A squabble is brewing over industry rankings as Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter and the Council of Public Relations Firms each vie to be the ultimate arbiter of the nation's top PR firms. In a letter urging PR firms to "toss the forms from the Council," O'Dwyer described the Council's ranking methodology as superficial because it does not require agencies to provide supporting documents such as income tax returns and W-3 forms. O'Dwyer also took issue with the fact that the Council allows agencies to qualify, even if as much as 49% of their income is derived from non-PR activities.
In truth, the Council does require agency self-reporting, but with a catch. To deter inflated reporting, four firms (two undecided member firms and two non-members - The Gable Group and Noonan/Russo Communications) will select a CPA to perform random, thorough reviews of 5% of applications. The fear of getting caught will be more effective than costly, invalid "supposed checks," says Jack Bergen, Council president. He adds, "If we don't allow firms to report all of their activities, it's stifling the innovation."
"The information we're gathering is essential business information that should be in the public domain, not the proprietary information of a single publication," retorts Bergen. "And as more publications start their own rankings, it will further undermine credibility because they will all have different numbers." (Bergen, 877/PRFIRMS)