A global framework agreed between ICCO and risk management firm Det Norske Veritas strengthens the commitment and partnership of both organisations. The agreement paves the way for international rollout of the Consultancy Management Standard (CMS), a professional accreditation tailored to the public relations consultancy industry and an exclusive benefit to ICCO-affiliated firms. It greatly simplifies the processes of entering into local contractual arrangements as well as carrying out audits and receiving accreditation.
Like ICCO, DNV is a not-for-profit organisation that has the best interests of the industry and its businesses in mind. As such, some of the benefits offered by the new agreement are:
· Countries interested in adopting CMS can use this as the basis for contracting work locally. It clarifies contacts and travel logistics, investments by DNV and costs to individual firms.
· Countries with local agreements already in place will continue as is for now but have the new framework and fee breakdown in place to guide future contractual arrangements, at which time they too will be protected from rate hikes for a 3-year period.
· Standardised certificates will be issued centrally via DNV, facilitating international recognition.
· DNV will prompt automatically when a firm is up for recertification.
For further details on the framework agreement as it applies to member firms, contact your local trade association.
