Annual accounts, a new membership system and a new audit committee chair were discussed.
At its March meeting, trustees approved the annual accounts, discussed the progress of implementation on the new membership system, and approved the appointment of a new audit committee chair.
Annual accounts
The trustees reviewed and approved the annual accounts for 2022 following a presentation from the ICE’s group finance director.
Thanks to the hard work of the institution’s staff, we emerged as the only professional engineering institution to have grown professionally qualified members for the seventh consecutive year, recording growth across all grades.
This is against the backdrop of the pandemic, which caused great uncertainty for society and for the institution.
Sound finances support our ability to be a true home for our profession, as well as our ability to develop solutions to some of society’s greatest challenges.
Trustees were pleased therefore to see that the institution delivered a good financial result in 2022, boosted by another excellent year for Thomas Telford Limited.
This allowed delivery of some key projects to help support members, including the launch of the ICE’s new Knowledge Hub, 50 new knowledge networks, and industry-leading guidance and standards on low-carbon infrastructure.
It also allowed us to strengthen relationships with governments and decision-makers, in the UK and internationally.
In summary, it was an excellent year for the institution.
Membership database
Members will know from previous communications that the ICE will be introducing a new membership database to replace the existing system, which is now 25 years old and almost obsolete.
The new system, based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, will offer a much-improved digital experience for members and other stakeholders, including streamlined qualifications processes and personalised web content.
Building a new system and migrating data while maintaining functionality of the current system is a difficult and time-consuming task and progress has been impacted by the pandemic.
However, trustees heard that the new system is some 95% built and we will soon be ready to start user acceptance testing and commissioning.
Trustees approved an additional sum from the ICE’s reserves to cover this next stage.
While delays and increased costs are frustrating, completing this upgrade is vital to the institution’s digital plans.
Trustees authorised the financial uplift on the proviso that continued governance and assurance checks remain a priority.
Audit committee
The audit committee has oversight of all of the ICE’s major strategic programmes and so is key to ensuring that the institution's resources are used appropriately, and that effective governance processes and structures are in place.
I am pleased to report that the trustees concurred with the recommendation of the Nominations Committee to appoint Andy Alder as its chair. Andy is a past trustee and I am confident will do an excellent job.
