Risk and strategic consulting refers to the provision of information,

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

and associated services in the field of international

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, with the aim of providing a better understanding of the risks and opportunities facing businesses,

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

s and other groups. In contrast to

management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...

, which primarily concerns internal organization and performance, risk and strategic consulting aims to provide clients with an improved understanding of the political and economic climate in which they operate. Most such consultancy is focused on those developing countries and emerging markets in which political and business risks may be greater, harder to manage, or harder to assess. Risk and strategic consulting is sometimes carried out alongside other activities such as corporate investigation,

forensic accounting Forensic accounting, forensic accountancy or financial forensics is the specialty practice area of accounting that investigates whether firms engage in financial reporting misconduct. Forensic accountants apply a range of skills and methods to d ...

, employee screening or vetting, and the provision of security systems, training or procedures. Some of the largest groups in the industry include

Kroll Inc. Kroll is an American corporate investigation and risk consulting firm established in 1972 and based in New York City. In 2018, Kroll was acquired by Duff & Phelps. In 2021, Duff & Phelps decided to rebrand itself as Kroll, a process it comple ...

and

Control Risks Group Control Risks is a global risk and strategic consulting firm specializing in political, security and integrity risk. History Control Risks was formed in 1975, as a professional adviser to the insurance industry. A subsidiary of insurance broke ...

, though the size and range of consultancies varies widely, with groups such as

Black Cube Black Cube (BC Strategy Ltd) is a private intelligence agency based in London, Tel Aviv and Madrid, which drew widespread condemnation for its work surveilling and assisting with efforts to slander the reputations of women accusing Harvey Weinste ...

and

Hakluyt & Company Hakluyt & Company is a British strategic advisory firm. The company is headquartered in London and has subsidiary offices in New York, Dallas, San Francisco, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Singapore, Mumbai, Chicago and Sydney. Hakluyt avoids publicity, b ...

providing boutique services. Risk and strategic consultancy does not generally involve the operational 'risk assessment' carried out by many companies and consultancies. Risk assessment in this sense covers the identification and management of commercial, operational and technical risks within existing operations or known markets. Risk and strategic consultancy also concerns countries and concerns similar to those of interest to

private military companies A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...

, though the two industries are distinct. Risk and strategy consultancies should not be confused with international lobbying or advocacy groups, though there are occasional overlaps. Clients of risk and strategic consulting firms include companies, governments and government agencies, charities and non-government organizations, academic institutions and individuals.

References

{{reflist Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in the United States Strategy consulting

See also

References