The Governing Council (GC) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has cut ties with its external legal advisors, set out details for a new independent review and publicly apologised to four non-executives who were wrongly dismissed.
In an effort to restore trust in the crisis-hit body, the GC has published a statement today setting out values it hopes to embed into the instituion following the findings of a damning independent review conducted by Alison Levitt QC.
The GC said that no new instructions will be given to legal advisors Fieldfisher, which came under fire from Levitt in her 467-page report.
Levitt concluded that four non-executives who raised legitimate concerns that an audit had been suppressed were wrongly dismissed from the management board.
Today the GC has issued a public apology to Amarjit Atkar, Bruce McAra, Simon Hardwick and Steve Williams, the four members of the management board.
Former members of Governing Council who had been improperly threatened with legal proceedings have also received an apology.
Governing Council has also provided a timeline for its response to other recommendations including a review into reward structures and levels for senior executives that will be undertaken, an agreement to deliver a best-in-class whistleblowing process and wide-ranging governance reforms.
Nick Maclean, temporary chair of Governing Council, said: “Ethical culture and behaviour are at the core of RICS’s identity and we believe our new values statement will be an important step in restoring pride in our institution. However, we are aware that we will be judged by our actions, not our words, and that is why we felt it was important to give an update on our response to Alison Levitt QC’s recommendations, with a clear timeline for each one”.
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