Choosing the right HR consulting firm is crucial, as it can significantly impact your company's culture, compliance, and overall growth trajectory. This guide is crafted to help you select an HR consulting firm that aligns perfectly with your startup's unique needs and aspirations. Let's embark on this journey with clarity and confidence.

Assess Your HR Needs

Start by assessing your startup's specific HR needs. Are you seeking assistance with recruitment, compliance, employee training, or a comprehensive HR strategy? Understanding the areas where you need the most support will help you pinpoint the type of HR consulting firms for small businesses most relevant to your startup.

Research Potential Firms

Dive into research to compile a list of potential HR consulting firms. Look for firms with experience in working with startups or in your specific industry. Online reviews, recommendations, and case studies can be invaluable in gauging their expertise and success in addressing HR challenges similar to yours.

Evaluate Their Expertise and Experience

Once you have a shortlist, evaluate each firm's expertise and experience. How long have they been in the business? What qualifications do their consultants hold? Experience in the startup ecosystem is a huge plus, as it indicates understanding your unique challenges and dynamics.

Consider Their Approach and Methodology

Each HR consulting firm has its own approach and methodology. Some may offer standardized solutions, while others provide more customized services. Consider what approach aligns best with your startup's culture and goals. A firm that listens to your needs and tailors their services accordingly is often a good choice.

Check References and Reviews

Ask for references and check online reviews. Hearing directly from other startups or businesses that have used their services offers valuable insights into their reliability, effectiveness, and the quality of their client relationships.

Discuss Communication and Availability

Effective communication is vital in any partnership. Discuss with potential firms how they plan to communicate with you. How often will they provide updates? Are they available for consultations as needed? Choose a firm that values open communication and is readily available to address your concerns.

Review Their Pricing Structure

Pricing is a critical factor, especially for startups with limited budgets. Understand each firm's pricing structure and what services are included. Be wary of hidden costs. The goal is to find a firm that delivers high value for your investment.

Analyze Their Success Stories and Case Studies

Before making your final decision, analyze the HR consulting firms' success stories and case studies. This step gives you a clearer picture of their capabilities and the types of challenges they've successfully navigated in the past. Look for stories or examples that resonate with your startup's situation. A firm with a proven record of solving problems similar to yours can be a more reliable choice.

Assess Their Flexibility and Scalability

Consider the flexibility and scalability of the HR consulting firm's services. As your startup grows, your HR needs will evolve. It's essential to select a firm that can adapt and scale their services accordingly. Discuss with them how they have managed growing startups in the past and how they plan to accommodate your changing needs. A firm that can grow with you is an invaluable asset for your long-term success.

Trust Your Instincts

Finally, trusting your instincts plays a crucial role in the selection process. After meticulously evaluating all factors, pause and reflect on which firm is the right fit for your startup. This decision goes beyond just the tangible metrics and data. It's about gauging the cultural alignment and the level of trust you can place in the firm.

Cultural fit is paramount. The HR consulting firm you choose will be deeply involved in aspects of your business that shape your workplace environment. Their values, communication style, and approach to handling challenges should resonate with your startup's ethos. A firm that understands and aligns with your culture will implement HR strategies that reflect and enhance your core values and mission more effectively.

Remember, a successful partnership with an HR consulting firm is built on more than just expertise and experience. It's also about finding a partner who understands the unique pulse of your startup and is committed to nurturing and growing it alongside you. Trusting your instincts after a thorough evaluation can lead you to a partnership that addresses your current HR needs and contributes positively to your startup's future trajectory.

Partner for Success with the Right HR Firm

Choosing the right HR consulting firm is a significant step towards ensuring your startup's success. It's about finding a partner who understands your vision, aligns with your culture, and brings expertise to transform your HR challenges into opportunities for growth. With this step-by-step guide, you're well-equipped to make an informed decision, set the stage for a fruitful partnership, and support your startup's journey every step.

