Treasurer materials
From SI Exco News
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Expense Claim Form
Servas 2009 Expense Claim form Expense Form
Draft Budget 2009
Dear National Secretaries and Officers,
Please review the attached draft budget. You will see it in the attached EXCEL workbook. On tabs at the bottom you will find a spreadsheet – for each of the GA2009 and for the general budget for all SI, which also includes the GA 2009.
From meetings of the Treasurer with the Auditor and Book Keeper, we expect Audit work to be done by mid June and the books brought up to date also by mid June. Documentation for some items is slow to arrive, and the Auditor is checking on this matter.
The draft budget is based on current information, and can be updated when the reports come from the Auditor and Book Keeper.
Several of the Committees could not send inputs to help us formulate the draft budget; we guessed their needs, considering past experience.
This draft budget will be open to everyone at the GA 2009 early during the GA conference, so that the financial impact of each GA decision can be assessed, and the Budget can be updated for a decision by the GA.
We are sharing it with you now, so that you can look for omissions, areas to input, improve or expand, as you may see fit.
We wanted to point out the following main features of the Budget:
core reserves remain at a healthy state, although the long term trend of decline continues; SI is spending more than it is receiving in revenues
Exco and some other committees have saved transportation costs by not meeting face-to-face, relying on distance communication. Doubtful this approach to saving can continue in future?
-a deficit is projected for 2009 -reductions in planned costs are shown; however we have been told after we prepared this draft, that some key operations (SI News) are already overdrawn -reductions in planned support for the GA are also shown -the system of advances has been limited; few advances are outstanding, and these are known -financial books are up to date for the first time in years; a very modest amount has been used for book keeping services, as decided at Latina. -detailed notes are included with the Budget, to support your close review -EXCO feels that it is time to consider an increase to the Stamp Fee or a change in the formula of free stamps.
An extensive study of Stamp Fees was done in 2004 by the old Audit Committee. Now that the financial books are in much better order and long term trends can be seen, it will be easier to review the choices available to the GA. Treasurer Lv Subramanian would welcome any comments, advice between now and through the GA.
Gary Sealey
siexco@googlegroups.com
Correspondence Concerning Budget
May 26, 2009
26 May, 2009 Dear National Secretaries and Officers
Thanks to Florencio Gomez, Convenor Audit Committee!
Florencio quickly alerted us to the incomplete version of the Servas Budget we sent for your review. Sincere excuses.
Please put your review on the complete version now attached which will go on-line also, at the address noted below. All this Budget planning and analysis work was done in February, March and April, with many versions, as Treasurer and EXCO sorted through various options to propose to you.
In the end, we decided not to send you all our working papers, with many calculations. Treasurer Lv Subramanian has kept all the working copies and can answer any questions. We are hoping for a good discussion at the GA.
To summarize Budget choices:
1) reduce Servas costs greatly; 2) continue Servas, at the same level of costs and revenue as before, to result in a large deficit; 3) and to reduce Servas costs somewhat and project a lower deficit
The attachment with the financial details follows the third choice.
We also cut costs in the meantime, and that is why EXCO for instance has not had face-to-face meetings, and we have also limited financial support to the GA in September 2009.
But of course, Servas cannot continue for long with deficits, and so Servas GA must make some more choices of strategy -- including revenues and costs. That is why we wanted you to have the draft Budget now, and to keep the books open for you at the GA, so that you could see how your choices will help.
Status of Accounts:
Accounts 2005, 2006 & 2007 are already audited by both Internal Audit and External Auditors from Turkey completed and reports already submitted Account 2008 book keeping and Audit expected mid-June ( full documentation requirements are not yet complete ); bank statements are fully available and the the book keepers are trying to relate all transactions to the bank statements. Any transactions still unqualified by documentation by mid-June will be reported to the GA.
We hope this update is acceptable and useful to you.
Gary Sealey
