Eighty-four percent of the survey respondents ranked the need for a consultant to have a client-verified track record in his/her field as their first or secondary concern. Nearly half said they want to know that the consultant is committed to the profession long-term and not just between jobs -- an acute issue in time of recession. About 50 percent expressed a desire to have their consultant certified through a rigorous client and peer review.

The survey also showed that in a business environment plagued by corporate financial scandals, client concern of professional service firms has increased at a greater rate than business executives' concern for ethical employee behavior. 

Many of the respondents -- 40 percent -- indicated that they believe professional service firms would lie to protect themselves, and 39 percent said they think employees would lie to protect themselves. Half of the business executives did acknowledge, however, that in difficult situations they believe that employees will behave honorably and that professional service firms do have an interest in the success and welfare of the organization.

Other ethical issues that concerned business executives who took part in the survey included:

• The professional service firm's over-promising expected results and/or benefits
• Consultants not serving the best interest of the client
• Consultants under-delivering results vs. commitment
• The professional service firm to allow the project's scope to expand or "creep"
• The consultant being imprecise or non-specific when setting expectations