The number of Personal Finance Society members fell by 367 in 2023, impacting membership revenue.
In its full year results ending December 31 2023, published last week (September 27) on Companies House, the PFS said it had a total of 39,665 members.
This had an impact on total membership revenue falling by £0.29mn to £7.21mn compared to £7.5mn in 2022.
The PFS said a small part of the decrease was due to the reduced number of members in the year but the larger part was a result of the timing recognition of more deferred membership revenue in 2023 compared to 2022.
According to the results, more than 200 members achieved chartered financial planner status in 2023, taking the total number to 8,159.
Elsewhere, the PFS reported a reduction in revenue from event sponsorship with event sponsorship of £1.43mn in 2023, a reduction of £0.83mn and representing the majority of the total revenue decrease.
It said: “The event sponsorship for 2022 was influenced by the hosting of The Festival of Financial Planning which was a tremendous success, though it was not repeated in 2023.”
Despite a reduction in sponsorship, the PFS reported delivering 78 regional events as well as 17 specialist roadshows.
Total operating expenses increased in 2023 by £0.97mn to £8.96mn with the main increase being attributed to a rise in central recharge costs from the CII.
The central overhead recharge in 2023 was £5.99mn, an increase of £2.16mn, which included an “exception charge” of £1.24mn of “non-routine expenditure which supported central capital expenditure and members’ qualifications”.
According to the PFS, a reduction in revenue and increase in operating costs resulted in a small operating loss of £0.33mn in the year.
“The net reserves of the society have grown in the year and now stand at £19.07mn which provides sufficient protection against future risks and uncertainties which the society may face,” it added.
This comes after the PFS was hit with £0.85mn in legal and advice fees in 2022 which it said was “required by the unique circumstances triggered by the CII's desire to begin mediation from July 2022".
The PFS board brought in external consultants to support the company’s directors with legal, financial and communication efforts during their discussions with the CII on a future operating model of the company within the group.
The firm said much of the rest of this spend was to enable the PFS to have its own communications function during a “sensitive and challenging time for the organisation”.
alina.khan@ft.com
