Unpaid Work

• Posted by jbehrendt on January 28, 2010
• 0 comments

In terms of project work the year started slowly, since major projects were completed as of end of 2009. Not being pressed by high amounts of running cost, and feeling a little bit tired from the last year in which, in addition to the work provided by my staff, I personally completed around 200 cons... [More]

Management and Board Work

• Posted by jbehrendt on December 16, 2009
• 0 comments

As you may know, part of my job as management consultant is to be a nonexecutive board member of several companies, supporting the executive directors in all matters related to accounting, finance, restructuring, and strategy development. But the distinction between nonexecutive and executive starts... [More]

Executive Management Seminars

• Posted by jbehrendt on November 30, 2009
• 4 comments

It is a long time that I wrote my last entry - and I have to apologize not to have been more "regular", considering that my intention was to write at least once a week what is going on in "the life of a management consultant". I promise not to give such a break again.... Well, to be frank, not much... [More]

Presentations, presentations

• Posted by jbehrendt on October 14, 2009
• 0 comments

These weeks are very tiring, and, looking back to the summer, I am quite angry with myself to have shifted some work already known to the last minute, instead of using the quiet summer times, when everybody was in holidays, for preparations. This week I will give a presentation on "Restructuring for... [More]

Season has started

• Posted by jbehrendt on October 1, 2009
• 1 comments

Even it it takes longer in Turkey than in the cold countries of Northern Europe, the summer is slowly fading away. Schools and universities have started already in September, people are back from their summer houses, and the summer venues of the famous Istanbul bars and restaurants at the Bosphoru... [More]

After Birth

• Posted by jbehrendt on September 8, 2009
• 2 comments

Sitting on my desk in Istanbul and watching the clouds above the Bosphorus, it seems I have to realize that summer starts to fade. Now it is more than one week that I returned from the sunny South of Turkey, punished for a seemingly eternal holiday by mountains of work on my table. Last week I mad... [More]

Mission Accomplished

• Posted by jbehrendt on August 31, 2009
• 2 comments

The last weeks I spent relaxing in my nice summer house close to the beaches of the Datca Peninsula. The only interruption to continous sunbathing, swimming, eating and drinking was the still ongoing restructuring project in Germany. As you know from my last post, we had finished all documentation... [More]

The Oracle Speaks

• Posted by jbehrendt on July 26, 2009
• 2 comments

Finally, the request for a binding advice from the tax authorities on the treatment of hidden reserves was answered. One week ago, a high-level meeting between representatives from different tax authorities in the German states affected met with the head of taxation at customer side, and with the ... [More]

Post-Closing and Migration Concerns

• Posted by jbehrendt on July 17, 2009
• 1 comments

The last two weeks we had to deal with some resistance to our project coming from an unexpected corner. The managers being responsible for the post-closing and migration, in which all systems and processes would need to be adopted to the new structure, raised concerns if the organization would be ... [More]

Worker's Rights

• Posted by jbehrendt on July 5, 2009
• 3 comments

Some of you may be aware of the extensive rights employees enjoy in Germany. These rights do not only apply to their individual rights as specified in their working contract, and in collective labour agreements between unions and employer's associations, but cover a range of rights regarding w... [More]