INSTITUTE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

Values shown as filed in the company's annual accounts. — indicates the figure wasn't present under that line item in that period. About these numbers

Margins divide P&L lines by turnover. Gearing is liabilities over total assets. Current ratio is current assets over creditors falling due within one year. Interest cover is operating profit over absolute finance costs. Sector-distribution context coming next.

Accounting basis

FRS 102 §1A

Reporting scope

Standalone (parent only)

Abridged

Yes — abridged accounts (limited disclosure)

Auditor

Gilberts Chartered Accountants

Audit opinion

Unqualified (clean)

Going concern

Affirmed

“In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.”

Group structure

1. INSTITUTE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE · parent
   1. ICS Services Ltd 100% · Dormant

Significant events

• “The UK economy has begun to show green shoots but has not achieved growth levels needed for a vibrant society.”
• “The war in Ukraine continues into a third year with little sign of a workable solution.”
• “The Gaza crisis shows little progress.”
• “A new US president has not eased global instability, with tariffs, trade tensions, and bond markets experiencing volatility.”
• “Al initial hype has calmed down, with a focus on fusing technology with human intervention.”
• “Cybersecurity poses a significant risk, and research on Risk and Reputation shows the value of building goodwill to insulate against catastrophic events.”
• “Customer satisfaction levels are historically low, but brands are making service central to their proposition.”
• “The frame of reference has shifted, with a more sophisticated understanding of customer service's strategic importance.”
• “Regulators are driving cultural change, focusing on outcomes through FCA's Consumer Duty initiatives and incorporating UK Customer Satisfaction Index.”
• “Our Service with Respect campaign entered a new phase, proposing a new bill to protect customer-facing workers.”
• “The Academy achieved record annual revenues of £535k.”
• “Our CEO featured on BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up to Money and The Institute featured in The FT and The Telegraph.”
• “January 2025 UK Customer Satisfaction Index launch featured Sainsbury's CEO, Simon Roberts, and first direct CEO, Chris Pitt.”
• “Developed product portfolio, relaunched Trust Index, and reviewed Business Benchmarking product.”
• “Refreshed our brand for a more modern, vibrant look and feel.”
• “Published three pieces of Breakthrough Research: Leading the Service Nation?, A Cultural Shift: How to Regulate to Improve Customer Service, and Customer Service: Risk and Reputation.”
• “This year's conference was a huge success.”
• “Considerable progress on developing our 'Service University' concept.”
• “Built close relationships with Parliamentarians, public officials, and regulators to influence policy.”
• “Improvements to systems and processes drove greater efficiencies and effectiveness.”
• “We ended the year with a deficit of £532k, largely due to investment in additional personnel.”
• “Cash position remains strong with reserves of over £6 million.”
• “A 6-point improvement in our member satisfaction score, with a 60% increase in survey response rate.”
• “Enhanced system capabilities, particularly for CRM development and implementation.”
• “The UKCSI is seen as the barometer of customer service in the UK, cementing our position as independent experts.”
• “Member engagement with events programme continues to grow, with CEO speaking at 45 external engagements and 10 member events.”
• “Customer Focus Magazine made free for digital format, receiving over 5x more views for its first open issue.”
• “Published UKCSI in July 2024 and January 2025.”
• “Launched three breakthrough research pieces in 2024-25: Leading the Service Nation?, A Cultural Shift: How to Regulate to improve Customer Service, and Customer Service: Risk and Reputation.”
• “Published Customer Service Trends and Predictions 2025.”
• “Delivered 23 bespoke benchmarking and Insight Consultancy projects for 10 member organisations during 2024/25.”
• “Held a Parliamentary Reception in October 2024 for the Service Nation manifesto campaigning.”
• “In mid-2024, tracker survey research showed customer hostility abuse prevalent across sectors.”
• “Issued research calling for abuse of public-facing workers to be a standalone offence.”
• “February 2025, Crime and Policing Bill included a standalone offence for assault of a retail worker, prompting advocacy for all public-facing workers.”
• “Continued liaising with Police Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and held community events to tackle customer abuse.”
• “Reinstated the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Customer Service under the new Government in December 2024, with Connor Rand MP as Chair.”
• “First APPG roundtable held in February 2025 discussed protection of customer-facing workers from abuse.”
• “Retirement of the ServiceFocus sub-brand and introduction of 'Certificate Courses' concept.”
• “Introduction of LinkedIn certificate-sharing on VLE and 25 new Academy landing pages.”
• “Improved brochures for workshops and Certificate Courses.”
• “Employee engagement scores remain high, with 89% response rate in December 2024 survey.”
• “Embedded competency framework and introduced more internal training opportunities.”
• “Updated recruitment processes and redesigned onboarding programme.”
• “Merged Product and Research teams to form a new directorate for Member Propositions.”
• “Expanded IT and Business Operations directorate to include Standards & Quality, and Customer Experience.”

Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers

Filings

2

last 12 months

Capital events

0

last 24 months

Officers appointed

0

last 12 months

Officers resigned

0

last 12 months

Direct counts from the register. No score, no rating — see the Filing timeline for the underlying events.

• Turnover

  -1%

  £5,390,053 → £5,338,636

• Cash

  -9.8%

  £6,007,699 → £5,421,753

• Net assets

  -49.6%

  £1,074,506 → £542,010

  lowest in 6 filed years

• Employees

  +12.8%

  39 → 44

• Operating profit

  -1,527.9%

  £47,868 → -£683,510

  lowest in 4 filed years

• Profit before tax

  -324.6%

  £215,113 → -£483,151

Each % is (latest − prior) ÷ |prior| for the line item as filed. Periods don't have to be exactly 12 months apart — a long or short period (typical around incorporation or year-end changes) will distort the comparison. Lines a company doesn't report are omitted. About these numbers