CIPR AGM Minutes – 15 June 2010 Public Relations Centre, 52‐53 Russell Square, London, WC1B 4HP Attendance: Platform party: Jay O’Connor FCIPR, CIPR President ; Ann Mealor FCIPR, CIPR Interim CEO; Paul Mylrea MCIPR, CIPR President‐Elect; Kevin Taylor FCIPR, CIPR Immediate Past President; Sally Sykes FCIPR, CIPR Treasurer. Jay O’Connor welcomed members of the CIPR to the AGM and reported that 14 apologies had been received. 1. Minutes of the 2009 AGM The President moved that the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held 16 June 2009 be approved. The minutes were approved. 2. Annual Report 2009 The President invited Kevin Taylor, the Immediate Past President, to introduce the report. Kevin Taylor said 2009 was an eventful year and highlighted: The ccorporate governance review, phase one of which had been completed and phase two now underway The financial loss due to the impact of dilapidations on St. James Square, the effect of paying double rent on St James’s Square and Russell Square and the recession Ann Mealor, Deputy Director General taking on the role of Acting Director General at a difficult time for the Institute The securing of a 10 year lease at very favorable rates on new offices at Russell Square The launch of the CIPR’s Chartered Practitioner programme ‐ a milestone for the Institute and the profession. The first cohort of Chartered Practitioners were being presented with their certificates at the AGM. Kevin Taylor thanked all board and council members for their hard work and support and thanked CIPR staff for their support and the changes they had made. Colin Farrington was thanked for his 11‐year contribution to the CIPR as Director General, especially for the role he played in gaining Chartered status for the Institute. Richard George, Assistant Director General who was leaving the CIPR at the end of July was also thanked for his 21 years of dedicated service. Kevin Taylor highlighted that Anne Gregory was awarded the 2009 Stephen Tallents Medal and the 2009 President’s Medal was awarded to Sir Tim Berners‐Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, in recognition of his contribution to communications. Jay O’Connor thanked Kevin Taylor for his contribution and leadership as 2009 President. 1
Kevin Taylor moved that the 2009 Annual Report be adopted by Council. The Report was adopted. The President then invited John Brown, Chair of IPRovision, the Institute’s Benevolent Fund, to report on the Fund’s work. He stated that: The current funds stood at about £550,000 IPRovision aimed to raise £1million in the next 2‐3 years to meet current and future needs. He then thanked CIPR members for their donations and the Trustees for their hard work. The President thanked John Brown and the Trustees for their work. 3. Annual Accounts and Report of the auditors for the year ending 31 December 2009 Sally Sykes, CIPR Treasurer, briefed the members on the 2009 annual accounts. She said: Membership was doing well retention rates benchmarked against other member organisations and being the best it had been Part of the Russell Square building was being let out to tenants, generating extra income for the organisation The Structural Review was well underway, but more work needed to be done. However, the first stage of the Review was completed. The Institute’s cash flow was strong. Sally Sykes thanked the board, council and staff for their support during a challenging financial time for the Institute. The Treasurer then welcomed Chris Malacrida, from Chantrey Vellacott, the CIPR’s auditors to the platform. Chris Malacrida stated that the CIPR went through a difficult year in 2009 He pointed out that membership retention and recruitment was key to the success of a membership body He confirmed that the CIPR had put financial controls in place and that the cash flow was positive. In summary, he stated that the CIPR was on the right track financially for 2010 and beyond. The President then asked members if they had any questions for the Treasurer or Chris Malacrida. Colin Farrington asked how much of the deficit was made up of exceptional items. Chris Malacrida responded that there was £525k of exceptional items, of which £225k was the cost of dilapidations. The other operational item was the double rent paid in the first 6 months of 2009. But none of those above cost will recur. The budget for 2010 forecasts a surplus. Colin Farrington also asked the following questions: 2
1. Apart from the pessimistic view at the beginning of 2010, is it right to suggest that the CIPR is in balance financially, taking out the effect of the special cost associated with the profit and the special cost for redundancies? 2. Could you explain note 14 in the financial report? 3. The website is the biggest asset of the Institute. Is there any way the value of the website can be reflected in the annual accounts? Also need clarification on who owns the intellectual property of the CIPR website, the Institute or the website builder? In response to Mr Farrington’s question number 1, the answer is no because qualifications and workshops dipped due to the economic downturn and cost cutting measures were put in place across the organisation, so like for like comparison is not appropriate. In response to question number 2, it was explained that this arose because in previous years deferred subscription income paid in instalments had not been correctly allocated to the accounting periods to which they related. The financial effect of the adjustment was to increase reported profit for earlier years with a corresponding reduction in subscriptions received in advance and carried forward at the 2008 year end of £78,089. In response to question number 3, the CIPR owns the intellectual property rights of the website, not the website builder. The President moved that the Annual Accounts for 2009 were adopted along with the re‐appointment of Chantrey Vellacott as auditors. Both were approved. 4. 2010 Overview – Presented by Jay O’Connor, President of CIPR The President gave members an overview of what had taken place during the first six months of 2010. Despite the difficult financial backdrop, the CIPR was focused on delivering for members, including: The development of a new, 3 year strategic plan with a new vision, mission and values that are linked to the Royal Charter Launch of strategic reviews into professional development, membership and policy Formation and launch of the Policy & Communications committee, to drive forward the Institute’s policy activities on behalf of members Launch of the new CIPR Website Launch of CPD Online Launch of the UK Public Affairs Council Launch of the UK’s first Diploma in Public Affairs and a Diploma in Crisis Management Diversity Working Group launched Guidelines on Working with Children launched, in conjunction with NSPCC, the Department of Health, National Schools Partnership and Yell The formation and launch of the Social Media Panel and Social Media Measurement Group to feed into the CIPR’s professional development and policy activities CIPR attended AMEC’s conference and inputted into the Barcelona Principles on Measurement CIPR played a crucial role in the development of the Stockholm Accords, led by the Global Alliance, of which the CIPR is a founding member. 3
The President thanked the CIPR’s staff, member volunteers and members for their support, input and guidance. The President then declared the formal meeting closed. Matt Tee, Permanent Secretary Government Communication was then invited to give a presentation to members on current and future challenges for government communications. Kevin Taylor, 2009 President, announced the Group of the Year winners: ‐ The National / Regional Group of the year Award: North West Group ‐ The Sectoral Group of the Year Award: CIPR Inside Group. ‐Ends ‐
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