CII v PFS: Is it finally time to put the saga to bed?

It’s been nearly two years since the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and The Personal Finance Society (PFS) began their ugly war of words.

For those of you who somehow missed it, here’s what happened in a nutshell — the CII said it would take control of the PFS board after what it claimed were a host of governance failures, ranging from busting spending limits on external advisers, to cutting the CII’s audit and risk committee out of decisions and setting up sub committees without approval.

Earlier this month, the CII reignited the debate by appointing four more executives to the PFS board.

Somehow the slanging match has dragged on for two years now. Accusations have been traded in public, but facts haven’t. Maybe it’s time they are, for the sake of the profession’s reputation. If the CII has misappropriated funds, surely an auditor can reveal this? If the PFS board breached its constitutional limits, surely there is a record of this?

If there hasn’t been the level of investigation required to ascertain the truth either way, it’s time to spend a few pounds to make sure that happens. Mediation attempts failed at the time, the CII said. But no one seems to have said what they were, when, or why they fell apart. Or whether the two parties would be willing to get round the table again, and under what conditions.

The CII made some pretty serious misconduct allegations against the PFS board, and by extension certain specific PFS members. We journalists have a way of deciding the veracity such things: it’s called libel law. The first step in that action would be the CII having to prove what it said was true. How would it defend itself under that factual bar? We have statement after statement defending its actions, but we still don’t know the detail that would categorically cement its defence.

Former PFS board member Vanessa Barnes refuted the allegations at the time. She said there were ‘factual inaccuracies’ and that she wasn’t given the right to reply by the CII. She pledged to clear the whole mess up by giving the real story. But if that had happened, would we still be talking about it nearly two years on?

PFS membership numbers dropped off in 2023, falling by nearly 400 according to figures published last month. The longer the hostilities go on, the more likely further attrition is. And the sooner the whole saga gets put to bed, the sooner the negative headlines can stop and the reputation of the organisation can move forward.

The sooner it stops, the less likely it is that experienced leaders will head for the exit too. Barnes, along with Alasdair Walker, then-chair of the PFS’s financial planning panel, and Caroline Stuart then-PFS president, resigned in the wake of initial allegations.

There may well be conversations going on behind the scenes to try and sort this all out. Who knows. But it does seem strange that whoever holds the strongest card here has actively chosen not to show it.

Key players have been more than happy to throw accusations at each other in public. They don’t seem to be too concerned about hurting anyone’s feelings. What’s stopping them going one step further? There must be reason, and I’m sure it’s an intriguing one. If it’s based on legal advice, I’d love to know on what grounds the lawyers are recommending caution.

The longer whoever holds the trump doesn’t play it, the longer rank-and-file PFS members are going to start thinking it doesn’t exist at all. So if the PFS is indeed the party that has been wronged here, and really is in the throes of an unwarranted hostile takeover that continues to march on, it seems even stranger for it not to have pulled the trigger, because the CII is marching further and further into its territory as each month passes.

Some of the allegations, like that there was a lack of collective decision making by the PFS board and exactly how some members were reappointed wasn’t correct under its articles of association, are a little bit grey and open to interpretation. But others like not allowing someone a look at financial statements and spending without approval, sound pretty black and white.

If someone holds the smoking gun, now might be the time to show it. Because it’s becoming more and more important not to hold off any longer.

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