Bill Michael, chairman of Big Four accounting firm KPMG, has stepped aside after the company launched an investigation into controversial comments he allegedly made to staff during a virtual meeting on Monday.

Michael reportedly told consultants to “stop moaning” about the impact of the pandemic and lockdown measures on people’s lives, and that they should stop “playing the victim card”. Around a third of the firm’s 1,500-member consulting team were in attendance.

Michael later rejoined the meeting and apologised for his comments, according to the Financial Times, and KPMG launched an “independent investigation” into his conduct.

"Mr Michael has decided to step aside from his duties as chair while the investigation is underway," a KPMG spokesperson said. "We take this matter very seriously and will not comment further while the investigation is ongoing."

During the meeting, staff reportedly complained about Michael’s statements using an app to post comments anonymously. Some allegedly expressed anger that he had dismissed concerns about possible cuts to staff bonuses, pay and pensions.

The chairman’s comments were particularly poorly received after a staff poll discussed at the beginning of the meeting showed that a high proportion of consultants were struggling to cope during the pandemic, according to the FT.

Michael has presided over a tumultuous period for the firm. KPMG has recently come under scrutiny for its audit of government contractor Carillion, which collapsed in 2018 with £1 billion of debt. Sales for 2020 fell 4% to £2.3 billion as the COVID-19 pandemic forced KPMG’s clients to cut back on expenses.

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Last week KPMG UK’s full-year results revealed that Michael was paid £1.7 million last year, down from £2 million in 2019.

In an exclusive report on Sunday, the New York Times released an array of previously unseen information regarding President Donald Trump’s taxes over two decades, revealing new details about his income and companies within his business empire.

According to the report, which cites tax-return data in addition to public and confidential interviews, Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax each year during 2016 and 2017, when he was inaugurated as president. In 10 of the 15 years preceding 2016, he allegedly paid no income tax at all, despite receiving $427.4 million from his work on The Apprentice and various other licensing deals and endorsements.

The Times reported that Trump was able to minimise his tax bill by reporting heavy yearly losses across his various businesses, funding his lifestyle by writing off personal purchases as business expenses. Among various details included in the report were an alleged $70,000 business write-off on “hairstyling for television”, and $747,622 in fees paid to an unnamed consultant for Trump Organisation hotel projects in Hawaii and Vancouver. Ivanka Trump’s public disclosure forms filed upon joining the White House showed that she had received an identical sum that year through a consulting company that she co-owned, the report stated.

Trump also allegedly reported a loss of $47.4 million for 2018, despite claiming an income of at least $434.9 million in a financial disclosure that year.

The Times emphasised that the documents referred to in the report concerned only what Trump revealed to the government about his businesses and did not disclose his true wealth.

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Information regarding President Trump’s taxes had become highly sought after since his 2016 campaign, where he took the extraordinary step of neglecting to release his tax returns, going against a precedent set by every presidential nominee since Nixon.

During a press conference on Sunday, Trump described the New York Times report as “totally fake news.”

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has not yet commented on the report, though his campaign released a short attack ad on Sunday night comparing Trump’s reported $750 income tax bill in 2016 with the sums paid by other professions in the US.

To catch up on all things construction in Cayman Islands, Finance Monthly reached out to Samuel Marcus Menzies-Small, the Founder and CEO of Small Engineering Limited and SEL Consulting Limited.

Can you tell us about the products that Small Engineering Ltd. offers?

The products and effects that we offer our clients are firstly 28 years of Civil and Mechanical Engineering knowledge and experience. My concentrate degree is in Civil Engineering. As for our Civil Engineering (construction firm), we are the first of our kind to provide Quad-lock ICF - a panel type ICF wall system consisting of panels, ties, metal track and metal brackets. Quad-Lock Panels are made with high density, fire retardant expanded polystyrene (EPS) which uses no formaldehyde, HFCs or CFCs. Seven panel types and eight types of plastic ties allow virtually limitless design options, using standard components. R-values range from R-22 to R-59 and more - the highest in the industry.

In what ways have your offerings advanced over the years?

From concept to distribution - from a small office in my home after a devastating hurricane (Hurricane Ivan in 2004) and after complete mass building inspections, I was able to analyse an affordable, safe and lightweight system that would get the Island to its usual efficiency.

What are the main challenges that you and your firm face? How do you overcome them?

The main challenges I face is separating business with pleasure, as life does need balancing.

The challenges that my firm faces at the moment are connected to the market – I think that every business can agree in this capacity. Every problem has a solution and my piece of advice for finding the solution to your specific problem is to try to be futuristic and realistic, read a lot and don’t underestimate the power of networking.

Where do you see the company in 2-3 years?

In 2-3 years, I envision our company expanding into the other Cayman Islands and Jamaica, providing products and services to compliment the issue at hand, whilst offering affordable problem solving.

Why should your clients choose Small Engineering and SEL Consulting over your competitors?

We are in a class uniquely by itself. The web of qualifications, knowledge and experience that we obtain along with our clientele fee(s) are slim to none. We are the Ritz Carlton and Audi of our trade.

What’s your involvement in the community?

We support The Maple House of the Cayman Islands in respect to the late Joshua J Bodden, The University of the Cayman Islands, as well as local artists and special great minds that are on the rise in the community.

For more information, please go to: https://www.facebook.com/SmallEngineeringLimited

Martin Schneider began his professional career in Consulting Engineering. He then worked for ABB and ALSTOM in various international functions up to senior management level and restructured a US-based technology company. As of 2004, he’s the CEO of the BRAINFORCE Group, and as of 2007 – its owner.

BRAINFORCE Group has been a leader in interim management and expert solutions for almost 40 years. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the company has subsidiaries in Europe, the Baltics, Russia, Africa and Asia, as well as a strong network of partners in the Americas. Here, Martin tells us more about his company and the benefits of interim management.

In your opinion, how important is it to have first-hand experience of running a business in order to be an effective interim manager and to provide valuable insight to other business leaders?

Business leaders are typically people with strong self-confidence about their knowledge, capabilities and skills. If they realise that their counterpart has an equivalent level of knowledge and experience, they tend to trust and accept them. Interim Managers are usually needed in difficult, non-routine situations. The goal is to achieve sustainable results as quickly as possible, based on their past learning curve, an above-average ability to lead and motivate people, and last but not least - an entrepreneurial mindset. The same way a ‘silverback ranger’ knows his forest inside-out, an interim CEO knows his profession and has been successfully steering operations through tough challenges for years.

Why is an interim manager more effective to optimise organisations? How can cultural and historical challenges be overcome?

I believe that a manager who has previously led, optimised or restructured e.g. three different management structures has a higher success rate to do the same with the fourth management structure. An interim manager comes in with an analytical mind and an unbiased view. He also has no aspirations to stay there forever, which eliminates the negative political aspects. Furthermore, he brings in leadership skills, cultural sensitivity and a portfolio of best practices from his several previous assignments in different company cultures. All these aspects are essential for the success of an interim manager. Once an interim manager “changes sides” and becomes a permanent employee, the dynamics and perceptions around him change. His gaze, as if blinkered, is restricted to the part of the road that lies immediately ahead of him and thus, the value-added of the interim management approach vanishes, from our experience, within one or two years.

An interim manager usually is able to gain the trust of the people in the company within a few weeks due to his seniority, objectivity, empathy, cultural sensitivity and strong professional track record. An interim manager usually gets to know what truly is going on in an organisation amazingly quickly. People start to talk as soon as they realise that the interim manager is there to help and to give the credit for the achievements to the internal people who were actively involved in the project.

What do you find are the most common issues that organisations struggle with, from a management perspective?

In a nutshell, I would say that weaknesses we observe are often connected to weak internal communication, slow decision-making and ‘over-engineered’, rigid and bureaucratic internal processes. An experienced interim manager has learned how to communicate effectively at all levels.

Due to the work overload and limited management resources, management decisions are not always implemented to the last consequence. An interim manager brings in additional management capacity and is dedicated and responsible for the completion of implementation.

Today’s world is heavily regulated, even over-regulated in many areas. As a consequence, management at all levels are motivated to make ‘safe’ decisions only, as opposed to brave ones and even worse - to sit out problems. Such managerial shortage is cascading down organisations.

Another major problem that I’ve seen is the belief that IT systems lead to better decisions. They should only be supporting the decision-making process, not substituting it. As there is no perfect information in this world and ambiguity is more common than clarity, despite Big Data, the human decision power based on previous experience and intuition generally leads to better results. Why are the ‘Hidden Champions’ typically family-owned and/or family-style managed companies and not corporates? Why is one of the key factors of successful corporates their ability to keep entrepreneurial behaviours alive?

100% standardised and measured processes kill people’s ability to think out-of-the-box, to respond with common sense in exceptional situations and to nourish positive creativity.

An experienced interim manager has the capacity to judge where and to what degree of sophistication new processes should be introduced, and existing ones optimised or simplified. They take a more entrepreneurial approach.

Last but not least, today’s trend towards ‘the cheapest solution is the best solution’ is detrimental to companies’ sustainable performance. In most cases, the ‘cheap’ internal solution turns out to be the most expensive solution due to the learning curve needed. Simply put, time is money. This expensive learning curve can be avoided by deploying an interim manager who has already gone through the learning curve previously. The value-added of an interim manager generally exceeds the cost of a learning curve by far.

Can interim management play a role in developing managerial talents within the business?

Certainly. In fact, we often observe businesses burning young talents by promoting them too fast to the next level when there is an unexpected early departure of their superior. In such a situation, the deployment of a well-picked interim executive for a few months can save the business a lot of money. Why? The interim manager will build-up the young manager’s skills step-by-step by assigning him new responsibilities and being his neutral mentor during this phase. An example: a young manager talent without previous restructuring experience was assigned to restructure a complex engineering and manufacturing operation. The perspective was to lead this international operation as their CEO after restructuring. The corporate management decided to save the investment for an experienced restructuring interim manager who would have further developed this young manager during the restructuring phase as his deputy. The result was that the young, promising and capable managerial talent was overwhelmed by the complexity of the restructuring situation, and left the company before the completion of the restructuring. The corporation lost time in the restructuring, as well as a good future managerial talent.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of promoting senior positions from within, vs. external recruitment?

Promoting senior positions from within is the traditionally preferred approach by most companies. The reasons are manifold: familiarity with organisation and processes, cultural fit, known strengths and weaknesses of the individual promoted, etc.

However, there are also substantial disadvantages. Without ‘fresh blood’ entering from outside, there could be rope team building, less innovation and lower agility. A typical statement one can hear very often is: “We have done things the same way for 20 years, why should we change our way of getting things done?”.

To fill senior positions from the outside is particularly important if an organisation is in a phase of transition (e.g. cultural change, disruptive technologies challenging the business such as Industry 4.0/IoT/Digitalisation, etc.). Interim managers particularly bring in the required “’fresh blood’ instantly and due to their unbiased view and changing management experience are able to break up rope teams and change the culture into a new direction. Once a new desired state is achieved by the interim CEO, he hands over the company to the new permanent CEO selected with the appropriate profile.

What are BRAINFORCE’s philosophy when helping clients with interim management and consulting services?

Our philosophy is to provide managerial solutions within days at a high-quality level, and to achieve results which exceed the investment for the interim or consulting assignment by far.

What makes your company unique?

We are a fully integrated service provider and work with our own people. We do not believe in the franchise model in this demanding management field. Founded in 1979, we have a wealth of experience in the field and are proud to say that we are the ‘original’ in the interim management provider industry in continental Europe. Over the years, we have perfected our professional, quality-focused M.A.S.T.E.R.³-Pool Management and customer-relationship processes.

BRAINFORCE’s experts stand out for their extensive leadership experience, with proven successes in design and implementation, as well as having a positive mindset and a winning personality.

