Investor relations professionals have a high degree of responsibility and can make a significant impact within their organizations. This demands competence across key disciplines including finance, strategy, and communications. Earning the IRC demonstrates necessary knowledge and skills in the IR Competency Framework.
About the IRC
The Investor Relations Charter (IRC)® is the best-in-class certification geared towards IR professionals. It establishes a framework for what defines the profession of investor relations as well as provides IR professionals with the opportunity to demonstrate their core IR knowledge and skills, their expertise, and their commitment to answering to the highest standards within the profession.
Why Become Certified?
Certification is a recognition offered by an independent organization to validate the knowledge of a professional through standardized assessment. Investor relations professionals have a high degree of responsibility and can make a significant impact within their organizations. This demands competence across key disciplines including finance, strategy, and communications.
Eligibility Requirements
- Pass the IRC examination or achieve both the IR Foundations and IR Advanced certificates within two years.
- Meet one of the following educational and professional work experience options:
- U.S. bachelor’s degree or equivalent with three or more years of qualifying full-time work experience as an IR corporate professional or IR consultant.
- Six years of qualifying full-time work experience as an IR corporate professional or IR consultant. At least 50% of duties should be directly focused on IR activities. (Alternate work experience and paid IR internships will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.)
- Hold a current certification relevant to IR practice with three or more years of qualifying full-time work experience as an IR corporate professional or IR consultant. Relevant certifications include:
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
- Other certifications may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis
- Have experience in at least seven of the following IR domains as outlined in the IR Competency Framework, with a publicly traded company as an IR corporate professional or IR consultant:
- Comply with the NIRI Code of Ethics and the IRC Code of Conduct.
This Code of Conduct describes the expectations that we have of ourselves, our volunteers, and our global candidates for certification and recertification. It articulates the ideals to which we aspire, as well as the mandatory ethical conduct in our professional and volunteer roles.
We believe that compliance with this code of conduct will instill confidence in the conduct of investor relations practitioners, and subsequently affect the credibility and reputation of the IR profession. All certification volunteers, candidates for certification and recertification must agree to comply with the certification Code of Conduct as outlined below:
- I will conduct my professional activities with honesty and integrity.
- I will abide with laws, regulations, and codes related to the IR profession.
- I will be in continuous compliance with the certification requirements as amended from time to time.
- I will bring violations of this Code to the attention of the appropriate body for resolution.
- I will maintain the privacy of individuals and confidentiality of information obtained in the course of my duties unless disclosure is required by legal authority.
- I will abstain from any actions that will bring the Investor Relations Charter into disrepute.
- I will not engage in any unauthorized use of any IRC marks or logos.
- I will adhere to NIRI’s Code of Ethics.
Based on the eligibility options above, one or more of the following documents must be submitted with the completed and signed exam application:
- Current resume or curriculum vitae (CV) with detailed information about the IR qualifying work experience (required from all applicants).
- Verification of work experience form or written statement from human resources department confirming the IR work experience stated in the application.
Exam Information
The exam will be three hours long and consists of 160 questions. The Exam Blueprint is as follows:
| IR Domains | Percentage of Questions | Number of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 1: IR Strategy Formulation | 13% | 22 |
| Domain 2: Corporate Messaging Development | 13% | 22 |
| Domain 3: Investor Marketing and Outreach | 12% | 21 |
| Domain 4: IR Planning, Implementation and Measurement | 10% | 17 |
| Domain 5: Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis | 10% | 17 |
| Domain 6: Business Insight | 8% | 13 |
| Domain 7: Strategic Counsel and Collaboration | 8% | 12 |
| Domain 8: Capital Markets and Capital Structure | 8% | 12 |
| Domain 9: Corporate Regulatory Compliance | 6% | 8 |
| Domain 10: Corporate Governance | 6% | 8 |
| Domain 11: Environmental, Social, and Governance | 6% | 8 |
| 100% | 160 |
Examination Fees: NIRI Member: $1095 / Nonmember: $1295
NIRI membership is not a prerequisite for certification.
This program is U.S.-based, and the examination is administered in English. It is executed in a computer-based format online and on demand with live remote proctoring worldwide.
Additional fees:
- Exam Retake Fee: $250
- Transfer/Rescheduling Fee: $125
- Refund Administrative Fee: $200
- Duplicate Score Report: $25
Your IRC examination score is based on your total number of correct answers. You should answer all items, as there is no penalty for incorrect responses. However, choose only one response per item. If more than one response per item is selected that item will be scored as an incorrect response.
The passing score for the IRC exam is 112 correct answers of the 160 scored items. The remaining 10 pre-test unscored items in the test are used for developing future exams and, accordingly, are not scored and have no impact on an applicant’s pass/fail status. Individual raw exam scores are confidential.
IRC Exam questions, as well as the answers, were developed through extensive work by the Examination Development Committee which is composed of subject matter experts and volunteer investor relations professionals.
Oversight of all elements of the IRC program is the responsibility of the volunteer NIRI Certification Council, which operates independent from the NIRI Board of Directors.
There are very few individuals at my company with investor relations experience who can attest to my abilities, and the IRC designation serves to validate my proficiency and experience against a recognized standard.
Lisa Goodman, IRC
Executive Director, Investor Relations
PNM Resources Inc.