ECF Finance meeting 2018

[Michael Farthing]

One thing is manifestly clear. If we want our office to be efficient they'd better not use this thread as a blueprint.

[Chris Goodall]

One thing is manifestly clear. If we want our office to be efficient they'd better not use this thread as a blueprint.

I don't want the office to be efficient. The office is already efficient. How many times.

I am not talking about improving anything.

That is kind of the issue - data collection has to be directly meaningful/useful to staff. Otherwise, it will end up being seen as a bit of a gimmick...

I'm going to tell my manager that I won't come on the Friday team call and report back on what I've been doing during the week, because it isn't directly useful to me. I'm sure that'll go down well.

[Angus French]

Message on the Council Papers page of the ECF website:

We apologise for the current unavailability of the finance papers. We are aware that under the regulations they are required to be published not later that Wednesday 4th April, but they have been delayed for a number of reasons not entirely within our control. This applies to both the ECF and BCF agenda items.

[NickFaulks]

Message on the Council Papers page of the ECF website:

We apologise for the current unavailability of the finance papers. We are aware that under the regulations they are required to be published not later that Wednesday 4th April, but they have been delayed for a number of reasons not entirely within our control. This applies to both the ECF and BCF agenda items.

This is unacceptable. I do not doubt that the accounts are stuck somewhere in the twilight zone between financial controllers and auditors, which happens, but this cannot override the requirement to produce a Budget in good time before it is put up for approval.

This time last year there was also no useful set of accounts available. I felt it was wrong to approve a Budget based on financial information that was hopelessly out of date, but it was made clear that I was in a minority of one. Council did happily approve the Budget on that basis, and would no doubt do so again. The point of the Budget is that it reveals how much the Board intends to take from us in future and what they intend to spend it on. There is no excuse for this information not being available for discussion three weeks before it is approved, and the fact that it is not speaks more volubly than any pages of numbers could.

If FIDE were in this state three weeks before an annual meeting, can you imagine how the ECF's Delegate would be bellowing? He wouldn't be wrong, but just thinking about that makes me want to hide under the table.

[Roger de Coverly]

This time last year there was also no useful set of accounts available.

Previously the year end was 31st May and the BCF/ECF used to struggle to finalise the end of year accounts in time for the October AGM. The year end was changed to 31st August to coincide with the membership year and also to give a bit more time to prepare accounts to be presented and approved at the April finance meeting. That was the theory anyway.

[Michael Flatt]

The Finance Director and Financial Controller should provide the Board and individual Directors with management accounts of the status of their budgets at intervals throughout the period concerned.

The ECF website shows the post of Financial Controller is vacant. That might go some way in explaining why things aren't happening.

[Chris Goodall]

The Finance Director and Financial Controller should provide the Board and individual Directors with management accounts of the status of their budgets at intervals throughout the period concerned.

The ECF website shows the post of Financial Controller is vacant. That might go some way in explaining why things aren't happening.

That sounds like an important job. Can I be Financial Controller?

[Paul Cooksey]

I think that post was created for the much missed John Philpott. I noticed the delay in accounts but decided not to speculate until the reason was explained.

It will be interesting to see what comments the Chairman of the Financial Committee makes.

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... eport.docx

[NickFaulks]

I noticed the delay in accounts but decided not to speculate until the reason was explained.

But we're not talking about the accounts - their non-appearance is accepted as normal. What is new this year is that there is no Budget either.

[Paul Cooksey]

Nick is right of course, I should have said finance papers. But I wanted to make the point that the ECF had already decided it needed to bring in professional finance expertise because it could not find suitable volunteers.

I am not posting much on ECF matters at the moment. Anyone who saw my posts in the past knows I do not agree with the strategy of the current board. So no point in me criticising everything they do.

This might be a case of the ECF board doing something I don't agree with badly. Or maybe just bad luck, I decided to wait and find out.

[Michael Flatt]

The reporting of decision taken at the last ECF Board meeting, might give some clues as what to expect:

• The Board agreed to progress the registration of events for grading purposes

• The Board confirmed the appointment of Mark Murrell as the Controller of the County Championships.

• The Board confirmed that budget proposal figures, to be put to Council, would include a reduction of Junior Bronze and Junior Silver to £5.

• It was agreed, for budgetary planning purposes, to take a conservative approach and assume an increase in paying members from the current baseline of 10K, of 500 new members per year for the next 3 years. It was also agreed to review the membership levels in August.

• The Board confirmed that the £1 on-line reduction for renewing membership would be withdrawn for the next membership year.

• The Board agreed to discontinue the external contract for the role of Company Secretary, and move the post in house.

Presumably, contracting out the Company Secretary role might have proven more expensive than originally planned.
The post appears in the list of adverised vacancies: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/vacancies/

Ref: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... ration.pdf

[Kevin Thurlow]

"It was agreed, for budgetary planning purposes, to take a conservative approach and assume an increase in paying members from the current baseline of 10K, of 500 new members per year for the next 3 years."

That is an interesting assumption.

[Roger de Coverly]

"500 new members per year for the next 3 years."

That is an interesting assumption.

If the idea is to raise funds, that has to be new adult members. It also has to be net new members. In another words an addition after the usual wastage of people retiring from active play.

A lot of the turnover is juniors, but the grading list gives an insight. I believe it is between 10% and 15%. You can validate this from the aggregate count of the active list which never changes very much and the allocation of new grading codes.

I'd call it ambitious rather than conservative.

[NickFaulks]

Accounts and Budget have now appeared on the website. Thanks to all who have clearly been working overtime!

[Nick Grey]

Perhaps Council ought to volunteer those that moan about account and budget delays being unacceptable for the 'overtime' next year?