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