Contact details:

Phone: +41 44 448 41 41

Email: management@brainforce-ag.com

Website:  www.brainforce-ag.com

Dallas J. McGillivray is an experienced international regulatory and business manager.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountant, Member of Institute of Directors and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment. He has extensive regulatory experience in senior management roles including as a Director and Trustee. 

He is also the Managing Director of FMConsult– a company that provides compliance, regulatory, product development and risk management services to a range of large international and start-up financial services companies since 2004.

On top of that, Dallas serves as Global Compliance and Operational Risk Director at a major asset management company for all business outside the Americas for 17 years with experience in global regulatory issues, covering both retail and institutional. He’s also a Director of UK Asset Management Companies and Trustee of UK Pension Schemes. 

Here he speaks to Finance Monthly about asset management and tells us more about his company – FMConsult.

What attracted you to the consulting sector?

 What brought me to the sector was an invitation to work with a small consultancy, with the objective to grow it. We binned the company and set up FMConsult. The work is varied and you meet a lot of bright entrepreneurs that are just starting out who need a bit of “grey hair” to help them along.

What are the key sectors that you provide asset management services to? What are the unique challenges of each sector, from an asset management perspective?

 We have a very wide range of clients from start-ups (that want a collective investment scheme set up, introductions to management companies, investment managers to attach to, etc.) to very large mature businesses that need some support during periods of change ( e.g. interim Head of Compliance role ). We are in the asset management space from wealth management to institutional asset management and everything in between.

What strategies do you implement to ensure that your clients’ goals and objectives are achieved?

 At FMConsult, we adopt a risk based approach to assess those business functions that have the largest impact on the business. Where are the issues? That’s what we need to know to be able to add real value.

 What are the challenges that your clients typically face in relation to meeting regulation?

 In the smaller entities, it may be capital resources and regulatory knowledge. They rely on FMConsult to add the regulatory knowledge. Outsourcing compliance is an economic way of delivering compliance standards, but it cannot replace senior management understanding that they are responsible and need to understand their responsibilities. Outsourcing compliance is not an abdication of regulatory responsibility.

 What were your main objectives when setting up FMConsult?

 Our main goal was to be a well-respected, independent regulatory and operational & investment risk consultancy firm, committed to working with clients to assist them in aligning financial services processes with ongoing regulatory requirements. 

 We also wanted to provide compliance solutions that enable senior management of financial services firm’s to demonstrate that they and their firm are currently and will continue to be aligned with UK and other regulatory requirements.

 How would you evaluate your role within FMConsult?

 My role at FMConsult encompasses a focus on business development and looking after a range of clients. I’m proud that the company punches above its weight in the industry. We have a very diverse range of clients that do take compliance seriously.

Dickerson Wright, PE, is the founder, Chairman, and CEO of NV5 Global, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVEE), an infrastructure engineering and environmental services firm with over 2,000 employees and 102 offices internationally. He has 35 years of uninterrupted experience in the engineering sector and previously founded US Laboratories, took it public, and sold the company to Bureau Veritas in 2002. Mr. Wright then served as CEO of Bureau Veritas US where he grew operations to $280 million in revenue. In 2009 he started NV5 (then called Vertical V) through the acquisition of Bureau Veritas’s construction quality assurance practice in the US and shortly after, the acquisition of Nolte Associates (the “N” in NV5). NV5 went public in March 2013 at $6.00 a share with a market capitalization of $25 million and today trades at $37.00 a share with a market capitalization of over $400 million.

Could you tell us a bit more about NV5 – how did it develop into the company that it is today? 

The roots of NV5 are really in our management team, which has been together over 20 years through the founding and sale of US Laboratories, through Bureau Veritas, and the founding of NV5. We’ve done over 50 acquisitions together in this time, and we believe in running a very flat, vertically structured organization (the “V” in NV5 is for vertical) where entrepreneurial leaders are given an opportunity to grow the specific business in which they are experts. We also believe in having partners, not key employees, so we drive stock very deep into our organization. NV5 has five service verticals: construction quality assurance, infrastructure, energy, environmental, and program management. We achieve organic growth by cross-selling our services among these verticals, so we are able to continually decrease sub-consultant fees by doing work in-house. We also grow through strategic acquisitions, which expand and deepen our service offerings within these five verticals. 

