SPECIAL REPORT: 30 YEARS OF THE CISI
tumultuous conditions. The Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 triggered investor panic around the world (see
cisi.org/rofm-oct21 for more on the crisis) and required our members to help steer investors’ portfolios through the chaos, while in the early 1990s, the global rate of inflation jumped to 10.5%, creating challenges for investment professionals. Global inflation has since come almost
Simon Culhane, Chartered FCSI CEO, CISI: 2004-2022
Landmark anniversaries make us reminisce and looking at the CISI’s achievements over the past 30 years, sometimes amid challenging conditions,
it’s hard not to be proud. But no test of its adaptability to
challenging situations has been as broad and significant as that of the coronavirus pandemic. During my 18 years as CEO of the
CISI, we’ve acted quickly to recognise financial problems and worked to ensure the organisation can continue to prosper. The pressures during lockdown
were particularly acute, though, and act as a testament to our ability to run an agenda-setting organisation; one that thinks and acts like a commercial business, but which is non-profit; which recognises its obligations as a charity, but which refuses to accept waste, disorganisation, and inefficiency; and one which takes the long view in its quest to always do the right thing. In 2020, our income fell by about
£3.5m on an expected turnover of £15m, but due to our agile mindset, we quickly reduced our costs and identified new revenue streams, meaning our operating losses were a respectable £700,000 given the circumstances. Remote invigilation is a fantastic
example of our enterprising spirit. As a new concept, this was fraught with potential risks and technical difficulties, but with our project partner we strived to launch this service within nine months – something that would probably have taken five years without the impetus created by the pandemic.
As a result, we saw 25,000 exams
taken remotely in a year from a standing start. This development helped us recover in the short term, but it has provided a key foundation upon which to prosper in the future. In an average year, the CISI will
oversee around 40,000 examinations and I’m confident many candidates will continue to utilise remote invigilation, a technology that can be harnessed by anyone, anywhere, as long as they have an internet connection. Our reach has fundamentally
grown, and the ability of professional communities around the world to secure qualifications has been amplified, while our MyCISI app,
“Remote invigilation is a fantastic example of our enterprising spirit”
launched in September 2021, enables anyone with a smartphone to engage in continuing professional development (CPD) whenever they need. The prominence of CPD among
financial regulators and practitioners globally is undoubtedly one of the CISI’s crowning achievements. While exams are important, they are
a snapshot of one’s capabilities and understanding of rules at the time. Without constantly refreshing and improving one’s knowledge, it’s difficult to legitimately claim true professionalism. Our members are constantly striving
to improve their knowledge and their skills, and this helps to generate integrity. After years of lobbying, the
FCA began listing the membership body that individuals belong to and which exams have been taken, showing that regulators increasingly value the contribution that professional bodies bring. It’s noteworthy that in 2004, my
first year as CEO, the CISI relaunched its Ethics & Integrity Committee, demonstrating that it has long been a proponent of values, culture, ethical behaviour, and professionalism. Fast-forward to today, and all our
members must pass IntegrityMatters, an online test aimed at ensuring all CISI members understand what it means to act ethically and how to put this into practice. This attribute will be vital for the
CISI in the future too. Although we are amid the technology-driven Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the role of IT in financial services will inevitably grow, people buy from people and I don’t believe that’s going to change any time soon. Relationship management, personal
skills, empathy, and teamwork will remain vital, and clients will continue to appreciate the bonds they have with the experts who act as their financial stewards, especially as they seek to navigate the increasingly popular but ever-developing sphere of responsible investing. Nobody can predict the future,
but, there’s one forecast I am willing to make: those individuals who leverage the CISI’s vast knowledge and expertise to improve their own, and who constantly strive to update their skills, will thrive regardless of what the new, post-pandemic world brings.
full circle, and is expected to hit 6.7% in 2022, according to a June 2022 briefing by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In the UK, the pendulum has swung
from the deregulation of the Big Bang era to stricter and more pervasive regulation in the wake of the global financial crisis, followed by one of the biggest shake-ups to pensions in a generation, thanks to
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