RICS to ‘revisit’ decision not to hold independent governance probe

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is backtracking on its decision not to conduct an independent review into its governance practices, amid ongoing pressure from the industry for more clarity. In a statement issued on LinkedIn at 9pm yesterday (15 January), RICS said: “We have been listening to the views of members and interested parties seeking further assurance and clarification relating to the events that took place at RICS in 2018/19. “Having carefully considered all views, we believe that it would in the best interest of RICS that governing council revisits the need for an independent review of these events in order to ensure that trust and confidence in RICS is maintained.” The statement was jointly signed by governing council chair Chris Brooke and RICS president Kathleen Fontana. The decision comes a week after the governing council rebuffed calls from the industry for more scrutiny on its governance and financial controls, as revealed by EG. Those calls were prompted by reports in the national press concerning the dismissal of four RICS non-executive directors in 2019, after the quartet questioned how a critical financial report was handled. At the time, RICS insisted its governance processes were “followed absolutely correctly at all times”, although Fontana said “the communication could have been a bit better”. However, its members and stakeholders were not satisfied with the outcome. Several groups, including the Windsor Group – which comprises the bosses of the 14 biggest agents – continued to urge more clarity. The governing council will meet again on 21 January to discuss the matter. See also: RICS faces calls for reinvention   To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette