17. FINANCE COMMITTEE
17.1. STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR 1997
Prof. Ward reviewed his paper discussing the 1997 Accounts.
The accounts have not been audited because the auditors have
not made arrangements with a local firm to conduct the audit.
After months of unresponsive behavior by the auditors, the Treasurer
wrote to inform them that IUPAC would be making different arrangements
for auditing its accounts. The Executive Director has contracted
with a local firm to audit the Union's accounts.
The Treasurer noted some corrections to his commentary (Attachment
4)
17.2. NATIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
Dr. Jost noted that payment of National Subscriptions has
been slow but a number of major payments were made in August
and September.
17.3. REVIEW OF BUDGETS FOR 1998-9 AND CAPITAL
BUDGET FOR 1998
Prof. Ward noted that the changes in the budget for 1998-9
were due to lower than expected costs for the operation of the
Secretariat.
17.4. ENDOWMENT FUND
Prof. Ward briefly described the Endowment Fund and Endowment
Reserve Fund authorized by the Executive Committee at its meeting
at Research Triangle Park. The funds authorized in item 16.2
will come from the money earned by the Endowment Fund. Prof.
Jortner reminded the Bureau that projects chosen for funding
by the Endowment Fund must be in accordance with the Union's
Mission Statement and Goals and should have international impact.
17.5. FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Prof. Ward described his to date unsuccessful efforts to find
a candidate to fill the current vacancy on the Finance Committee.
He also noted that in order to ensure a smooth transition, he
would be stepping down as Finance Committee Chairman at the meeting
in February 1999. Dr. E. P. Przybylowicz will become Chairman
at that time.
Prof. Jortner proposed a vote of thanks and appreciation for
the excellent management of the Union's Finances by the Treasurer
and the Finance Committee. The Bureau unanimously approved the
proposal.
17.6. MINIMUM NATIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
Prof. Ohtaki briefly described his concern that the high minimum
National Subscription was preventing the chemical societies of
many less developed countries from joining IUPAC. Prof. Ward
then provided some background on the reasons for raising the
minimum subscription. The major reason was the fact that National
Subscriptions in general had been steadily increasing while the
minimum subscription had remained the same for many years. Also,
the Finance Committee had felt that USD 1 000 represents a relatively
modest amount for full membership in the Union.
There was then a general discussion of the proposal to replace
the current category of Observer Countries with that of Associate
National Adhering Organization. The new category would have three
classifications of membership depending on the amount of the
subscription. Category C Associate NAOs would be equivalent to
the current Observer Countries, while category B & A Associate
NAOs would pay amounts less than the minimum subscription. They
would not have voting rights, but would have the right to nominate
National Representatives to IUPAC bodies. There was some discussion
of granting voting rights to category A & B Associate Members.
Granting voting rights to a new group of members paying less
than the current minimum would further compress the number of
votes related to the National Subscription. The question of a
group of countries joining as a single entity was also raised.
Other possible benefits for Associate NAOs were discussed, including
the right to have voting members of Division Committees and other
IUPAC bodies. If full membership at a reduced minimum subscription
were made available to "developing countries", the
Union would have to define what it meant by "developing
country" very carefully, since the same amount of money
can be a large or a small sum for different "developing
countries".
The Bureau voted to recommend that Council change the name
of the current category of "Observer Countries" to
"Associate National Adhering Organizations".
The President proposed, and the Bureau agreed, that the Secretary
General and the Executive Director would prepare a document for
the Executive Committee on this subject. This document would
address the levels of participation possible for different categories
of Associate NAOs, the possibility of regional membership on
IUPAC bodies and the possibility of revising the voting table
to enable voting in Council by members contributing less than
the current minimum subscription.
In the course of the discussion, the Executive Director provided
figures on the projected assignment of votes at the 1999 General
Assembly based on the current allocation policy adopted in 1995.
A number of Bureau Members expressed surprise and concern that
"compression" of the voting range had occurred so soon,
with only two countries now listed as having one vote. The Secretary
General was asked to prepare a discussion paper for initial consideration
by the EC on options for future adjustment of votes.
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Page last modified 10 November 1998.
Copyright © 1997, 98 International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry.