The Personal Finance Society has commissioned an independent review of its governance following criticism from parent body the Chartered Insurance Institute.
The 40,000 member Personal Finance Society (PFS) has appointed independent consultants Integrity Governance to carry out the review.
In February the PFS board agreed to investigate complaints from parent body the Chartered Insurance Institute that it allowed a number of governance failings.
The CII complained that governance failings included the PFS setting up new committees without CII approval and holding meetings without informing CII directors who were entitled to attend.
The CII cited governance failings as one of its key reasons for intervening at the PFS board to take control of the body late last year.
The two professional bodies have been in deadlock in recent months on the future direction of the PFS.
The PFS, the professional body for Chartered Financial Planners, said the review by Integrity Governance will be an “objective, independent assessment.”
It will cover the PFS CEO’s role, the PFS board’s operations and structure and advice provided to the board by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) governance team and other relevant CII advisers. The PFS said it will also look at the PFS board decisions taken as a result of advice.
The review will also set out recommendations for how the PFS’s governance structure and operations can be “further strengthened” in the future. It is due to report by the end of this month.
PFS interim CEO Don MacIntyre said “Given the current challenges between the PFS and CII, the board believed it important to instigate such a review and I can now confirm this is underway. This process, along with ongoing dialogue with the CII, are important next steps in safeguarding the PFS’ long-term future.
“It is vital that the PFS has the strongest possible governance structures to ensure we, the executive, and the board, are making key decisions and undertaking actions always in members’ best interests on the basis of the best advice. I am firmly of the view that this will be achieved by a thorough, impartial review-process led by the expert, experienced and highly skilled professionals at Integrity Governance who can provide high-quality advice free from history or bias.”
“The review will provide the first ever independent assessment of this nature and therefore objective suggestions for reform. It follows a more recent change to the governance initiated by the CII, following its decision to appoint three new (Chartered Insurance) Institute Directors to the PFS board in December late last year.”
The PFS board will be presented with Integrity Governance’s findings and recommendations by the end of April. Following the completion of the review, the board will communicate with the membership on the next steps, it says.
Mr MacIntyre added: “I appreciate that PFS members have concerns about the future of their organisation, following the turbulence of recent months. I am confident that the findings and suggestions of this review will help allay those concerns and allow me to build a leadership structure that is fit for modern membership body.”
The review also comes following extensive consultation of PFS members, conducted in January of this year. These findings have been reviewed by the PFS board and presented to the CII board. The PFS board is awaiting the CII board’s response to the consultation and the governance review, it says, with the final phase of this work to be presented to both boards in April.
Integrity Governance is a specialist governance consultancy that works in the UK and around the world. It was founded 19 years ago and works with directors, chairpersons, company secretaries, business owners and CEOs.
