News from the Board: a summary of our May meeting

We welcomed new trustees James Johnson, Sterling Crew and Kevin Shawcross to their first Board meeting held on 16 May.

Safia Khokhar attended as an observer as her election to the Board takes effect from July.

Preparation for the AGM

The agenda for this meeting was mostly dedicated to the preparation for the AGM which included approving the following:

1. The Group financial statements. For the first time in over 15 years CIEH is reporting a small surplus before gains and losses. For those who don’t have a financial background this is a great achievement. However, there has been considerable loss in the valuation of the lease for Chadwick Court reflecting what is happening in the commercial property market in London.
2. We have made good progress towards achieving the £4 million free reserves target. In 2022 the free reserves were £1.5m and in 2023 the reserve balance in the annual report is showing £3.3m.
3. CIEH LTD financial statements.
4. The Audit Report. Crowe Auditors have prepared and issued an audit report on their work and findings. At the AGM we will be recommending the re-appointment of Crowe as our auditors for the 2024 accounts.

The draft agenda for the AGM. This has been finalised and was published on 3 June. 

As part of our work to continue the progress on the financial recovery of CIEH, work is ongoing to review services and improve income generation and profitability. I’ll be able to provide further details on this in due course.

Board priorities

EMT also provided a detailed update on the delivery of the Board’s priorities. We agreed the changes to the operating procedures to enable a change to proxy voting at the AGM. The instructions on how to vote have been provided with the papers for the AGM. I advise you to read these carefully. You can attend the AGM either in person or online. If you cannot make the AGM you will need to appoint a proxy who will be at the meeting who can vote on your behalf.

We considered the minutes and actions from the last MLPAG meeting. They congratulated the Policy Team on setting up the Workforce Satellite Panels and the Advisory Panels. The Board supported their request to amend the operating procedure to allow MLPAG membership to include a new professional. MLPAG also welcomed and approved the method and timeline for reviewing the Professional Standards Framework.

We considered the current Redaction and Minutes Policy and asked for this to be reviewed and brought to the next Board meeting.

Activity since my last blog

I have had a pretty busy time since my last blog.

1. Meeting with the consultants who will be supporting us on the recruitment to the two vacant appointed trustees posts. We are aiming to have them in place by September 2024.
2. Attended the Property Working Group. We have had the help of a number of property experts from various backgrounds who have been very helpful in guiding trustees in their understanding of the current complex situation and the risks.
3. Liaising with Chris Day and Ian Gray to set up a facilitated session for the delivery of their AGM motions. This is to be chaired by Zena Lynch and attended by other MLPAG members. I was keen to try and hold this session before the AGM but unfortunately it hasn’t been possible to find a date when all could attend. We are now looking at dates in early July and we look forward to MLPAG having further discussions about the timescales for delivering the motions. Thank you to MLPAG members for making themselves available for this face to face meeting, I know that this may mean taking time out from your busy day jobs.
4. Meeting with Fran McCloskey and Jon Buttolph to finalise the AGM agenda. I do encourage all members to try to attend the AGM on 28 June, which you can do either in person or online.
5. I am also looking forward to attending the CTSI conference on 20 June at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds where CIEH is a conference partner. If you are going to the conference please come and chat to me and share your views on CIEH and your membership.

On the 17 June, we launched our member engagement survey. This is an important initiative where you can help us develop and shape CIEH’s direction. All members should have received a link via email. If you have any queries, please contact [email protected].

Finally, I’d like to update you on recruitment to the Chief Executive Officer’s post. I am very pleased to tell you that Fran McCloskey has agreed to continue in the Chief Executive’s post for a further 18 months. You may recall Fran had been acting up into this role since October last year. The Board decided that it was a priority to maintain the current direction and momentum of progress and that Fran is best placed with her skills and knowledge to deliver on our immediate priorities. Fran is doing an excellent job and the Board has confidence in her leadership and management of the organisation. We thank her for her hard work and commitment. In 12 months we will review our position and consider the needs of the organisation and next steps in relation to a permanent appointment to the role.

The next Board meeting will be held on 1st August.

As always, you can get in touch with myself by emailing [email protected].