{{Short description|none}} {{More sources|date=March 2024}}

A '''business consultant''' (from [[Latin]] ''consultare'', "to discuss") is a [[professional]] who provides professional or expert advice<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/consultant |title=Consultant &#124; Define Consultant at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |date=2004-03-09 |access-date=2014-07-20}}</ref> or service in a particular area such as security ([[information security|electronic]] or [[physical security|physical]]), [[management]], [[accountancy]], [[law]], [[human resources]], [[marketing]] (and [[public relations]]), [[financial control]], [[engineering]], [[science]], [[digital transformation]], [[exit planning]] or any of many other specialized fields.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

A consultant is usually an expert or a professional in a specific field and has a wide area of knowledge in a specific subject. [[Consultant|Consultants]] can save their clients time, increase revenue, and maintain resources.<ref>Tordoir, Pieter P. (1995). ''The professional knowledge economy: the management and integration services in business organizations'', p. 140.</ref> The role of a consultant outside the [[medical]] sphere (where the term is used specifically for a grade of doctor) can fall under one of two general categories: * Internal consultant – someone who operates within an [[organization]] but is available to be consulted on areas of specialism by other departments or individuals (acting as clients); or * External consultant – someone who is employed externally (either by a firm or some other agency) and whose expertise is provided on a temporary basis, usually for a fee. As such this type of consultant generally engages with multiple and changing clients.

The overall impact of a consultant is that clients have access to deeper levels of expertise than would be feasible for them to retain in-house, and may purchase only as much service from the outside consultant as desired.

In the United Kingdom between 1992 and 2011, [[government funding]] provided via [[Business Link]] could be used to enable [[small business]]es to access business consultancy services.<ref name=bs>{{cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0266242604046295 | doi=10.1177/0266242604046295 | title=The Selection and Control of Management Consultants by Small Business Clients | date=2004 | last1=Bennett | first1=Robert J. | last2=Smith | first2=Colin | journal=International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship | volume=22 | issue=5 | pages=435–462 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Research== A large-scale survey of business consultancy assignments, reported in 2004, found that repeat business and referrals from third parties were key determinants of consultant appointments.<ref name=bs />

== References == {{Wiktionary|consultant|consulting}} {{Wikiquote}} {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200923145016/https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/management-consultant Management consultant]}}

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{{Consulting}}

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[[Category:Consulting occupations]] [[Category:Business occupations]] [[Category:Management occupations]]