Midwest Society of Professional Consultants

Vision, Mission and Ethics Codes

Vision

The Midwest Society of Professional Consultants (MSPC) will become the leading association and resource for new and established professional consultants in the Midwest, for education, personal and professional development, business growth and community outreach. The Society will inspire, equip, and motivate its members to convey to the business community, in words and deeds, the value of using professional consulting services.

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Our Mission

Through its diverse membership of independent consultants in over 200 disciplines, the Midwest Society of Professional Consultants is dedicated to:

• Promoting a professional support system.
• Improving professional and personal skills.
• Providing access to other disciplines.
• Facilitating referrals.
• Enhancing the image of all consultants.

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Our Code of Ethics

Preamble

Members of the Midwest Society of Professional Consultants believe the relationships between consultants and their clients must be governed by more than legal requirements. Therefore, it is our belief that the moral obligations we have to each other, as civilized persons, apply to our business activities in the same way as they apply to other exchanges within the community. The Code of Ethics we have set forth, and to which we subscribe, recognizes those obligations and is presented in the desire to strengthen the bond of trust which is the foundation of all relationships.

Premise

The basis of any relationship between consultants and their clients is trust. The client engages a consultant in the belief that the consultant is capable of performing the service satisfactorily, in a timely manner, and at an agreed upon price. The consultant accepts the accepts the engagement trusting that his/her services will be evaluated fairly, that proprietary knowledge will be respected; that the agreement will be honored; and payment will be timely under terms of the agreement.

The Midwest Society of Professional Consultants' Code of Ethics is expressed in terms of the responsibilities we acknowledge toward our clients and the expectations we have of our clients. Although the Code addresses specific areas including competence, integrity, confidentiality and fees, its fundamental spirit can be expressed very simply: If the clients knew exactly what I did and why I did it, would I still take the same actions?

Consultant Responsibilities

• Professional Competence: We will accept only those engagements we are qualified to undertake and which we believe will provide genuine benefits to our clients. We will present our qualifications to a client solely in terms of our competence and experience. We acknowledge the need to maintain our competence by continued study and training.
• Professional Integrity: We will assume an independent position with our clients, making certain our advice is based upon impartial consideration of the pertinent facts. We will be truthful and forthright in observations and recommendations to clients. We will serve competing clients or those in adversarial relationships only with the full disclosure and knowledge of all parties involved. We will inform clients of any relationships or interests that might influence our judgment or might be a conflict of interest; and we will forego any association which might be perceived as a conflict of interest, unless consented to by both parties to the contrary.
• Confidentiality: We will treat all information relating to the business affairs of a client as confidential, including the client's name if anonymity is requested.
• Referrals: We will match a prospective client's needs with an MSPC consultant's skills and specialization. We will make available our current directory of consulting profiles to interested parties using a database search approach.
• Fees: We will charge fees commensurate with the nature of the services performed and the responsibility assumed and which are in relation to our experience and ability. When appropriate, we will provide the client with a written proposal which outlines the objectives and scope of the project as well as the fee basis or estimated fee. Out-of-pocket expenses for travel, meals, mileage and similar expenses will be billed at cost; service charges for goods and services purchased on behalf of clients will be disclosed.
• Community Responsibility: We recognize a moral responsibility to the safety, health and welfare of the public. We will accept only those projects which are legal and which, in our judgment, are not in violation of the community interest or public good. We will not knowingly participate in any engagement where our professional skills might be used to violate the law.
• Other Consultants: We will not denigrate the work of others in order to obtain business for ourselves. In a collaborative effort with other consultants, we will respect the established relationship between those consultants and the client, and do nothing to undermine those relationships for our benefit.

Consultant Expectations

We expect clients to be realistic and honest. A client who requests a quick opinion can neither expect that opinion to provide the same results as a thorough study, nor expect such an opinion to carry the consultant's full expertise.

We expect clients to neither misrepresent our findings nor exaggerate their significance or limitations. If we perceive a conflict of interest between two clients, we expect to receive permission to withdraw from such an agreement.

We expect to be able to use clients as references and to tell prospective customers about prior work after obtaining permission from the concern for whom the work was done.

We expect fees to be paid promptly, within the terms agreed.

This Code of Ethics may be reproduced, reprinted, and distributed with acknowledgment of its source. Adherence to these expressed standards of conduct is a condition of membership in the Midwest Society of Professional Consultants; however, the organization shall not be responsible for the individual conduct of its members or the breach of these standards by a member.