Hi Everyone,
The April Board meeting was held in Wellington on Friday
21st April. This was the first full Board meeting
since December last year, although the Board did hold its annual
two day planning workshop in February.
From a financial perspective the results for the nine months to
31st March are a Net Operating Surplus of $1.148
million, which is $234,713 ahead of budget. This positive
variance is 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 latest forecast, the full year Net Operating Surplus is
$100,000, some $264,000 below the $364,000 budget. The gap
has mainly come about as a result of grant income in the latter
part of the year coming in significantly lower than budget.
The forecast of $100,000 is also still vulnerable as we still have
quite a bit of budgeted grant income to secure.
In terms of other items of note from the meeting:
- SLSNZ Strategic
Plan. The Board spend a lot of time discussing the
outcomes of the February planning workshop. While the results
over the last few years have been very pleasing, the sentiment
which came out of the workshop was that a lot is changing (and will
continue to change) in the operating environment and over the
coming six months it will be good to step back and recheck that the
things that SLSNZ is doing are still the right things, and are
being done in the most effective manner to be successful over the
next five to ten years! Out of this came a genuine appetite
to look at a 'big picture' level at the future of the organisation
and make sure it is fit for purpose. The Board will start
work on this over the coming months with the intention of having a
discussion session on this at the Club Chairs Workshop at the
AGM.
In the meantime the 2017/18 Strategic Plan will be soon available
on the SLSNZ website and circulated to clubs. The budget for
2017/18 will be a tight one as no improvements are anticipated in
the grant funding environment and contingency planning to cope with
unexpected revenue shocks remains a high priority for
Management.
- Board Succession
Planning. With the 2017 AGM firmly on the radar, work
is beginning on the processes of selecting Board Appointments Panel
('BAP') members and thinking about the skills sets needed for the
Board in this round of appointments. The Board had a good
discussion on this topic and with the results of the annual 'Board
Skills Matrix' will be able to provide some clear thoughts to the
BAP for them to work with. The BAP will be chaired by Colin
Weatherall this year, as I will be standing for re-election so
can't be considered for the BAP Chair's role.
Before this, however the Board has had to look at how best to
manage the vacancy left by the recent resignation of Geoff
Hamilton, and in this regard has decided to co-opt Whangamata
clubbie Kelvyn Eglinton for the five months through until the
AGM. Kelvyn brings a wealth of surf and business experience
to the Board - a combination that Board felt was important to have
replaced in Geoff's absence.
And again I would like to publicly thank Geoff for his
contribution to the movement over the last five years - he made a
real difference at a difficult time and will be missed by his
friends and colleagues on the Board.
- Board to Board
meetings - SLSNZ and SLSNR. The most recent of these
meetings happened on 26th April and they continue to be
a very useful dialogue. The next meeting is scheduled for
late June.
- SLSNZ
Foundation. The Board received an update from the
Trustees meeting on 11th April. The focus of the
Foundation is now on the development of a prospective donor list
and completing the marketing support material.
- 2016/17 Audit
timetable. The timetable for the annual audit has been
agreed with Moore Stephens, the SLSNZ auditors.
- Health &
Safety. The Board noted and discussed the latest
report on member injuries for the season. The main area of
concern remains injuries occurring in IRB's and Management have
been asked to document the actions being taken in this area.
The next Board meeting will be held in Wellington on Friday
23rd June.
So that's it from me - as I have mentioned in Member News, a big
thanks to all the clubs & members for their patrolling over a
long summer season, often in conditions less than summery. I
am looking forward to the Club Chairs meetings that are coming up
around the country and talking to as many people as
possible.
So until my next update……
Yours in surf,
Brent Warner
Chairman
Surf Life Saving New Zealand
