Two of our core principles go to the heart of the financial relationship with our clients. 

We deliver world-class consulting services at a reasonable price. 

We believe that we should be responsible for the economical and efficient management of our engagements, not our clients.

For these reasons, we want every client to know exactly what a Walker Clark project, engagement, or relationship will cost -- with no hidden charges or surprises. 

 

fixed fees

Almost all of our client engagements are based on fixed fees. In calculating a fixed fee, Walker Clark takes into consideration:

• The level of professional expertise and experience that Walker Clark must provide in order to meet the client's needs and expectations.

• The extent to which the engagement involves the transfer of proprietary Walker Clark information to the client.

• The extent to which the client will contribute time, talent, and internal expertise to the engagement.

• The long-term value to the client of successful results.

• The effort required to produce entirely satisfactory results for the client.

• The economic realities of the client's practice and the local market which the client operates.

costs and disbursements

Walker Clark does not bill clients for routine administrative and clerical expenses, such as telephone, courier, postage, copying, and the hundreds of other petty charges that most other professional services firms add on to the invoice.  Nor do we add a flat "disbursement charge" to cover these costs.  We view them as the normal cost of doing business.  They are our responsibility, not our clients'.

travel expenses

Walker Clark business adviors spend thousands of hours each year serving clients around the world.  We know how much it costs to get from Point A to Point B, and to find a reasonable place to eat and sleep there.  When we can estimate our travel expenses with a reasonable degree of accuracy and reliability, our fixed fees include expenses.  Otherwise we add a fixed travel expense allowance to the fee, and it will not be exceeded without the prior consent of the client. 

There are some projects and relationships that will require an undetermined number of journeys to the client offices.  If we cannot estimate the number of trips reasonably precisely, we may quote a lower fixed fee for our services, plus a fixed Travel Expense Allowance per visit.  In either instance, it will be our responsibility to manage our own travel expenses.  Only in the most extraordinaryand unexpected circumstances will we ask a client to reimburse travel expenses beyond the amount we budgeted. 

billing

Walker Clark bills fixed fees in two ways.  For relatively brief engagements, we usually bill our fees in two or three installments, each coinciding with the completion of an event or the delivery of a specific service.  For longer engagements, we bill our fees in monthly installments.

When we anticipate substantial expenses at the beginning of a project, or when the client has not yet established a credit history with us, we may ask for a reasonable advance payment of up to 50% of the total fee, depending on the nature and duration of the engagement.