F ID I C O N FE R ENCE DELEGATES AND ASSEMBLY CONVENE The FIDI Associations official representatives and the FIDI Board convened at the Delegates Meeting and General Assembly in Amsterdam. James Richards presents the highlights PRESIDENTS OPENING REMARKS Outgoing FIDI President Freddy Paxton opened the meeting by thanking Delegates for their commitment to FIDI. Your dedication makes FIDI strong, he said. FIDI Secretary General Jesse van Sas advised FIDI Association representatives to include an anti-trust statement in their meeting agendas and minutes to protect members. MEMBERSHIP Van Sas welcomed two new FIDI Associations: FIDI UAE and FIDI Ireland. There were seven resignations or terminations since the last meeting. However, 25 new members have joined since October 2018, leaving the total membership at 612. FSC UPDATE Rene van Valen, the committee chair, informed the Delegates that FAIM 3.2 audits had started and so far were going well, with more than half of Affiliates passing the audit process straight after the audit. While one company requires a re-audit, there have been no failures and the FCC is continuing to help a further 135 Affiliates with their preparations for onsite audits in 2019. Van Valen confirmed that more than 40 prospective members are in the audit pipeline, with nine expected to be audited in the coming months. The financial assessment pilot was just about to launch, Delegates were informed. They were told all Affiliate CEOs should look out for the communication launching this pilot in April. FINANCIAL ASSESSMENTS Seven board member companies volunteered to undergo the new financial audit. All those audited had a low credit risk and passed the financial assessment immediately. All Affiliates will need to go through FIDI Delegates vote during the General Assembly 42 firms had expressed a strong interest in becoming an Affiliate over the past seven months. Nine have so far applied, four ofwhich will be audited 26 FF291JunJul19 pp26-31 Delegates Meeting and General Assembly.indd 26 WWW. F I D I . OR G 10/05/2019 15:44