Frequently asked questions...

What will your service cost us? - Usually £2400 plus VAT per month, for two days per month of task-based time, and two days per month of background thinking, plotting and planning time. When working on occasion for three or four days per month of task-based time, then the agreed monthly fee moves up on a pro-rata basis

Do you have to go on to our Board ? - Absolutely not, as there is no need at all for us to do so in order for us to be able to fulfil the role for you totally effectively

How long have you been established ? - Since 1975

What do you mean exactly by ‘Added Value’ and ‘Return on Investment’? - This is absolutely key to all that we do, and our Non Execs focus massively upon adding value and maximising your return on investment (ROI) at all times whilst they are working with you. We’d normally look to work with you on the basis of three to ten times Added Value / ROI – and often much more

What do you mean by ‘Been There and Done It’? - All our OMSG Group Non Execs have actually ‘Been There and Done It’ ie formerly, as Managing Directors of SME businesses, or of stand-alone divisions where they have been fully and solely P&L responsible

What do you mean by ‘Ethically-Modelled’? - Our practice model is one that is considerably more professional and more ethical than any other that we have ever come across in the UK, in that we do not allow any of our Non Execs to pay us significant sums of money via which to be able to join the team, ie we recruit solely and rigorously on the basis of merit, and on seriously-relevant professional expertise, knowledge and experience, and on absolutely nothing else. Also we do not allow our OMSG Group Non Execs to ever receive (or pay) commissions when professionally-referring

What you mean exactly by ‘Professionally-Qualified’? - All our OMSG Group Non Execs are at one of the two highest levels of membership of the Institute of Business Consulting – either MIBC (Full Member) or FIBC (Fellow)

Why the monthly payment in advance concept ? - It’s the way that Non Execs normally work with clients, and reflects the absolutely key underlying need, where we have at all times to be - and to be seen to be - totally and scrupulously (and sometimes pretty painfully) honest, independent objective and detached

Under what notice clauses shall we operate ? - You choose, but never less than to end of subsequent month – Many clients prefer one month, some seek minimum three months, sometimes six months, sometimes more, but it’s absolutely your call / subject to negotiation

Are you Chartered Accountants? - Most definitely not! The accountant’s primary skill sets are all based around accountancy, audit and tax. They are, with just the extremely rare exception, not about Non Exec input at all, even if on occasion, they purport to be

How does that two days per month of task-based time break down? - Most commonly that time splits approximately 50/50 in to face-to-face, and non-face-to-face time, but this split can and does vary. It is rarely two separate full days as such, but often can be four half days or something similar, and involves working sometimes with you and your team at your place of business, sometimes working at our base office, occasionally at third party premises if necessary

What is it exactly that you do - and how do you go about it, day by day, week by week, month by month, when working with and for clients like us? - See adjacently the How We Do It page on this very website, which should explain all

What are the key role differences between a Non Exec working with a large company - and a Non Exec working with an SME business? - The SME Non Exec is much more hands on, and with a nuts-and-bolts approach, and is concerned primarily / almost entirely with helping management improve and maximise business and financial performance. SME Non Execs are not going to be hugely over-concerned about corporate governance, political lobbying and HMG regulatory matters for example, which is where the key focus lies with a large company Non Exec

How long will you be planning to work with us? - That’s entirely up to you. We work with clients usually from three to four months, up to three to four years, sometimes more. We most commonly work on the basis of a one month notice clause initially, then moving up – at your choice - to three or six month notice clauses after the first three or four months

Why are you so expensive / Why are you so low-cost ? - We are considerably less expensive than lawyers and accountants etc of a similar senior level and this is because we specifically avoid the massive overheads which they generate, ie we do not have huge square footages of expensive city / town centre office space, and we also use virtually zero support staff, and we spend nothing on advertising

Tell me how you keep fully up to date? - We maintain a fully documented CPD log as each year progresses not least because our Professional Institute membership demands just that very thing. We attend a minimum of thirty hours per year of such professional updates / briefings. We also use ‘New CPD’ which is based upon our each working closely with one of our professional colleagues with he or she acting as our CPD Peer Mentor

What Professional Indemnity Insurance cover do you carry? - We all carry at least £1 million (and usually £2m) of top quality and specific-to-the-role PII cover

What networks of Functional Specialists do you have which might be available to work with us, as and when required? - Considerable, as you have every right to expect, and we would be happy entirely to assist - if you wish - in the appointment of, and supervision of any such Functional Specialists who are appointed, and to overview their work with you, and to act at all times as an Honest Broker between themselves and yourselves

How can we be assured that there are no financial interests or benefits accruing to you, of any kind whatsoever, by being involved in any such professional referrals? - OMSG Non Exec Group forbids us from any such financially benefiting practices, on the grounds of professional integrity, and on pain of sudden and most excruciating death, usually by hanging drawing and quartering !

Can’t we achieve all these proposed outcomes by ourselves and without you? - It has been proven thousands of times, not least via some very serious research undertaken by Warwick University Business School, which proved that “The single most powerful determinant of success in an SME business is having a professionally-qualified Non Exec on board”, and, via dozens of professional practices that having just such a Non Exec on board for just two days per month of task-based time enables the management of an SME business to achieve safely (and in a cost effective and highly value-adding manner) the effective planning and full implementation of its commercial and financial objectives in a far more reliable, safe and speedy manner than would otherwise be the case