[Square] Management Technology Consultant Consulting Must Lead to SME Development

How could this be my wish alone? What we hope for in the new year is to quickly emerge from the long tunnel of the pandemic and see the economic downturn recover all at once. After that, we will enter the post-COVID era, and our country's economy will face another test.

The business community is proposing various measures to wisely cope with and resolve this year's situation, among which the most noticeable is the expansion of policy finance programs targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is interpreted as a proactive risk management response to the prolonged difficulties faced by SMEs and small business owners due to the longer-than-expected COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the new year's key theme is expected to be the digitalization of industries, with attention paid to technological advancements such as big data, the Internet of Things, and platforms. There is also a call to improve the business environment through regulatory innovation, to prevent new regulatory legislation, and to abolish existing regulations.

Meanwhile, the Korea Management and Technology Consulting Association saw the enactment of the “Act on Management Consultants and Technical Consultants (hereinafter referred to as Consultants),” a long-standing wish of its members, which will come into effect on April 8 this year. This establishes the association as a statutory organization. By separating the consultant system from the framework of the Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Act and enacting a separate law, an independent legal framework has now been established, similar to the Attorney Act, Certified Public Accountant Act, and Tax Accountant Act.

In fact, until now, consultants were similar to general consultants, but now their qualifications are defined by law, enabling them to perform legally authorized tasks. Thus, consultants have become professional qualification holders with an independent legal system, taking on a responsible role in strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs and small business owners.

If our consultants actively participate in the various countermeasures announced by the business community this year, I am confident that very effective results will be achieved.

Until now, despite being SME specialists with expertise and know-how accumulated over a long period, and holding a national qualification with only about 200 new entrants annually, consultants have not been sufficiently recognized in the consulting market.

However, now local governments and public institutions will prioritize involving consultants in projects related to their duties, thereby significantly broadening the consulting market's access.

Recently, under the active guidance of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the association has been striving to expand consultants' business opportunities in areas such as on-site clinic support projects for SMEs, manufacturing innovation voucher projects in management consulting, activation of export voucher projects, and support projects from other government ministries like the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Furthermore, by signing an MOU with the AI Association and forming specialized fields such as smart factories, smart farms, and M&A project teams, the association plans to enhance and professionalize consultants' capabilities.

On the other hand, efforts by the association are bearing fruit, such as ensuring that financial institutions like the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund apply the same qualification standards for consulting groups to consultants as to other professionals like certified public accountants.

However, along with these changes, the social responsibility of consultants will be increasingly demanded. The association takes this aspect very seriously. Only high-quality consulting services that fully combine consultants' expertise with ethics will lead to the development of SMEs and small business owners, ultimately contributing to the advancement of the national economy.

With over 16,000 consultants and 19 branches, the association will lead the pioneering steps to overcome waves of change with the steadfastness and sincerity of an ox in the workplaces of SMEs and small business owners, based on trust. / Oh-Yeon Kim, President of the Korea Management and Technology Consulting Association