CIPR Council Meeting Minutes – 9 May 2011 Public Relations Centre, 52‐53 Russell Square, London, WC1B 4HP Present: Paul Mylrea ‐ Chair Adrian Wheeler Bernard Carey Caroline Binnie Elspeth Graham Portsmouth Erin Gill Dandy Imelda Topping O'Connor Jay Jenifer Stirton Jo McCarthy Lyanna Tsakiris Lyndsey Whiteside Ampoma Miti Natasha Tobin Patrick Edwards Quentin Langley Brown Rob Sally Keith Sykes Sally Sarah Pinch Sarah Hall 1. Introduction by Paul Mylrea Sean Trainer Stuart Ross Apologies were noted. Bodden Val
Apologies received: Caroline Cecil Catherine Worboys David Crundwell Deborah Copeland Iain Anderson John Brown Julio Romo Justin Wilkes Liam FitzPatrick Matthew Francis Matt Stalker Pamela Mounter Polly Rance Ross Williamson Stephen Waddington Steve Falla Tony Halmos
1. Apologies were noted. Paul Mylrea informed the Council of an additional A.O.B. item which to be approved by Council at this meeting. 2. Minutes of February Council meeting was approved. 3. 2010 Accounts approval. Sally Sykes, Treasurer of 2009/2010 reported the 2010 accounts to Council. Sally firstly introduced Jenifer Stirton the incoming Treasurer who will take over in the beginning of the financial year. Sally said that she is delighted that we made a surplus of £372,500 in 2010 after what we went through in 2009. This result has been achieved by cost cutting and sacrifices made by staff and officers as well as the attention to details by all concerned. Despite this positive result, we remain cautious due to the turbulence in the general economy and public sector. However, regardless of the economic picture, we still advanced in such areas as the website, CIPR TV and public affairs which Page 1 of 4
will significantly benefit members over the time. Sally introduced two of the finance advisors who have been working with Sally and Jane Wilson: Ross Phillips who is the CIPR finance manager and Chris Malacrida who is from Chantrey Vellacott, our accountant. Sally said Ross and Chris will be able to answer any accounts related questions. Bernard Carey asked what the criteria are for people to be listed under the “Related Party Transaction” section in the accounts. Chris Malacrida responded that if a council member or close family of a council member carries out material transactions with the organisation, they will be listed under this section. Quentin Langley congratulated the board about turning the financial situation around. Paul Mylrea said that it’s not only the board, staff who have gone through restructuring etc. have also contributed to this result. The 2010 finance accounts were approved by Council. 4. 2011 Finance update Jane Wilson reported to Council the 2011 finance update. Jane said that last year’s performance is partly because we’ve significantly reduced the cost base in terms of staff related cost and variables. The fixed cost now reflects the delivery of the CIPR business model which includes membership, awards, qualifications, workshops and events. Jane said so far this year, we’ve seen reduced winter intake in qualifications and reduced training budget in private and public sectors. As such, we remain cautious about workshop trainings. Jane was pleased that Excellence Awards is only 10% down on last year considering the current economic situation. Jane reported that online joining and booking is an investment priority of this year. The other investment priority areas include staff financial management training and marketing for qualifications. Jane reported that we will focus on improving membership retention in 2011 aiming to reach 82% by year end and 85% by second quarter next year (currently is 80%). Membership Committee is going to do a full review on membership grade to reflect the current market need. Jane said that from market research and feedback, potential clients require combined professional development, training and membership services. As such a package of above services will be developed and offered to the market. Group review is another priority for this year. Jane will work with the Council on this. She will consult with Council in the next couple of months to produce an agenda for the review. Jane said that we expect the revenue for this year to be $3.7 million, half a million down on the £4.2 million last year, but this is a very conservative budget based on the performance of workshops, qualifications and awards so far. The surplus is expected to be £250k this year which is also down year on year, but this is also a very conservative budget based on the fix costs of some major items.
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Currently we are performing slightly above the budget. Excellence Awards have reached 250 dinner ticket sales; 600 required to reach the budget. The Professional Development Team has just been restructured and the original four managers are now down to three. The new team structure is now more suitable to the market needs. We are making good progress on online joining which we hope to complete by end of June. 5. Governance update In John Brown’s absence, Paul Mylrea reported to Council the Governance Working Group updates. The Governance Working Group is going to propose at the June Council meeting that Council is to appoint next year’s board and standing committee chairs at the end of this year to avoid delays in the appointment of committees as happened this year. Paul supports this proposal. Paul said that amendments to Charter need Privy Council’s approval. Currently the Governance Working Group is looking at issues such as levels of membership, eligibility for voting, size of the Council and competency. These changes will be brought to Council either later this year or next year after all requirements for changes being compiled. Quentin Langley endorsed the comments and added that the Governance Working Group sees the above proposals very important as these provide solutions to governance problems. Paul Mylrea agreed. Rob Brown asked what the timetable is for the proposals and changes. Paul Mylrea responded that the above mentioned proposals will be submitted at June Council meeting. John Brown will provide a timetable for future proposals by June. Bernard Carey asked if changes which don’t need Privy Council approval would be quicker. Paul Mylrea responded that until the proposals are out, the answer is not clear, but everything has to be approved by Council first. Quentin Langley said that once things are approved by Council, they also need to be approved by the AGM. 6. A.O.B. Iprovision In John Brown’s absence, Paul Mylrea asked the Council to approve the appointment of Joanne Sweeney as a Trustee for Iprovision. Council approved. Chartered Practitioners Paul Mylrea said the paper just being circulated to Council is the amendments to the By‐Laws with regard to Chartered Practitioners. These amendments were approved by the Privy Council in 2008, but members were never informed of the corresponding changes to the Regulations, which should have taken place within 30 days of the amendments. The action required now is for Council to reapprove the amendments to the Regulations, but these do not need to be reapproved by Privy Council. If Council is happy with the amendments, the Chief Executive will then inform all members within 30 days. Sean Trainer asked whether the wording around CPD should be changed in response to Jane Wilson’s plans in this area. Council felt that this was not required at this time. Page 3 of 4
Paul Mylrea proposed that he will refer any suggestions from Council to the Governance Working Group and will be compiling a list of the suggestions to be submitted back to Council in June or September. Council approved the amendments unanimously with Paul as the proposer and Sarah Hall as the seconder. The full wording of the amendment is as follows: REGULATION 16 (By Law 13) (1) Institute members who are participating in the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) scheme, with no less than ten years’ public relations practitioner experience; or eight years on completion of the CIPR Diploma or CIPR approved postgraduate qualification; or nine years on completion of the CIPR Advanced Certificate or CIPR approved undergraduate qualification, may apply to the Institute to be granted the right to describe themselves as chartered public relations practitioners, subject to further qualifying criteria on the basis of assessment and interview. Grant of the use of this right shall be withdrawn by the Institute at such time as the individual’s participation in the CPD scheme is discontinued. (2) Institute members who have completed three years in the CPD scheme with the requisite number of development plans and development records and appropriate supporting evidence and who are continuing to participate in the CPD scheme will be granted the right to describe themselves as accredited public relations practitioners. Grant of the use of this right shall be withdrawn at such time as the individual’s participation in the CPD scheme is discontinued. Welcome new council member Paul Mylrea welcomed new Council member Patrick Edwards to Council. Paul said following one Council member’s resignation, one Council seat was made available for the next candidate, who failed to be voted onto Council in recent elections by only 5 votes. Committee Representation Imelda Topping asked a Sectoral Group representative to join the membership committee. Sean Trainer volunteered to get involved with any relevant debates or work. Next Council meeting date: 4pm on 30 June Page 4 of 4