What goals are you currently working towards with NV5? 

We are aiming to reach $600 million in revenues by the end of 2020 and 12-15% EBITDA margins. We exited 2016 with 8% organic growth, which is well above the industry standard of 5% and we plan to keep growing organically through synergy, cross-selling, the scalability of our back office, and the integration of strategic acquisitions. The struggle, as our company gets larger, is to maintain a flat organization with many points of entry and resist the tendency of large companies to become organized geographically or in a matrix fashion. We don’t want our expert practitioners to become highly paid administrators. If someone is an expert in energy services, she or he should be working on expanding our energy services business, not running a region of the country that provides many services.

You have over 35 years of uninterrupted experience in managing and developing engineering companies - what have been your major achievements to date? 

I think over the years our team has developed a really strong business strategy that we’ve learned through trial and error, and so now our experience has taken us to a place where we are not perfect but we make very few errors. This is especially important if a company is as acquisitive as we are. We’ve become known in the space for doing deals in the range of $5 to $50 million, and we won’t do a deal if we don’t perceive a cultural fit - our culture is one of growth and value for our shareholders. We also insist on our shared services platform. The acquisition has to be on our financial and IT platforms, so we can measure and track everything the same. They have to use our in-house legal counsel, so we don’t take risks on big contracts or projects and risk is managed in every single contract. They have to use our HR services, because we want everyone to have the same benefits structure, to have an annual performance review, and to have the same opportunities to advance within our organization. And they have to participate in our M&A program. We often get some of the best leads from our operators. If any of these changes seems onerous or undesirable to the acquisition, we won’t do the deal. There are over 140,000 engineering companies in the US and we have as many deals as 10 in the pipeline at all times. There are plenty of opportunities and it is a very fragmented industry.

Website: https://www.nv5.com/

AMC is a firm of independent consultants offering expertise and professional advice to the exploration, mining and mining finance industries from our offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Toronto, Vancouver, Singapore, and Maidenhead. AMC provides consulting services in the fields of Geology, Mining, Geomechanics, Feasibility studies, Mine optimization, and Mining Business Improvement services, among others.

Mark Chesher is a Principal Mining Engineer, who’s worked on feasibility studies for AMC clients for the past 17 years, which follows his 18-year experience in operational roles.

Mark has managed feasibility studies in Australia and other countries (including Finland, Russia, Fiji, Mozambique, Eritrea and Central African Republic) for gold, platinum, base metals, uranium, magnetite, phosphate, potash and mineral sands projects. Interspersed between these major pieces of work, he has also conducted operational reviews and valuations of many operations.

He’s also worked in Russia for the past 3 years, seeing significant mining opportunities there, as well as in other FSU countries. Mark is about to back this confidence by moving to Moscow later this year to pursue an expanding AMC client base. Here, Mark tells Finance Monthly about AMC Consultants, the mining industry in Australia and his experience in the sector.

Australia is well known for its mining industry - what are currently the hottest topics being discussed on mining in the country?

 The end of the mining boom has dominated the Australian media commentary for the last 4 years. Reduced commodity prices, leading to reductions in jobs and royalties received by State governments, iron ore in particular, has brought the impact of the mining industry on the general community sharply into focus.

Behind the scenes though, mining operations have been pushing hard to overturn attitudes of the mining boom, where advice to companies was to expand production at any cost. This of course led to overcapitalization of operations and higher unit costs. They subsequently found it very difficult to adjust once the downturn inevitably arrived.

Mining operations have been concentrating on productivity improvement over the last 4 years – basically a return to good mining practice. More proactive companies are well advanced and we have been helping to achieve some of their goals.

