Chair's Statement
Annual Report 2022
I am pleased to introduce the CII’s Annual Report 2022, which sets out all aspects of our operational performance for the year. Our Consolidated and company financial statements are provided in a supplementary document, which states our financial performance for 2022, as well as outlining the checks and balances that are undertaken to ensure that we operate responsibly.
My detailed statement covering the organisation’s financial performance in 2022, key events in 2022 and those anticipated for the year ahead, along with senior personnel changes in the year can be found on page 3 of the 2022 consolidated financial statements, so I will not repeat myself here.
I would like however, to take this opportunity to thank Alan, our CEO, who has achieved a huge amount in the time he has been with us, including delivering a new Strategic Plan, the smooth launch of the updated CRM system and another year of an operating surplus for the Group, all accomplished at the same time as getting up to speed with the complexities of the way the CII operates. His previous experience as CEO of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a Royal Charter membership body, made him the ideal choice to lead the Chartered Insurance Institute. He is well recognised as an expert in leading and transforming professional bodies into becoming 21st-century digital organisations with greater focus on meeting members’ needs. We will be sorry to see him leave in Spring 2024, when he will join another esteemed professional body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, as its new Chief Executive.
Chair’s statement, Consolidated and company financial statements 2022
I am pleased to report the 2022 Strategic & Financial Review of the Chartered Insurance Institute (the CII) Group and the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022. The report demonstrates the continued progress within the Group, following the impact of the 2020 global pandemic.
The CII Group has reported consolidated operating income of £40.5 million in 2022, up 4% from 2021. The return to Group revenues above the £40 million milestone demonstrates the continued progress towards our goal of achieving, and eventually surpassing, our pre-pandemic levels of activity
with members and customers.
The Group continued its progress and one of the more significant developments of 2022 was the return to in-person continuous professional development events which were replaced by virtual events for the past two years due to restrictions on in-person activity imposed by the pandemic. In addition to hosting in-person events in several regions, the CII hosted its ‘Ambassadors in Action’ in May 2022, whilst the Personal Finance Society (the PFS) hosted its flagship event, the ‘Festival of Financial Planning’ in November 2022, after having been twice deferred due to the global pandemic. Whilst virtual events will be retained, it was evident that the interaction and networking opportunities that are afforded by physical contact were missed during the period of restriction, and we were pleased to resume these activities in 2022.
In 2022, discussions began between the boards of the CII and the PFS to agree a range of operational matters. This will allow the CII and the PFS to work towards the development of the insurance and personal finance professions within which our more than 122,000 members are employed, for the ultimate benefit of the public and society. Whilst discussions remain ongoing, the CII Board alongside the PFS Board remains committed to reaching an agreement which serves the interests of both professions and benefits all.
2022 also saw changes in leadership within the Group. The tenure of the Interim CEO of the CII, Jonathan Clark, ended in August 2022. In the same month we welcomed a new permanent CEO, Alan Vallance, who joined us from another professional membership body. The Board extended its gratitude to Jonathan for his stewardship of the Group in 2022 and wished him every success in his future endeavours. Also Don MacIntyre, appointed as Interim CEO for the PFS, was welcomed to the Group.
With the arrival of Alan Vallance and other new colleagues on the Executive team, the Board began work on a new five-year Strategic Plan for the Group. The Strategic Plan, which was published in April 2023, builds on the member consultation exercise in 2021, and the actions that we took in response during 2022.
The strategy, which sets a new vision for the Group that is underpinned by our Royal Charter to “secure and justify the confidence of the public” in the insurance and personal finance professions, is built across six themes:
- Excellent Membership Experience
- Highest Professional Standards
- Sector Thought Leadership
- World-Class Learning
- Digital First
- Sustainable Institute.
The activities planned for 2023 and led by the CEO, Alan, are aimed at ensuring members receive the greatest value from being part of our Group and raising awareness amongst the public of the benefits of engaging with CII and PFS professionals. These include:
- Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management system to support the collection and analysis of customers’ activity to inform more relevant product development, specific to customer and member needs,
- Enhancing our onboarding programmes for new members and the development of an enhanced framework for working with our valued local volunteers in the UK,
- Development of an international volunteer framework,
- A review of our professional standards framework, building a body of evidence on the value of Chartered status and publishing data about the public’s perceptions, and
- Development of a new qualification pathway for the professions, with the Professional Map we launched in 2022 at its heart.
The future of the Group remains promising, and the Board is confident that the new strategy will deliver significant benefits for members, customers and staff colleagues.
In conclusion, I would like to thank our individual members and customers, our communities of local volunteers, our expert practitioners, trustees, board and committee members and, of course, the Group’s staff colleagues for all they have done to support our organisation during 2022.
I also wish to convey, on behalf of the Board, our thanks for the service and valued contributions of our retiring Board members John Bissell, Peter Blanc and Janet Connor and offer best wishes in their future endeavours.
DR HELEN PHILLIPS,
Chair of the Chartered Insurance Institute
31 July 2023