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Qualifications and Application for Membership
The Council of Public Relations Firms is an association of business enterprises providing public relations counsel and related strategic services to help clients create, build and protect their reputations. The Council's mission is to advance the interests of member firms and the public relations profession, by advocating that public relations is an effective and strategic business tool.
How To Apply For New Membership
Membership in the Council is by application and recommendation after the applicant firm presents its qualifications. The qualifications for membership described in the following pages are intended to portray a public relations firm most likely to develop successful strategies and programs for its clients as well as represent the overall objectives of the Council and the counseling profession. The qualifications are based on the premise that the member firm must achieve an exceptionally high standard of client service, fiscal accountability, professional development and ethical conduct for its staff. There are five sections in the application. A firm must complete all sections to be approved for membership. Please submit a completed application that will be evaluated by the Council's Eligibility Committee. If necessary, an independent auditor will visit the firm to help the firm's management assess its eligibility.
 the application in Word DOC format (132kb)
Send completed application to:
Eligibility Committee
Council of Public Relations Firms
317 Madison Avenue, Suite 2320
New York, NY 10017
877.773.4767
Dues: Dues are assessed as .065 percent of U.S. revenues, with a minimum of $2,500 (revenue <$4 million) and maximum of $40,000 (revenue >$60 million) based on a calendar year.
Following are excerpts of from the membership application:
Eligibility Policy
The Council is an association of business enterprises providing public relations counsel and related strategic communications services. Its mission is to build the business of public relations by advocating that public relations is a valuable strategic business tool and by assisting members and their clients set the standards for the profession.
To achieve that mission, member firms commit to defined standards of client service, fiscal accountability, professional development and ethical conduct. Firms applying for membership are requested to provide information and credentials relating to those standards and their business qualifications.
Business Overview
A member must be primarily a public relations firm with a minimum of 51 percent of the firm's gross revenue resulting from public relations consulting and related strategic communications services. Such services may include, but are not limited to, research, issues and knowledge management, relationship marketing, corporate and issues advertising, communications training, and Internet communications. A firm's revenues from public relations consulting and related services will be used for industry rankings and to determine the firm's annual dues, which are currently set at .065 percent of the previous year's U. S. revenues, with a maximum of $40,000 and a minimum of $2,500.
While a member may be owned by a holding company, it must operate as an independent business entity providing public relations services in the United States. The size of the firm will not be a factor in determining qualifications for membership, excepting that a firm must have the full-time staff and other resources to provide reliable continuity of client service. Although many sole practitioners are effective and successful public relations consultants, the Council does not consider a sole practitioner or a small group of consultants as a firm with the breadth and depth of capabilities required for membership.
The principal owners or operators of the firm should have been doing business as a public relations firm for at least three years, a requirement that will be waived by the Council Board of Directors only in exceptional circumstances.
Client Service
The capability of a firm to perform the exceptional quality and sufficient quantity of public relations services required for membership in the Council is determined by the quality and performance of its staff, availability of training and development programs, and record of performance in providing strategic counsel and tactical execution of communications programs.
Financial Accountability
Members of the Council are expected to demonstrate a consistently high level of commercial standards, management support and fiscal accountability.
Standards of Practice
All member firms are required to adhere to the Council's code of practices. Signature by a principal of applicant firms affirming commitment to the code is a requirement for acceptance.
To maintain those membership standards, the Council Board of Directors has charged an Eligibility Committee with the responsibility to assess the eligibility of firms applying for membership as well as to confirm the continued eligibility of current members. It will review all applications and may, if necessary, request permission to contact references to validate quality of client service or financial viability.
Code of Ethics
Members of the Council commit to standards of practice that assure clients, the public and media, employees, and business partners and vendors the highest level of professionalism and ethical conduct in every relationship with a Council member. This commitment is a requirement for application and continued membership in the Council.
Member firms will serve their clients by applying their fullest capability to achieve each client's business objectives, and charging a fair price for that service. Members will avoid representing any conflicting or competing client interests without the expressed approval of those concerned. Council firms and their employees will respect clients' confidences and the privacy of client employees, and will refrain from recruiting employees of their clients.
In communicating with the public and media, member firms will maintain total accuracy and truthfulness. To preserve both the reality and perception of professional integrity, information that is found to be misleading or erroneous will be promptly corrected and the sources of communications and sponsors of activities will not be concealed.
Council members will respect the personal rights of their employees and former employees. They will provide employees the necessary tools to serve their clients and opportunities to develop their professional skills. They will safeguard the privacy and protect the professional reputation of current and former employees.
Commercial relationships with business partners and vendors will be handled in a businesslike manner; credit will be given for ideas and services provided by others.
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The ICCO Stockholm Charter
(Adopted by the International Communications Consultancy Organization October 2003).
Public Relations consultancies are professional service firms who help clients influence opinions, attitudes and behaviour. Along with this influence comes responsibility to our clients, our people, our profession and society at large.
Objective Counsel and Advocacy - Public relations consultancies may not have interests that might compromise their role as an independent consultant. They should approach their clients with objectivity, in order to help the client adopt the optimum communications strategy and behaviour.
Society - An open society, freedom of speech and a free press create the context for the profession of public relations. Consultancies operate within the scope of this open society, comply with its rules, and work with clients that have the same approach.
Confidentiality - Trust is at the heart of the relationship between a client and a public relations consultancy. Information that has been provided in confidence by a client and that is not publicly known should not be shared with other parties without the consent of the client
Integrity of Information - Public relations consultancies should not knowingly mislead an audience about factual information, or about the interests a client represents. Consultancies must make their best efforts to strive for accuracy.
Delivering Promises - Consultancies must work with clients to establish clear expectations in advance about the output of their efforts. They must define specific goals for communications actions and then work to deliver on their promises. Consultancies must not offer guarantees which are not supportable, or which compromise the integrity of the channels of communication.
Conflicts - Consultancies may represent clients with conflicting interests. Work may not commence for a new and conflicting interest without the current client first being offered the opportunity to exercise the rights under any contract between the client and consultancy.
Representation - Consultancies may refuse or accept an assignment based on the personal opinions of the firm's management or the organisation's focus.
Governance and Business Practices - Public relations consultancies are committed to ethical behaviour and implementation of best business practices in dealing with all audiences.
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Certification of Accuracy
Financial stability is an important standard of membership; all information is confidential.
Statement by Independent CPA
I have reviewed the Application for Membership, specifically information provided in response to Question 13 regarding firm U.S. revenue, and Question 14 regarding number of U.S.-based employees. A review of the applicant firm's accounts and employment records has been conducted, but because the procedures performed do not constitute an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, we express no opinion on any of the specific accounts or items referred to above. In connection with the above, no matters came to our attention that caused us to believe that the specific accounts or items should be adjusted. Had we performed additional procedures or had we made an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, matters might have come to our attention that would have been reported to you. This report relates only to the accounts and items specified above and does not extend to the financial statements of the applicant firm and its wholly owned subsidiaries, taken as a whole. It is understood that this report is solely for the information of the Council of Public Relations Firms and is not intended for use for any other purpose.
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