ABSTRACT
Rowland Jack draws on his 17 years of professional experience to question and challenge the role of consultants in achieving good governance in sport bodies. He argues that the traditional consultancy model can be a highly effective reform strategy. Yet, a combination of external pressure on the organisation and internal political will for change can further increase the likelihood of significant reform. Consultants also face a number of risks. They can be assigned a scope of work that allows limited opportunity for improving governance or go too far to accommodate a client's wishes in the conclusions reached. Jack argues that these risks can be reduced when consultants are commissioned not by the sport body itself but by an external organisation to which it is accountable.