With the emergence of “Big Data” in recent years, the mining industry started to think differently about its business models, and concepts like disruption, autonomy and centralised control entering common language. A mining operation generates an enormous amount of data, which can support many productivity improvements leading to improved unit cost performance. AMC holds a competitive advantage in this space, offering clients “Online Mining Intelligence” and “Performance Benchmarking” services from experienced professionals.

What attracted you to the field of mining engineering?

Growing up in Brisbane, Queensland exposed me to the impact of mining through coal and base metals operations – particularly at Mt Isa. My older brother also moved into Metallurgy, so I became aware of opportunities afforded by the mining industry.

I found that mining engineering suited my desire for overviewing mining operations and integrating separate disciplines to provide better overall outcomes for projects. Managing feasibility studies, in particular, requires overall understanding of geology, mining, processing, infrastructure, transport, environmental, social, economic, project implementation, and government factors.

Can you tell us a bit about your career path prior to joining AMC Consultants?

My early career involved moving to a variety of operations around Australia. I spent 12 years in three gold mines and a bauxite mine gaining a basic grounding in the design and operation of these mines. Experience that has been particularly important in later years of managing and planning operations.

I then moved into management of a mid-sized gold mine, rising to the role of operations manager, and then on to the Mining Manager’s role at the large Murrin Murrin Lateritic Nickel operation.

In all these roles, I generally had overall responsibility as Competent Person for the reporting of Ore Reserves. This gave me a growing insight into factors such as equipment selection and specification, dilution and ore loss estimation, pit design, scheduling and budgeting and operations management.

In 2000, I joined AMC and really enjoy the ability to work on a variety of projects without having to move companies. I have seen several industry cycles and have a great respect for the Australian mining industry’s ability to change and adapt each time there is a downturn.

Tell us a bit about your role as a Principal Mining Engineer for AMC Consultants?  What are the most common projects/operations that you work on?

The most common projects are gold feasibility studies at varying levels of confidence (Concept, Pre-feasibility or Feasibility). There is always the challenge in this environment of falling grades and increasing difficulty of deposit exploitation.

Being a Principal Engineer in the AMC Open Pit group provides an opportunity to work on a diverse range of projects with 14 engineers (six of them Principals with more than 30 years of experience). I find this a very collegiate environment with a wide variety of opinions and approaches available to apply to our projects. There are often well-trodden paths for metallurgy, mining and development, or there can be difficult projects that are at times very challenging, requiring novel approaches and use of all our skills to ensure the best possible assessment for our clients.

What motivates you about your role?

 I enjoy the reward of seeing projects come to life after starting as several sets of data collected at different times and with a variety of techniques. Turning that data into usable information and then developing viable plans takes planning and forethought to provide the development plans at the right times. Even if the study shows a negative result, I find great satisfaction in understanding the problem and providing objective advice to our client on the way ahead.

Having been in the industry for many years, I now enjoy helping others at AMC achieve the same sort of satisfaction that I receive. Mentoring takes a long time to show results, but seeing my colleagues grow and develop their experience is very gratifying.

What are the challenges associated with managing feasibility studies for precious metals projects?

Many study teams lack a clear idea of the study objectives and lack direction on the important features of the study and the outcomes required. For example, a pre-feasibility study is the opportunity to assess trade-offs relevant to the project and determine a project Basis of Design before conducting a costly feasibility study (where the focus is on detailed design of all project components). It is also the time to optimize the project to achieve the goals (perhaps maximum value, minimum capital cost, maximum reserve etc).

Precious metals projects have their own set of challenges. I think they are most prone to public expectation and the temptation for being “fast-tracked” to achieve a certain window of development opportunity. Early conceptual plans are prepared on limited data and for low cost, but often form the basis for early release to the public, sometimes with much fanfare, only to find that more rigorous study does not support the expectations already made public. This can force the project team to confirmation bias and a “making it feasible” approach, rather than satisfying the key question “Is it feasible”, and then developing an optimum solution.

