Title: Hired Help: Finding the Right Consultant: The When and How of Selecting an Employee Benefits Consultant
Abstract: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * CPAs can help companies hire consultants to deal with a wide variety of employee benefits challenges including managing the rising cost of health insurance, maintaining competitive benefits offerings and dealing with the complexity of pension and other retirement plans. * Before hiring a benefits consultant, Companies should check to see whether they already have the necessary expertise available internally in human resources or in departments such as IT, finance, risk management or operations. While using internal resources will save on consulting fees, it's important to consider the cost of the work that may not get done while staff members are tied up on the benefits project. * It's a good idea to have a clear goal in mind for the benefits consulting project. This will help ensure the company achieves the desired results but also stays within its stated budget. Ongoing monitoring of the consultant's work is also critical to the success of the project and avoiding cost overruns. * Companies typically can hire consultants on a project basis or keep them on retainer. Some benefits executives feel a retainer arrangement is inefficient as it may lead to overreliance on the consultant and be costly because there may be months when a company is paying for resources it isn't using. * CPAs shouldn't expect consultants to provide all the answers to their employee benefits problems. Typically a consultant will provide a range of options for management to consider, leaving company executives with some tough decisions to make in order to achieve the desired outcome. For many companies employee benefits have become a major management challenge. Health insurance costs are skyrocketing. Pension rules and regulations continue to grow in scope and complexity. And employers still face significant legal and fiduciary obligations. It should come as no surprise that companies frequently turn to outside experts for help in dealing with benefits-related issues, particularly the rising cost of health coverage. Indeed, in 2005 companies spent $4.5 billion on benefits consulting services according to Derek Smith, director of research at Kennedy Information, a Peterborough, N.H.-based firm that tracks the management consulting industry Companies looking for a benefits consultant have plenty of options to choose from. Smith estimates that about 100 entities in the United States do some benefits consulting, though no more than a dozen account for the majority of the benefits consulting market. Companies also can get benefits-related assistance from a variety of other sources, including accounting firms, insurance brokers and law firms. This article will give CPAs the guidance they need to select and work with a consultant to solve a variety of benefits-related problems. IS A CONSULTANT NECESSARY? Companies hire benefits consultants for a number of reasons. Many want to cut health costs by switching insurers or adopting so-called consumer-driven health plans. Others are looking to add programs such as health savings accounts or Roth 401 (k)s. Still others want access to strategic planning and leading-edge technology so they can offer a state-of-the-art benefits program. And some even want to outsource their entire human resources department--including the administration of employee benefit plans. In addition to providing technical expertise, benefits consultants can bring a different point of view to a project. They can challenge your perspective and make it better, says Marc Buchsbaum, CPA, vice-president of compensation and benefits at NCR Corp. in Dayton, Ohio. Consultants also can lend credibility to projects and recommendations because of their expertise. He recalls a consultant who attended a meeting with NCR's CEO and other key executives on an important, if emotional, benefits issue. The consultant was very vested in the outcome of the meeting and passionately gave his view of the situation, which went well beyond polite consultant-speak. …
Publication Year: 2006
Publication Date: 2006-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
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