Cmc, chmc and others like them are soft - and should be supported like you said with an mba, Phd, or technical designation.

 

If a ChCM and alike just require an MBA and experience, it is likely that prospect employers would just check and see that you only paid a fee to get them so there is no extra value. Exam based certifications might have value if the employer is convinced that are proof of knowledge in area that is needed.

CMC is exam based but it seems to be an alternative for those with no business degree, many companies accept it as the equivalent of a business degree but I don't see much value for someone with an MBA from a good business school

The market is full of certifications, there is pressure to get them to stand out from the crowd but be careful about the ones that are just fee generators for paper based qualifications with no value to your knowledge or career.