NIRI to launch professional development qualification as IR Society reflects on next level certificate
IR professionals in search of a relevant qualification to display on their CVs are about to get more options.
NIRI announced at its annual conference in Chicago in June that it was planning to launch its first certification exam early next year. ‘None of us majored in college in investor relations, we all arrived in this field from somewhere else,’ said Bob Burton, a NIRI board member and chair of the professional development committee, in a Q&A with CEO James Cudahy.
Burton explained the certification is not only a favorable ‘tipping point in a job interview’ for new joiners in the profession, but also an asset for veterans wishing to showcase that they have ‘not only the competence of experience but also the competence of practice.’
Candidates will be required to have a couple of years’ experience, either in IR or a ‘related field’, and sit an exam featuring 100 questions, Burton revealed. A beta version should be ready to launch in the spring of 2016 and newly certified IROs will be able to add the ‘IRC’ designation to their name.
Over in the UK, the IR Society has reportedly also been working on a new qualification, with a sub-committee discussing the development of a ‘post-CIR’ degree. IROs who have passed the Certificate in Investor Relations in the UK or through partner associations in Malaysia, Russia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East should soon be offered the chance to take their financial and regulatory knowledge to the next level with the new examination.
Noting that 2014 was ‘a record year for course attendance’, IR Society chair Sue Scholes called expert members to join the discussion on ‘what a post-CIR qualification should look like, [whether it] would be helpful to have independent accreditation and, if so, from whom.’
Next year’s second trimester will reveal whether NIRI or the IR Society will be firing first –and whether these freshly created certifications prove popular among those already in IR and those aspiring to be.
Candice de Monts-Petit
Candice de Monts-Petit joined IR Magazine as a senior editor in 2012. Prior to this, she worked in investor relations, first as an IRO for oil and gas firms in Paris and Moscow and subsequently as an IR consultant in London. She graduated in business...
