Two IT membership charities have agreed to merge after the Institute for the Management of Information Systems’ members voted in favour of joining with the BCS the Chartered Institute for IT.

All IMIS’s professional members will now be transferred to the BCS. The future make-up of the trustee board and management structure is currently being reviewed.

In its latest accounts BCS claimed to have 242 employees, and IMIS just seven. BCS would not confirm details of any possible redundancies.

In a statement the professional institutes for the IT industry said that they hoped the merger will provide a “stronger united voice to policy decisions” and that it would be able to deliver a wider range of services to members.

BCS group chief executive David Clarke (pictured) said: “This is a natural fit and reinforces both of our agendas to promote and represent the IT profession across the globe.”

He added that: “BCS is delighted to be working with IMIS to develop an integrated approach which will enable us to collectively meet the needs of members, businesses and the profession much more comprehensively in the future.”

Professor Simon Rogerson, chair of the IMIS Council, said the merger “will offer the best opportunity for members to continue to meet their academic, professional and career requirements”.

IMIS’s income has dropped off in the past five years, from more than £1m for the financial year ending in December 2007 to less than half that in 2011 (latest available accounts). BCC’s income for its latest financial year was almost £21m. According to its latest accounts IMIS’s expenditure exceeded its incoming resources by £308,000.