The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has committed to a "top down" review of its structure and organisation once again in 2025, as well as to pushing through the conclusions of its "Entry and Asset Review" next year, which aims to ensure the standard of entry to membership as a surveyor remains fit for purpose.
The commitments were made at a recent Governing Council meeting as the body, which represents the global surveying profession, looks to move on from a turbulent period.
RICS was founded in 1868. It has around 134,000 paying members with annual subscriptions of £539. An RICS qualification as a surveyor takes four years and is essential for work as a surveyor or valuer.
Last year, the institution began implementing the Bichard independent review into its purpose, governance and strategy. The independent review was published in June 2022 with 36 recommendations for its overhaul, saying the need for change was "urgent" and "unarguable".
The institution had already committed to implementing the 18 recommendations of the Levitt inquiry into events that took place in 2018-19 following a BDO audit of RICS's finances.
At the most recent Governing Council meeting, RICS said 30 out of 36 Bichard Review recommendations were now complete, with three more partially completed.
It said a "full top-down review "of the structure and organisation would now take place in 2025, three years after the Bichard Review, and then every five years after that. The continuing development of Matrics, the early career community, will also now become an ongoing activity, so the network can "evolve to meet the needs of members".
RICS said there has been good progress on its response to the challenges of professional indemnity insurance for regulated firms.
More difficult market conditions had resulted in a reduction in supply of PII for regulated firms, increased use of exclusions, particularly relating to fire safety exposure, alongside significant increases in premiums being paid. The Governing Council heard that more firms are able to get insurance and fewer are using the RICS assigned risk pool.
RICS says plans to collect and analyse data on the insurance market will be accelerated, while a policy on memoranda of understanding will be developed in 2024.
RICS also updated on overall finances and performance. It said member and candidate numbers are higher than forecast, while measures of satisfaction, and trust and confidence, were slightly lower than it had hoped.
The financial position is "better than planned", with subscription income over budget but commercial income below budget. Reserves have benefited from increased interest rates.
There are two seats vacant on the main Board – a permanent chair of the Member Services Committee and one for a member with digital and technology expertise.
The Governing Council was also updated on recent issues with late-notice cancellations of APC assessments, as reported by CoStar News. It heard that the Board and Standards and Regulation Board had set up a dedicated cross-RICS team to support affected candidates better.
An "Entry and Assessment Review" next year will be an "SRB priority, as candidates are the future of the profession", it said.
At the moment there is an interim Standards and Regulation Board in place after the shock mass resignation of the Board earlier this year. The Board sets and enforces standards for the surveying profession. A permanent SRB would be appointed soon, the Governing Council heard, with five RICS and five lay members. This new board will then set a three-year strategy.
On sustainability , RICS will develop further ESG standards and guidance, such as the recent healthier building guidance.