As we reported last week, the CII’s recent crunch AGM saw a setback for rebels fighting against the deregistration of the Personal Finance Society.

Despite the setback it's fair to say there are many more pages to turn in this particular story.

The rebels, a number of Past Presidents of the PFS and other concerned members, launched a last minute bid before the AGM to get a special motion put forward which could have rocked the CII by trying to reverse the PFS changes.

We do not yet know how votes were cast but the CII said all the CII recommended votes were carried and the special motion was too late to be properly considered. The rebellion has been headed off, at least for the time being. Instead the CII CEO Sian Fisher has promised to engage with members over the PFS plans, which some will see as progress or at least a recognition that all is not well.

There is however a real possibility that rebel members of the PFS may set up a rival organisation or agree en masse to join the competitor professional body, the CISI. Both would be a disaster for the CII.

Now the dust has settled there is thankfully a small opening for the CII to engage in a meaningful, full and frank dialogue with rebel PFS members and the membership generally on the future of both the PFS and the CII.

It is simply not acceptable for the Financial Planning profession's main professional body to be riven by division and acrimony so things must change and both sides need to accept this. The CII, as the parent body, needs to be ready to respond to criticism and take the lead.

The CII needs to drop its plans for PFS deregistration and reinstate the PFS CEO role, it recently axed. The PFS has grown rapidly under its own CEO so this approach clearly works. Replacing the CEO role with a chief membership officer is clearly a backward step.

As I wrote last week, the PFS is a successful but problem child.

It has been hugely successful under the careful but thoughtful captainship of the CEO Keith Richards who has now left the organisation. That success was not guaranteed, it required hard work. The CII needs to invest in the PFS, not take away from what has made it successful.

The CII should be proud of the success of the PFS and build on it and, in some cases, learn from it.

Ultimately the Financial Planning profession is going places, with or without the CII.

Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience in finance, business and mainstream news. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days. Follow @FPT_Kevin