Conference Agenda Oct 2021 PRINT - Flipbook - Page 34
A05
PARTY TREASURER AND GPEX
FINANCE COORDINATOR
Jon Nott
Motion text: To accept the following reports and note
the accounts
Party Treasurers Report
[SOC Note - constitution Section 7 part xvi, clause e of
the constitution states: [GPEx] to present a full written
report on its activities and on the financial state of the
Party to the Annual Conference.]
2020 accounts
Please read this section in conjunction with the audited
accounts for 2020 which can be found in Appendix 1
[SOC Note: The audited accounts are an integral part of
the report].
As I reported last year, our historic elections success in
2019, and the membership growth which followed, led
to a significant and unexpected surplus for that year. We
set a 2020 budget which would enable us to invest a
significant proportion of that surplus to improve the Party’s
infrastructure and the support we are able to offer to
members, activists and elected Greens.
As reported elsewhere, the Covid pandemic and associated
restrictions had a devastating impact on individuals and
society but, despite postponed elections, a rapid transition
to staff working from home, and online conferences and
other events, the financial impacts on the Party were
relatively minor.
We did see a slight reduction in membership, which is
unsurprising given the lack of elections and related activity
and the shift in focus resulting from the pandemic. Despite
this, income from membership increased slightly due to the
generosity and solidarity of those members who were less
affected financially by Covid.
The change of the “tech stack” (the suite of software
which enables us to manage membership, related finance
and internal communication) is a major project to replace
a 10-year-old system which was no longer fit for purpose
with a set of integrated tools which are appropriate for the
Party at its current size and which will scale as the Party
continues to grow. Members should see the impact of
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this investment as we continue the implementation of the
various aspects.
Finally, I would like to highlight that although we are
reporting a deficit for 2020 (largely as a result of this
investment) and this means a return to a net liabilities
position on the balance sheet, we remain on track to
resolve this over several years and allow the Party to grow
sustainably as planned.
2021 finance update
We set a budget for 2021 with a target of a small surplus
which would ensure no cashflow issues during the year
and enable us to continue to improve the balance sheet
position year on year. At the time of writing, we are on
track to achieve a slightly smaller surplus than budgeted. I
will provide a verbal update in my report to conference.
Electoral Commission compliance
I would like to put on record my thanks to our staff team
and to all the volunteer Treasurers who have enabled us to
meet our financial reporting requirements during the most
difficult circumstances.
The Electoral Commission investigation into the minor
and technical compliance breaches in our 2019 European
Election return (which I reported on in more detail in my
2020 report) has concluded, but we are still awaiting a
decision on what level of sanction might be applied.
Administration & Finance Committee
(AFCom) report
AFCom comprises four members of the Executive and one
representative of the Regional Council. It meets monthly
to consider the management accounts and HR reports
in more detail than is possible in a full meeting of the
Executive.
Development Committee (DevCom) report
Development Committee comprises four members of
the Executive and one representative of the Regional
Council. It meets monthly to provide oversight and support
to the Development staff team who are responsible for
membership and fundraising.
Donation Scrutiny Committee report
Donation Scrutiny Committee comprises two members
of the Executive and one representative of the Regional
Council. It meets as required to consider whether
reportable donations to the Party are a) legally permissible
(i.e. from a donor who is on the electoral roll), b) ethically
acceptable (i.e. from a source that is in line with the
Party’s values), and c) has no strings attached (we do not