The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors claims the past year has been a turning point for the troubled organisation.

RICS has been embroiled in very public controversies in recent years.

The four most senior heads at the organisation – including the chief executive and president – had left in recent years, while the organisation has made public apologies to some non-executive members of the body’s governing council.

In the autumn of 2023 a no-holds-barred 418-page report gave chapter and verse on a long-running governance scandal, originally exposed in a 2018 financial report by accountancy firm BDO which warned of the risk of “unidentified fraud, misappropriation of funds and misreporting of financial performance”. 

Now the 2024 review – released yesterday – claims the troubled organisation has been “a landmark year” in which RICS made “significant progress in modernising the profession, expanding membership, and leading on global sustainability standards.”

Its UK membership surpassed 100,000 for the first time, with over 7,600 new global enrolments – the highest since 2017. It also claims some 76% of industry professionals have confidence in the professionalism and expertise of RICS members. Member satisfaction is also claimed to be high.

“2024 marked a turning point for RICS” says Martin Samworth, chair of the RICS Board. “We’ve not only grown our global membership but also strengthened how we engage and support professionals. That trust is reflected in rising satisfaction levels and greater member-led involvement”.

The review makes lavish claimed about what it calls the institution’s “growing global influence on critical issues.” 

It says the ‘Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment’, which is RICS flagship sustainability standard, saw “major adoption” in 2024 by the UK government, Welsh Government, DEFRA and Queen’s University Belfast.

A statement from the organisation says: “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) remained a core strategic priority with RICS launching its first ever global DEI strategy in 2024, while also establishing a dedicated DEI forum and embedding DEI guidance directly into the RICS Rules of Conduct, making inclusive practice a core professional competency.

“On the global stage, RICS also played a leading role at COP29 and the Buildings and Climate Global Forum, advocating for harmonised approaches to decarbonisation across the built environment. These efforts reflect RICS broader mission to deliver public benefit, professionalism and sustainable development.”