黑洞社区

The chairman of Gleeds has called the findings of last week鈥檚 bombshell report into a governance scandal at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) an 鈥渁ppalling advert for our profession on the world stage鈥�.

Richard Steer said the 153-year-old body should now undergo a 鈥渃omplete restructuring鈥�.

Alison Levitt QC鈥檚 independent report has resulted in the resignations of four of the RICS鈥� most senior staff, including its chief executive and president.

It found that four non-executive directors of the institution鈥檚 governing council were unfairly dismissed after they had demanded answers as to why a critical financial report into the RICS treasury management had been suppressed.

Levitt said that chief executive Sean Tompkins and chief operating officer Violetta Parylo, who quit in June, had become 鈥渦sed to operating with little effective scrutiny鈥� and had developed a 鈥渄eep-seated resistance to challenge鈥�.

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The resignations also include governing council chair and former president Chris Brookes, president Kathleen Fontana and management board chair Paul Marcuse.

Steer said it was 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� for the leadership team of a body incorporated by Royal Charter to 鈥渉ave to go in this manner鈥�.

He added: 鈥淭he only good thing to come out of the sorry episode is that it should be the stimulus for a complete restructuring of the body.

鈥淎 new team can take the opportunity to listen to the views of the membership, modernise, reform and ensure safeguards are put in place that prevent a debacle of this magnitude never occurring again.鈥�

He also said that questions should now be asked as to whether Sean Tompkins鈥� 拢260,000 bonus, which he had been in line to receive in full next year despite the RICS furloughing staff and making others redundant during the pandemic, should be 鈥渞ecouped鈥�.

The four non-execs, Amarjit Atkar, Simon Hardwick, Bruce McAra and Steve Williams, were dismissed by then-president Chris Brooke in November 2019 after they refused to accept the findings of an internal RICS review into the handling of the financial report.

The 10-page report by accountant BDO had given the RICS the lowest possible 鈥渘o assurance鈥� rating for its treasury controls and warned that it was at risk of 鈥渦nidentified fraud, misappropriation of funds and misreporting of financial performance鈥�.

Despite repeated requests, the four governing council members were not shown the report until July 2019, seven months after it had been produced.

Their protests had prompted the RICS to order an internal review into the matter, which concluded that there had been no failure of the governance framework and the governing council had been 鈥減roperly informed and updated鈥� by Tompkins.

But according to Levitt, this review had been outsourced to the RICS鈥� external lawyers, Fieldfisher, with its conclusions 鈥渁lready decided before it had been commissioned鈥�.

She added that its most important objective was that there should be 鈥渘o threat to or criticism鈥� of Tompkins, Parylo, Marcuse and audit committee chair Amit Shah.

The findings of Levitt鈥檚 report have led to an outpouring of dismay to 黑洞社区 from members of the institution, many of whom have been long standing critics of its leadership in recent years.

Chartered surveyor Stephen Moore said: 鈥淔or a major professional body with clear responsibilities to the wider public and society, to be publicly disgraced in this way is a national scandal.鈥�

Describing the outgoing senior staff as 鈥渟elf-serving carpetbaggers鈥�, he said he was surprised that they had not managed to survive for so long.

RICS member Roger Carter said he was 鈥渁bsolutely appalled鈥� by Levitt鈥檚 conclusions.

鈥淚t was much worse than I feared. Tompkins should have been sacked and made to repay his bonus. He was grossly overpaid. This shows the present leadership is not strong enough to take tough decisions.鈥�

He added that members need to 鈥渢ake back control鈥� of the institution and that the governing council should be overhauled鈥�.

Chartered building surveyor Robert Grant also said that the bonus paid to the 鈥渦seless鈥� Tompkins should be repaid, adding that the evidence in Levitt鈥檚 report had been 鈥渃onclusive and damning鈥�.

He said: 鈥淢y view is that the RICS should be run as a business not as an amateur club.

鈥淐orrect policies and procedures need to be put in place and also an accurate accounting system.

鈥淐ompared with some complex construction projects all RICS does is collect membership payments and pay for expenses.鈥�

David Allen, director of property consultancy Alpina, said the RICS has become a 鈥渂ehemoth鈥� where the members are 鈥渕ore of a tool to promote the institution rather than the other way around鈥�.

Retired chartered surveyor Mark Lloyd said the failure to share the BDO report was 鈥渢otally unacceptable鈥�.

He added that a 鈥渕agisterium of administrators鈥� at the RICS had failed to rectify shortcomings in the governance structure of the body and had instead 鈥渇ollowed their own route鈥�.

Tompkins said in his resignation statement that he was leaving because the changes which might be prompted from Levitt鈥檚 report will take time to achieve which he 鈥渃an no longer commit after 10 years as chief executive鈥�.

Stephen Hill, director of property consultancy C20 Futureplanners, said that what he thought of Tompkins parting statement was 鈥渦nprintable鈥�.

He added that he was 鈥渁 man with no awareness of being part of the problem鈥�.

Fontana said in her resignation statement that it was in the 鈥渂est interest of the institution鈥� for her to step down, adding that the time is right for the body to focus on the future.

Nick Maclean, chair of the governing council鈥檚 steering group for the review, said that Levitt鈥檚 most important recommendation was to 鈥渇undamentally鈥� change the culture of the RICS.

The RICS鈥� governing council has voted unanimously to endorse and accept Levitt鈥檚 conclusions and implement the report鈥檚 recommendations.