What are the most common types of issues that arise during a feasibility study for precious metals projects and how do you help resolve these swiftly?

The Feasibility Study stage is usually the most expensive, where the focus is often on the infrastructure and plant equipment design, cost estimation and financial analysis. However, analysis by AMC over the last 20 years showed that around two thirds of project failures are due to: poor resource estimation; poor mine design and scheduling; or poor metallurgical testing and scale-up. So it seems to me that we should be focussing our efforts on collecting reliable data in these areas and then developing a robust Basis of Design at Pre-feasibility stage before moving to Feasibility study.

An Independent Audit of a Feasibility study, and the underlying data, is an essential check on the study logic and provides a useful “circuit-breaker” enabling problems to be highlighted and discussed before a final commitment to the next stage.

Over the years, which would you say has been your most successful and rewarding project, and why?

 Probably the Pre-feasibility study for Cannington Silver and Lead Mine extension. Two AMC teams studied, in parallel, open pit and underground mining methods for the same orebody. My responsibility for the Open Pit area encompassed surface hydrology, ground water hydrology, geotechnical, and environmental factors, as well as mining. The company chose the underground option to take forward for further study and ultimate development. While it wasn’t the open pit option, I felt satisfied that the options were well-researched and the grounds for development were sound.

Is there anything else you’d like to add? (OR something like: What is your message to our readers about the mining industry?)

 The mining industry is certainly becoming more global and I think we will see increasing mobility of people and companies. This provides a great opportunity for us all to take advantage of improvements right across the global mining industry. Thus, we all need to be alert for these opportunities as they arise.

 Website: www.amcconsultants.com

Linium, a world-class provider of business services that empower the entire enterprise, today signaled its expansion into the European market with the opening of its newest office in London.

With a strategic concentration on providing financial services consulting, the new location enables Linium to assist European companies in addressing a host of timely financial issues, including the impact of Brexit and challenges associated with regulatory reform. Key areas of focus will include Financial Markets and Equities; Business Change and Transformation; Management Consultancy; with further specialisms in Enterprise Architecture & Target States, Regulatory Compliance and KYC Delivery Models, Lending Services and Loan IQ, and Risk and Finance.

“We are delighted to expand Linium’s global footprint with the opening of our new location in the UK,” said Steve Shyn, Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Partner of Linium. “The presence of our London office will create opportunities to provide Linium’s consulting services in the European market, particularly across the financial services sector, where the need for innovative solutions to enable agility and technology growth has never been greater.”

With more than 16 years of experience, Linium’s consulting expertise in the financial services markets spans regulatory change, lending services including Loan IQ, risk and finance, business change and transformation, operational effectiveness, target operating models, cyber security, and robotic process automation. Linium’s proven capabilities are designed to assist the banking sector in navigating a myriad of evolving rules and regulations, mitigating compliance risks, reducing redundancies, and maximising operational effectiveness through tailored and innovative approaches that address critical issues and achieve results.

“I am hugely enthusiastic about what the future holds for Linium and our customers within Europe and beyond,” said Linium Managing Director Dylan Coffey. “With an outstanding track record and demonstrated specialist expertise, Linium is uniquely positioned to provide financial firms with the knowledge and delivery to enable them to outperform in today’s complex and evolving environment.”

The opening of Linium’s London office comes on the heels of work the company has completed for clientele across Europe. Most recently, Linium assisted a global UK bank in need of consolidating and moving all syndicate (agent) and participate (member) deals from legacy commercial lending systems into Loan IQ and decommissioning all legacy loan systems and sub-systems.

With over 2,200 successful engagements, including lending support and services to numerous Fortune 500 companies, Linium has been named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Companies for the past five consecutive years. Linium’s growth is fueled by its premier solutions-based consulting, which enables companies worldwide to achieve operational efficiencies through modernization. In addition to financial services, Linium provides consulting in strategic planning, enterprise service management, operations management, enterprise performance management, human resource management, custom application development, and business intelligence.

(Source: Linium)