Board Report: August 2015
Hi Everyone,
The August Board meeting was a phone conference call held on Sunday 23rd August.
From a financial perspective we looked at the results for the first month of our new financial year - which was a Net Operating Surplus of $72,000 against a budgeted loss of $194,000. The positive variance here was all due to early billing of some Councils for the Regional Guard Service so is only a short term gain. Overall we expect this year to be a lot tougher than last year as we have set aggressive targets to maintain the positive cash generation of the last two years even while starting to incur the loss of State Insurance sponsorship income. A copy of the key financial reports for July 2015 are attached as usual for your information.
The Board also ratified the final audited results for the 2014/15 year with a Net Operating Surplus of $0.65 million, full details of which have now been sent out to Clubs with their AGM packs.
This month the meeting was a short one with only a few things on the agenda. The main ones worth noting were:
- Consolidation of Financial Reporting. The SLSNZ auditors are of the belief that reporting all the Clubs financial results as part of SLSNZ's accounts will not be necessary which is good news for everyone.
- The SLSNZ Foundation. Work has continued on the Trust Deed and this should be completed in September as planned.
- Replacing State Insurance. A number of companies have been approached but at this stage there are no firm prospects. This remains a top priority for the year. Contingency plans will also be developed in case a new sponsor can't be put in place by June 2016.
- 2015 SLSNZ
AGM. There a good number of clubs coming along which
is pleasing to see - thanks to all those who are coming.
There are some very interesting topics for the Club Chairs Workshop
during the day and there a some very deserving recipients for the
National Awards in the evening so the Board is really looking
forward to the day. The Board discussed the importance of
making sure that all those clubs that can't make it along still
participate in the democratic process by voting on the items where
a decision is required - this can be done via simply filling out
the paper voting form and sending it back or by appointing a proxy
to vote on their behalf at the AGM. If clubs need some help
we have people who are happy to volunteer to be a proxy.
The decisions of the Board Appointments Panel were also discussed - these have now also been sent out to clubs. It was good to see that we will have continuity for the upcoming year - and I congratulate Joe Pope and Graham Crombie on their re-appointments. For Brent and myself we still have to go through the election process on September 19th!
- Balanced Scorecard Results. The final results for 2014/15 were reviewed and they make good reading ( a copy is attached). We also looked at how these will flow into the targets for 2015/16.
- Gisborne/ Tairawhiti Strategic Committee. The Board is very happy to see this committee endorsed to continue for at least another two years. It is a very good way to co-ordinate the clubs and SLSNZ to make the most of the available resources and get strong local 'ownership' to what programmes take place. Club collaboration is a theme of the draft Strategic Plan for the Surf Life Saving movement and this is a great example of what is possible.
Our next Board meeting will be in Wellington on Sunday 18th October as we take a break this month for the AGM.
So until my next update.
Yours in surf,
Geoff Hamilton
Chairman
Surf Life Saving New
Zealand