Investor Relations Charter
October saw the launch of NIRI’s much awaited Investor Relations Charter (IRC). The qualification is a breakthrough in IR certification as it involves more than a simple set of courses and the passing of an exam: indeed, to remain a charterholder, an IRO must be recertified every three years by earning a minimum of 30 professional development units. The program is open to applicants who have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree with three years’ IR experience, or six years’ IR experience or an alternative relevant certification with three years in a role ‘related to the IR profession’.
Aspiring IRC holders will need to master the 10 disciplines included in the Body of Knowledge, a 250-page textbook ‘developed through a comprehensive job task analysis of IR practitioners and carefully pegged to the practice and ever-changing dynamics of investor relations.’ The exam, which reportedly requires more than 100 hours of studying, will be offered internationally for a two-week period twice a year, in the form of a 200-question assessment that must be completed in four hours.
‘While the IRC program will use US securities law as its basis, NIRI will offer the exam at testing centers throughout the world,’ explains NIRI CEO Jim Cudahy. ‘We don’t yet know how many IR practitioners will register for the first IRC exam, but the enthusiasm in the US and other locations around the world that I’ve visited over the past several months has been clear.’
Pass scores will be determined by NIRI’s Certification Council, ‘an independent body of IR practitioners’, with successful candidates then able to add the IRC designation to their name. No doubt this new charter will quickly become a notable asset for career development.
More information: www.niri.org/certification
IR basics course and IR fundamentals certificate
Université Paris-Dauphine and French investor relations association CLIFF have joined forces to set up an IR education program, with two levels of accreditation now available from the business college’s continuing education department.
The IR basics course, launched in 2013, aims to give an overview of the function, with five three-hour modules on topics including an introduction to the IPO rationale and market participants, highlights from an IR calendar and finance essentials for non-financial professionals. The IR fundamentals certificate takes the level of expertise a step further.
‘Last year I was honored to present the first French IR certifications to those candidates who had successfully completed the CLIFF/Dauphine IR fundamentals course,’ says CLIFF chair Chris Hollis. ‘This unique program of eight days over four months is the only one to be organized in France in conjunction with a renowned and reputable French university that results in an IR certification.’
The course offers an in-depth overview of key investor relations issues such as disclosure and regulation, understanding financial modeling, the art of corporate storytelling, crisis management and ESG communications, combined with a mix of academic teaching and case studies complemented by two hours of mentoring. Candidates are also required to write a 20-page dissertation.
‘The feedback from the mixture of investors, analysts and IR practitioners who successfully completed the IR fundamentals program has been excellent, and has been a major factor in the promotion of the 2015 program and that of its sister course, IR basics,’ Hollis says. ‘In two years, more than 110 participants will have completed one of the two training programs and demand continues to be strong – which is a good sign of success.’
More information:
www.communication.financiere.cliff.dauphine.fr
International Certificate in IR
The Certificate in IR (CIR) developed by the UK’s IR Society equips IROs with the factual knowledge to best perform their day-to-day tasks and is delivered after successfully passing a 60-question multiple-choice test. The program, which puts an emphasis on regulation, can be studied with the society’s textbook and online learning support modules. Candidates are prompted to attend training sessions and a revision course, and they can rehearse with an online mock exam.
‘CIR is celebrating two major milestones in 2015: it’s now 10 years since it started and we expect to welcome our 1,000th successful candidate before the end of the year,’ comments Sue Scholes, chair of the IR Society. ‘It is now well established as a benchmark for competence in investor relations in the UK and internationally through our partner associations.’
The curriculum has been adapted to suit a geographically wider audience and candidates can now gain the International CIR in Russia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and the Middle East. IR association IRPAS, which has been administrating the exam in Singapore since 2012, has recently seen a sharp increase in interest.
The Middle East IR Society has also been offering a CIRO program to the local IR community since its creation in 2008, and adopted the IR Society’s international syllabus in 2013. Training courses are available in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, and candidates can take the examination in any of these locations.
‘We aim to support the professional development of our members and those of our partner associations and regularly review and develop the content of the CIR and ensure it is fit for purpose’ Scholes highlights. ‘We are currently developing a complementary, senior-level qualification to demonstrate expertise in investor relations and expect to be able to talk more about this in early 2016.’
More information
www.irs.org.uk/professional-development/certificate-in-ir
www.irpas.com/html/courses.php
www.me-irsociety.com/learn/ciro-training
www.hkira.com/en/education/cir.php
This article appeared in the Winter 2015 issue of IR Magazine
