CMC® (Certified Management Consultant) is the certification mark awarded by the Institute of Management Consultants USA and represents meeting the highest global standards and ethical canons of the profession. Less than 1% of all consultants have achieved this level of excellence. Judith Light received certification in 1988.

When you see the CMC mark on the business card or letterhead of a consultant, it means that he or she has met strict certification requirements of the Institute of Management Consultants. The Institute was founded in 1968 by the principal associations in the consulting field to establish publicly recognized standards of competence and professional conduct for the individual management consultant. Applicants for certification undergo thorough investigation of his or her consulting experience; he or she is interviewed by a panel of senior consultants to verify their technical competence; and he or she must pass a written examination evidencing their familiarity with the Institute's Code of Ethics, which he or she has pledged in writing to follow.

Every step leading to the CMC certification has been designed to verify the candidate's professional competence.

• A CMC consultant must have at least five years of experience in the full-time practice of management consulting, with major responsibility for client projects during at least one of those years.
• The CMC consultant has had to provide multiple references, most of them officers or executives of clients served. These references are investigated to assure that consulting relationships were satisfactory.
• The CMC consultant has to provide written summaries of five client assignments (disguised to protect client identity).
• The CMC consultant has to pass a qualifying interview by senior consultants who have earned the CMC mark, demonstrating professional competence and currency in areas of specialization, application of experience, and understanding of the management consulting process.
• The CMC consultant is examined to confirm understanding of the Code of Ethics and attests annually to abide by it.

Recognizes long-time contributions to IMC, those who have demonstrated exceptional service to IMC (must include national level), and a consulting career that demonstrates the goals, values, ethics and aspirations of the Institute. Only about forty FIMCs have been awarded in IMC history.

The CMC mark of excellence is used worldwide to identify a certified management consultant whose competency is recognized and certified by a national institute that is a member of ICMCI.

Ten thousand consultants from over 35 nations have now been awarded the CMC by one of the certifying institutes which comprise the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes. The qualifications to obtain the CMC certification mark meets a minimum global standard recognized by all. IMC USA is a founding member of the Council, established in 1987 to advance worldwide certification.

The certification process is expressly designed to assure that those who bear it will uphold the highest standards in the consulting industry.

Applications are reviewed by a final review committee. Once the review committee approves a candidate, the national board is notified.