CPD and Fellowship
IR Society course and event attendees are able to earn Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points. On an ongoing basis you should reflect on the knowledge and skills required for your role; consider your responsibilities and the expectations placed upon you and when appropriate attend courses or events to keep up to date and remain fully competent. We believe that in order to keep up to date with regulation and best practice developments all IR practitioners should aim to complete 20 hours of CPD accreditation. The Society’s professional development and events programmes provide you with the opportunity to achieve these objectives.
Members of other institutions completing voluntary CPD returns may also find it useful to quote CPD points gained on IR Society courses/events.
The Fellowship programme recognises the expertise and professionalism of senior IROs which can only come from working on the job and is designed to be attractive and stimulating to members who have acquired a degree of experience as well as enhancing the standing of the Society as a body which promotes and rewards professionalism in IR.
Recognising that most IROs do not have the time or the inclination to enter into further full time study the criteria for the award of FIRS will be based on two elements. These are an assessed view of past experience and the requirement to show an original contribution to the subject of investor relations.
The aim is that the qualification will enhance member’s personal development in a practical way and give a degree of status to senior IR professionals whilst adding to the standing of the Society and the profession.
The award of a Fellowship will be a two stage process. Each applicant will have to be able to complete stage 1 before moving on to stage 2.
Stage 1
Experience, education and contribution to investor relations.
Experience is defined by length of business service plus seniority. A minimum of 5 years working in investor relations would be expected before application for fellowship.
Education is defined by a combination of professional and academic qualifications, plus specific IR training. Applicants would be expected to have completed their CPD either on IR Society or related courses.
Contribution to IR is defined by activity within and outside the Society in the investor relations sphere including speaking on courses or seminars and authorship of articles.
Stage 2
This will require a piece of original writing on a topic which interests the individual. The subject will be agreed with the Examination Board and the development of the work itself will be supervised and supported by the board. The resulting monographs may be published and would be placed on the Society’s Knowledge Bank with the intention of building up a resource of thought leadership pieces.
The choice of the monograph format was arrived at for the following reasons:
1. The board wants candidates to extend their experience beyond past achievements.
2. The board wants to allow candidates to put forward ideas which may well differ with those of the board. The monograph format allows a candidate to make their case in a coherent way upon its own terms. Fellowship is awarded for the value of the work, not agreement with the views of board members.
3. The Society wishes to enrich the knowledge of the profession by encouraging original research.
The monograph is typically shorter than a dissertation or thesis and more direct in style. As such, it is reasonable in terms of work load and suitable for publication.
If you are interested in taking up a Fellowship project please contact John Dawson, Karen Keyes or Mike Mitchell.
Members wishing to apply for Fellowship in Investor Relations (FIRS) will be required to show that they have completed their CPD requirements.