Report of the epi-Finances Committee
M. Maikowski (DE), Chair
The 76th meeting of the Finance Committee took place in Munich on 6 – 7 April 2016.
The Treasurer (Mr P. Thomsen), Deputy Treasurer (Mr M. Sarap), and one of the Internal Auditors (Mr A. Tanner) attended in Munich as invited guests. The Secretary General attended by telephone for part of the meeting.
The Committee received reports from the Treasurer on (a) performance relative to budget in 2015, as recorded in the audited 2015 accounts of epi; (b) the budget for the remainder of 2016; and (c) projects and initiatives of the Treasurer, including investment strategies.
The Committee approves the current budget and the investment strategies proposed by the Treasurer. The Committee notes with disappointment the poor performance of investment advisers appointed in 2015, and approves the Treasurer’s moves to replace them with more reliable advisers.
The Committee approves the Treasurer’s plans for the introduction of new book-keeping software. The Committee in particular notes with approval the requirement for such software to integrate with “client relationship management” (CRM) database software and educational event booking software also being introduced.
The Committee conducted a critical review of certain ongoing expenses of the Institute, including office equipment/furniture and the costs of organising meetings of the Board, Council and various other committees. The Committee reminds all chairs of committees in the Institute to exercise as much care as possible over the costs of organising meetings.
The Committee reviewed with the Treasurer the question of charging for advertising revenue in the electronic version of epi Information that is now distributed. The Committee recommends that the Treasurer takes advice from epi’s auditors on whether epi can earn revenues in this way while retaining its non-profit tax status in Germany.
The Committee congratulates the Treasurer on recent successes in obtaining VAT refunds in respect of expenses incurred not only in Germany but also in other EU Member States.
More generally, the Committee is grateful to the Treasurer and the Secretariat staff for the informative materials presented to the Committee’s meeting.
