WTO regime opens up opportunities for management consultancy

A spin off of India's compliance with an increasing number of World Trade Organisation (WTO) requirements is the emergence of business opportunities in niche areas of management consultancy.

Karti P Chidambaram, director of Chennai-based Chess Management Services, described his business as management consultancy on a legal platform. The company advises companies on the most effective way to comply with the many legal provisions that govern any business activity.

He felt that the growing influence of WTO requirements would be accompanied by an increase in non-tariff barriers. Consequently, the importance of legal compliances would increase.

Chess Management's managing director A Palaniappan said that on an average 70-80 laws are applicable to an Indian company. Chess Management's job is to study the business processes of a client, and find out if they comply with all the legal requirements.

At the moment, business for the Rs 1-crore Chess Management is driven by awareness levels and interest of the upper level of management, said Chidambaram. He added that independent directors were also instrumental in pushing companies to get their legal compliances checked.

The companies that have invited consultants in this area have well-staffed legal departments. Chidambaram, however, said their focus was on complying with traditional legal requirements, while consultants studied the legal ramifications of the business processes.

While there are no real entry barriers to this area of management consultancy, Chidambaram felt that established law firms would perhaps be disinclined. The lawyers in consultancy are engaged largely in research, a factor that may not be in sync with the approach of a traditional law firm.