RICS to conduct independent governance review in major U-turn

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has back-pedalled on its decision not to hold an independent inquiry into its governance practices, after its refusal triggered a widespread backlash from the industry. RICS has vowed to appoint an “experienced, fully independent individual” to undertake the review, which will scrutinise the events in 2018 and 2019 that led to the departures of four non-executive directors. The outcome of the inquiry will be made public. The institution’s governing council voted unanimously to proceed with the probe earlier today (21 January). Separately, the organisation has also decided to undertake a “comprehensive review looking at the ongoing purpose and relevance of RICS in 2021 and beyond”, in which it will examine a range of issues including member experience and engagement. Interim governing council chair Chris Brooke, RICS president Kathleen Fontana and chief executive Sean Tompkins said in a joint statement: “We welcome this important decision taken by governing council and lend our wholehearted support to the implementation of an independent review. “We have listened to our members carefully, and we are confident that decisions agreed by governing council today are in the best interests of RICS and its members.” The organisation’s governing council initially rejected calls to conduct an external review, as urged by several parties including a group of past presidents and the Windsor Group, which represents the UK’s 12 largest agents. However, the institution gave in to persistent pressure from the industry a week later and promised to “revisit” the matter, in a social media post written by Fontana and Brooke. Calls for more clarity had been 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 internally. The former NEDs – Amarjit Atkar, Simon Hardwick, Bruce McAra and Steve Williams – issued a joint statement on 15 January to outline their stance on the situation. They said they found it “impossible to reconcile the institution’s published values with some of the behaviours that we have observed and to which we have been subjected” in the letter, which can be read in full here. The former directors called for the governing council to be chaired by a non-conflicted third party, alleging that both Fontana and Brooke were both “directly involved” at the time of management board discussions in 2019. “We reject the assertion made to us by Mr Brooke in our termination letters, which was apparently subsequently repeated to governing council, that our behaviour was either ‘aggressive’ or inappropriate in any other way,” the statement reads. “We simply recorded the facts to help governing council identify what had gone wrong and to make an informed decision about the facts behind the non-disclosure of the BDO report.” They added: “We do not see ourselves as ‘whistleblowers’ or troublemakers. On the contrary, over the years we have contributed meaningfully to several major RICS projects. “Our motivation at all times was to act with openness in properly discharging our responsibilities to protect the institution and its reputation.” See also: RICS faces calls for reinvention Root-and-branch reform of RICS is long overdue To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette Photo: Jeff Blackler/Shutterstock