COMPORTAMIENTO DE LAS RECAUDACIONES ADUANERAS

There is a level of ambiguity about whether the account management role is integrated and combined with service delivery or a dedicated role. It is

commonly seen as an additional role for professionals and in a few cases as a dedicated role. There is a continuum from integration to dedication,

depending on the career path of the professional; preferences of leadership of the firm and clients; type, size and number of services and in case of special situations. The majority of professionals do fulfil an integrated account management role though the actual time spend on account management is negatively influenced by performing the delivery role.

The leadership of the Big4 firms, and also sometimes clients, have a preference for an integrated account management role. “The higher in the

hierarchy of the professional service firm, the more a professional is expected to incorporate account management activities” explains auditor

Nicole. Few people are working in dedicated account management roles, such as business development manager or as account management support. The business development manager is externally focused on the client and the account management support facilitates the team of professionals working on the client. IT consultant Trudy remarks “a business developer

“hunts” for bigger projects, which requires a personality type that can focus on the longer time horizon compared to myself, who wants to have more dynamic as is the case in the secondment business”. There are, however,

variations regarding integration and dedication, Peter observes that there are different models for account management, “for complex strategic services, I

see an integrated account management role, in which the account manager is also involved in delivery to a certain degree. That gives a good feeling”.

The less strategic the services are perceived by the client, the more a dedicated account manager is involved, auditor Nicole notices “in a

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specialised boutique, the partner will be the account manager and there will be no need for a dedicated account manager”.

“A disadvantage of the integrated role is that limited sales activities are performed in times when the workload in the delivery is high...you need account management to get new work” evidence consultant Mike and Trudy

and client Arny. Client Peter goes one step further by saying “the work load is

too heavy by combining account management and delivery...therefore, a dedicated role with some background knowledge of the profession is preferred...in theory this knowledge is not necessary, but in practice you need it”. On the contrary, client Oliver and also Trudy state “combining delivery with account management is strong, especially for consultancy services, not for “capacity” services...having experienced the “power” relations in the firm and knowing the dynamics of the business”. Account

managers Teo and Rich disagree and are convinced “having a background in

the profession is not needed for an account manager”.

“For small engagements, an integrated role is preferred, although potential opportunities should not be forgotten”, admits Oliver. He adds one addition

element “in case of a broader service portfolio, a more dedicated role is

recommended”. Consultant Adam and account manager Teo agree “a dedicated account manager is needed when the size of the engagements rises even as for the larger clients” and Adam continues “for smaller, more specialised engagements, an integrated professional fits well”.

Account manager Henry and procurement director Harry warn “sales should

be done by the professional...the client wants to see the

professional...otherwise the risk is that they sell things which are not

possible” and Harry continues “in case of a tender process, it is the dedicated account manager who takes the lead”. Henry and client Arny emphasis

“account management is not a side job...it is a full-time job”. Auditor Nicole

prefers “the family doctor model, in which the account manager has a general

background of the services, above specialised professionals who have direct contact to the client and of which one has a more co-ordinating role”. Client

Tony recognises these two models and adds “in case of already existing

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relationships, I even think a dedicated account manager (above a family doctor) is beneficial”. Expert consultant Frans elucidates the embedding of an

integrated model for consultancy services “choose 25% of the professionals

in the business unit who want to do more on sales and business

development and make them one day a week available for this task and monitor their progress”. Oliver agrees “consultants are responsible for their own business development activities”. “Sales teams exist of knowledge

workers who are facilitated by an account manager” is the experience of Joanne.

Dedicated account managers are also very effective in case of some special situations, like e.g. when the firm wants to develop a strategic partnership with a client by setting-up strategic programs, in which for example an innovation service is developed. Another situation is when the firm is not longer the auditor of a client and wants to become a preferred consultancy partner or the other way around. In those situations, as expert consultant Frans says, “a dedicated account manager takes care for the relationship

which requires a lot of communication and project manager’s skills”.

This paragraph described the emerged results of the sub-category

“integrated versus dedicated account management”. The following paragraph is about the sub-category “personal development” as part of the theme

“account management”.