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Update from Administration and Finance Policy Group 22 March 2005
General Assembly current financial position
Our newsletter earlier this month advised the six month unaudited financial accounts showed a deficit of $839,000, and also said that a full-year deficit of around $1,220,000 was forecast if no action was taken to address the issue.
More information about the deficit and contributing factors is included in the attached appendix.
At their March meeting, Council considered recommendations from A&F to address the projected deficit, and approved a range of measures including:
Increase income by
- Heightened emphasis on recovering unpaid Assembly Assessment monies. Council will be working in partnership with presbyteries.
- Other measures. More information about these will be available next week.
Reduce expenditure by $200,000 between now and June 2005 through measures such as:
- Council, along with its committees, policy, task and work groups will not be incurring any travel or accommodation expenditure
- Disseminating information by electronic means where possible. This will include Bush Telegraph and changes to the monthly mailing (more information about this will be issued by Assembly Office)
- Publish the Yearbook on the Presbyterian website, and no longer produce a hard-copy document
- Move sPanz to a self-funding position (within six months)
- Ask Assembly staff to take accumulated annual leave before 30 June.
- Curtail travel expenditure by the Assembly Office staff and volunteers
- Defer expenditure on information technology.
These measures will constrain the ability of Assembly Office staff to continue making improvements in the level of service to parishes that has been becoming evident over recent months. While every effort will be made to address questions as they are raised, we ask for the co-operation of parishes and presbyteries in recognising that matters will be managed as and when resources allow. There is an austerity environment in place and all expenditure decisions now reflect this constraint.
Council has authorised A&F to investigate options to improve the situation in the long-term. If we are to move to a sustainable position, we need to apply a critical eye to the way we do all things, and consider some fundamental changes. The need to consider different ways of doing things has been borne out by feedback at the Council’s South Island Focus on the Future conversations.
No detail has been considered at this stage, but watch future Council Newsletters for developments.
Together with the Financial Support Group and the Assembly Finance team, we are more confident in the quality of the information than we were six months ago, and we are working toward a balanced budget for 2005/06.
Assembly Assessment
Rate of payment of Assembly Assessment has crept from 78 percent a few months ago to around 85 percent for the month of February. This includes a number of parishes who have paid in full their outstanding assessment monies.
There is an urgent need to get the rate of payment above 90 percent as there are adverse consequences that flow from underpayment, such as increased borrowings.
Efforts will continue to be focused on those parishes that have made no Assembly Assessment contribution.
John Trainor and Ian Watson
Co- Conveners