ACCA’s 1999 accounts show another year of profligacy. The accounts show that the surplus for the year was £179,000 even though the subscription increases have been running at 2-3 times the rate of UK inflation. The surplus is arrived at after crediting the following:
Income from fixed asset investments
£185,000
Interest Receivable
£121,000
Interest payable
(£ 88,000)
Total
£218,000
So without the additional income ACCA would once again be turning out a loss. This position is achieved even though ACCA collected an additional one million pounds from members and a further half a million from students.
Members should also note that for many years ACCA's finance were poor. Then Ray Gardiner took charge and imposed some discipline and wanted to curb the powers of the ACCA chief executive. He was due to become President in 1999 but was impeached by a vote of non-confidence organised by the 'inner council'. Subsequently, Tony Cruse took charge of the finance. But he resigned from council in disgust. So the two people who put ACCa on a sound financial footing have both been removed.
Members should be able to raise the ACCA's poor financial position at the AGM. But at the AGM there will be little or no opportunity to raise the issues. The President will speak for more than 30 minutes. The next top priority is lunch and the leadership does not want to have any dialogue with members. ACCA members will only be given a maximum of three minutes to ask questions. There is no guarantee that any questions will be answered.
Members will know that ACCA leadership takes their spouses and friends on world travels and charges the cost of spouse travel, estimated to be £50,000 per annum, to members. Such disclosures are not made in the accounts. Then every year, the council also has a ‘bonding’ session in a five star London hotel. Spouses are friends are invited. The cost if estimated to be around £100,000.
Make ACCA management give members value for money.
VOTE AGAINST ALL SUBSCRIPTION INCREASES