"You can do it. We can help." "More saving. More doing." These are slogans of the Home Depot home improvement company, but I think they may apply to the state tax consulting industry as well.
"DIY" or "Do It Yourself" has become a popular home improvement network (I think a spin-off of HGTV). Shows such as, House Crashers, Yard Crashers, etc. come to your house and re-do your yard or house, but you do alot of the work while they direct and support you with a lot of additional workers, etc. It is a coordinated team effort. Does this approach sound similar to how you use outside consultants?
I know some companies may hire outside consultants and totally hand-it off to them to do. They don't have the expertise in-house and/or don't have the time to spend on the issue. That is why they are hiring outside consultants.
Other companies are more "Do It Your-selfers" or "DIYs." They like to do things themselves and use consultants as an add-on or supplement on an as-needed basis. However, if you have ever watched Yard Crashers or House Crashers, you may notice that having these outside experts come to the house shaves projects and YEARS off the homeowner's to-do list. Meaning, the homeowner may have never completed the project without the help of these outside experts. The homeowner also may have never thought of the ideas (i.e., landscaping plan, remodeling plan, the placement, the fixtures, etc.) for their house or yard.
Therefore, when asking yourself, what kind of person or company am I? Am I a DIY or do I want to hand-it off? Also ask yourself, what could I be missing? Are there ideas and expertise that I could utilize to not only save my company money, but create a more tax-efficient structure?
Trust me. I am a DIY. I like doing things myself. However, even I have had to learn that I don't always know everything (shocker, I know). Others can help with their ideas and expertise.
Just remember, you can always do some things yourself, you just don't have to go it ALL alone.
Truly, in the SALT world, "you can do it," and "we can help" do seem to apply. SALT consultants can provide "more saving and more doing."
What kind of company are you?
How do you prefer to work with outside consultants, and why?