Board Report: August 2017
Hi Everyone,
The August Board meeting was held in Wellington on Friday 25th August.
From a monetary perspective the meeting saw the signing off on the 2016/17 Audited Accounts which will be coming out to clubs on 1st September. The final result for the year was a Net Surplus of $103,970, slightly better than expected, but still less than our original budget of $364,000. As mentioned last time, this was driven by challenges with grant income in the latter part of the year, and finding ways to overcome this will be important for 2017/18.
Looking at the results for the first month of that new financial year, the Net Operating Surplus of was $368,839, which is $555,000 ahead of budget. This positive variance is all due to timing variations and is not indicative of the full year situation. The full explanation of the variances is in the attached Dashboard report.
In the first forecast for the new year, the full year Net Operating Surplus is $118,556, just under the $120,000 budget.
In terms of other items of note from the meeting:
- SLSNZ Strategic
Priorities. The Board spent a lot of time discussing
views on the top priority functions for SLSNZ looking ahead at the
next five or so years. This is a very important topic and
generates a lot of debate, especially in the context of a world
where resources are tight and under increasing pressure.
The next stage of this is to involve discussions on the topic at the Club Chairs Workshop at the AGM - not that far away now and I am looking forward to the dialogue (on this and other topics)!
The Board also reviewed a 'wrap-up' of the 2016/17 Strategic Plan - looking at the progress made and the areas that will remain a focus for the coming year.
- 2017 AGM. Speaking of the AGM, it looks like we will have another record (in recent times) attendance with 46 clubs indicating they will be attending. Thanks to all those clubs who are making the effort - it will be a good day. All the information is going out on the 1st of September and for those clubs who can't make it, there are still options to vote electronically or by proxy. The Board noted the results of the Board Appointments Panel process and the candidates for the role of President. My thanks to the members of the Panel for all the time they put into the Board appointments process - it is a very important job and from my side (as a candidate this time) run very professionally.
- Health & Safety. The Board noted and discussed a paper from the Medical Director and the National Lifesaving Committee on the use of helmets in all motorised surfcraft and when lifeguards are operating around rocks. The Board endorsed the proposals and looks forward to implementing what is a common sense approach.
- National Honours & Awards. A report from the National Committee following the completion of the 2017 Awards process was noted by the Board. It contained a number of good ideas on how to fine tune the process for next year. The Board was pleased with the good numbers of applicants and recipients this year and on behalf of the membership thanks the Committee for their excellent work.
- Farewell and thanks. With both Neale Ames as our President of the last five years and Joe Pope as a Board member for the last four years stepping down at the end of the upcoming AGM, the Board thanked them sincerely for their efforts and very valuable input. They have both made a strong contribution in their roles and will leave big shoes to fill. I look forward to celebrating their success further over a beer at the AGM.
So that is it from another busy meeting. The next Board meeting will be held in Dunedin on Friday 3rd November.
Until my next update……
Yours in surf,
Brent Warner
Chairman
Surf Life Saving New Zealand