We have officially launched the FY23 CFA Society Business Planning & Operating Standards (BPOS) process. This Executive Update builds on last month’s update, providing Society Leaders with important information and resources needed to plan for the upcoming year. This year's business template will be live this week on Society Center (under the Standards and Funding tile).
The Society Relations team appreciates each of you for your thoughtful planning for the coming year, in what continues to be a challenging environment. As you may remember, last year we aligned the BPOS process more closely to the CFA Institute strategy. Last year’s BPOS process taught us that a one-size-fits-all business plan template isn’t ideal for larger or smaller societies, whose scope of activities can differ widely based on capacity and market opportunities.
Additionally, in line with our differentiation strategy, this year, we are drafting refreshed Society Service Standards that will optimize reporting and performance requirements for differing business models beginning in the next planning cycle. For FY23, we are still seeking data points to inform that work and that allow us to better connect planning to action and impact in the Year-End Reports. Continuing to adjust and evolve the business plan is getting us closer to painting the picture of our collective return on impact.
This year’s template will again ask you to align activities and goals to the four elements of the CFA Institute strategy:
- shaping the future of the industry and profession
- building a diverse portfolio of learning products
- modernizing and growing the CFA® Program
- developing exceptional customer experiences
This year, we believe there are a few core opportunities that societies are particularly well-positioned to support:
- help us elevate the CFA Institute brand amongst employers in your local market to build on the prestige of the CFA Program, showcase our existing and emerging research and continuing education products, and garner demand for CFA charterholders.
- create opportunities for members and local constituents to network in an effort to help members build stronger ties.
- think about how your society might benefit from collaborating with other societies on delivering virtual programming or simply sharing best practices on enabling connections within the communities you've all built.
Continue to choose the areas of focus based on where you can most add value in your market and where your board expertise and passions lie.
YOUR REPORT SUBMISSIONS
As we did last year, we ask all societies to email their completed report directly to their Society Relations Manager. The FY23 Business Plan templates will be due by Friday, 29 July. Meanwhile, the FY22 Year-End Report is due within four months of your society’s fiscal year-end.
PRACTICAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WITH YOUR SOCIETY RELATIONS TEAM
Whether it’s helping engage your society’s candidates or members around our products or getting the most from your data, the Society Relations team can provide strategic support in many ways. Below are some examples of direct support the team can provide. Get in touch with your Society Relationship Manager if one or more of these would be valuable for your society.
Candidate Engagement
- Speak or support a local candidate/university event on the CFA Program or Certificate in ESG Investing
- Provide digital resources to support outreach to universities on the CFA Program or Certificate in ESG Investing
Member Engagement
- Speak to society and/or Board members on the Certificate in ESG Investing at an info session or other ESG-related event
- Work with your society to develop a template for a member engagement survey
- Share toolkits to help promote Professional Learning and Research, Advocacy, and Standards products
Society Management
- Support with analyzing and leveraging the data available through Salesforce, databooks, membership retention reports, and other primary sources
- Support good stewardship of society resources by consulting with your society on your budget, share options for additional revenue streams, or help implement a reserves policy
- Recommend KPI targets based on your society's goals and current state
HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESSFUL SOCIETY ACTIVITIES FROM FY22
Given the ongoing challenges from the pandemic, this fiscal year saw lots of creative, collaborative events and programming across the network. Here are a few highlights to spark ideas for FY23 planning:
- CFA Societies from the Nordic region; Western US region and Texas; across Canada; and among New York, LATAM, and the Caribbean all held collaborative conferences or summits, resulting in a much wider audience than any one society could garner
- Pairing candidates with mentors from their societies' membership proved successful for CFA Societies Bahrain, Melbourne, and Emirates
- When it comes to working with regulators, CFA Societies Nigeria, Ghana, East Africa, and Mauritius worked together to organize workshops for regulators and operators, CFA Society Beijing conducted research on behalf of a regulator, and CFA Society Pakistan positioned itself as a thought leader in fintech among regulators and industry professionals
- Some societies like CFA Societies Malaysia, Doha, Poland, Ukraine, Italy, and Spain, among others, focused on creating events and programming around in-demand topics like sustainable investing, fintech, climate change, AI, and DEI in investing
Even more success stories can be found here on Connexions and in our calendar year 2021 roundup.
COMING UP
Earlier this month, the Board discussed the CFA Institute budget and an operating model that will better enable the organization to develop and deliver relevant products and services to our members and the industry. They also considered important recommendations for modernizing the CFA Program to meet the skills and knowledge required of today’s investment professionals and the industry, among other topics. In next month’s update, we’ll share more about these discussions and what they mean for societies.
EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
2022 Research Challenge Finalists
Winning teams from Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and the Americas advanced to the Regional Finals of the 2022 Research Challenge in April. Read our article to see which teams will advance to the Global Finals. Teams will present live on 13 May, and the winner will be announced at Alpha Summit GLOBAL on 17 May!
MEMBERSHIP
Member Proxy Voting Opens Next Week!
We are excited to announce more details about the 2022 proxy vote. See the Board nominees, as well as more information about the proxy voting schedule, here on Connexions.
Renewal Campaign Update
The 2022-2023 membership renewal cycle opened last week! Please note that to support a better experience across systems and browsers, we have updated the society campaign links.
To ensure accurate data collection, please use the long link in your society email communications. You can continue to use either the short link or the long link on all other channels. Find this information, and access the promotional toolkit, timeline, and assets, on Society Center (Membership tile > Membership Renewal)
CREDENTIALING AND CANDIDATE SUPPORT
2022 May Exam Window
We are quickly approaching the May exam window! Mark your calendars with these dates:
- Level I: 17-23 May
- Level III: 24-26 May
Note that the May deferral request form is now live and can be accessed on our website
2023 CFA Program Curriculum Released for Levels I and III
With the 10 May 2022 opening of Level I and Level III February 2023 CFA Program exam administration comes the release of the 2023 curriculum. We are excited to share more information about what is changing for 2023. Read our article here on Connexions to see what's new, what's staying the same, and how you can access the curriculum.
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