Annual Financial Report for the Financial Year ending 31 December 1997.
You have before you copies of the audited financial statements of the Society for the 1996 financial year. It is with pleasure that I can once again report on a stable financial year for your Society, during which the overall financial position continued to show growth of R21 000.00. While subscription income declined with respect to 1995, interest earned, together with a surplus from the 1996 congress in Zimbabwe supported this growth. The financial development of the Society continued in the absence of any increase in subscription rates.
During 1996 the Society employed funds towards the acquisition of office equipment, and some R10 000.00 for bursaries supporting attendance at the 1996 congress. Other expense items remained within typical ranges.
I was unable to attend the Annual General Meetings of the Society during 1995 and 1996. I note, however, from the minutes of these gatherings, that there has been some discussion concerning the way in which the accumulated funds of the Society should be employed. I should like to take this opportunity of providing you with some background as to the reasoning underlying the financial development of SASAQS. During 1993, and following the highly-successful Cape Town conference, the Cape Town Executive decided financial development should be focussed towards enabling the Society to show a greater degree of independence, and less reliance on facilities and equipment made available by the employers of the incumbent members of EXCO. In addition, a decision was made that capital growth should be sustained until such time that the annual interest earning would support the production of a second edition of the Society journal per financial year. Publication and mailing of a single issue of our journal costs in the region of R10 000 per print run of 500 copies. Lastly, the financial records, accounting and invoicing procedures were to be computerized. This is an ongoing process carried out in close consultation with the Society's auditors.
I have included a graph which shows the financial
position of the Society, where records exist, for the
period 1972 to 1996. The target growth level of
R100 000 was reached during 1995, allowing the
Society to purchase some fundamental items of
office equipment and support the issuing of
bursaries for conference attendance and/or travel
costs. SASAQS has, therefore, attained its primary
goal of financial stability, and this only seven years
after the records showed a net loss for the 1990
financial year. The need to increase annual
subscriptions, or the registration fees for
locally-held annual meetings of the Society, has not
arisen for several years.
I would suggest that it would be prudent for the current and future Executives of the Society to apply the accumulated funds in such a manner as to meaningfully advance the interests of the Society, whilst retaining the present level of financial stability.
-- William R. Harding - Honorary Treasurer
Fisher Hoffman Sithole
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (SA)
REGISTERED ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS
1ST FLOOR, FISHER HOFFMAN HOUSE
17 NEW CHURCH STREET
CAPE TOWN 8000
TELEFAX (021) 233898
DOCEX NO 26
TELEPHONE (021) 23 5000
QUALIFIED REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN SOCIETY OF AQUATIC SCIENTISTS
We have audited the annual financial statements set out on the following pages. These financial statements are the responsibility of the trustees. Our responsibility is to report on these financial statements.
We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. These standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance that, in all material aspects, fair presentation is achieved in the financial statements. An audit includes an evaluation of the appropriateness of the accounting policies, an examination, on a test basis, of evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures included in the financial statements, an assessment of the reasonableness of significant estimates and a consideration of the appropriateness of the overall financial statement presentation. We consider that our audit procedures were appropriate in the circumstances to express our opinion presented below.
In common with similar organisations, it is not feasible for the organisation to institute accounting controls over cash collections from subscriptions prior to the initial entry of the collections in the accounting records. Accordingly, it was impractical for us to extend our examination beyond the receipts actually recorded.
Except for the effects of any adjustments which might have been necessary had it been possible for us to extend our examination of cash collections from donations, in our opinion these financial statements fairly present the financial position of the organisation at 31 December 1996, and the result of its operations and cash flow information for the year then ended in the manner required by the Fund Raising Act.
(signed)
FISHER HOFFMAN SITHOLE
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (SA)
REGISTERED ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS
CAPE TOWN
25 APRIL 1997
SASAQS BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 1996
| NOTE | 1996 | 1995 | ||
| FUNDS EMPLOYED | R | R | ||
| ACCUMULATED FUNDS | 132004 | 111222 | ||
| EMPLOYMENT OF FUNDS | ||||
| INVESTMENTS | 1 | 100297 | 87378 | |
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | 31707 | 23844 | ||
| CURRENT ASSETS | 42040 | 32789 | ||
| Current account and cash on hand | 39040 | 30289 | ||
| Prepaid expenses | 2 | 3000 | 2500 | |
| CURRENT LIABILITIES | 10333 | 8945 | ||
| Audit fee | 1000 | 1000 | ||
| Creditors | 3 | 7500 | 7500 | |
| Prepaid subscriptions | 1833 | 445 | ||
| 132004 | 111222 |
| NOTE | 1996 | 1995 | ||
| 1. | INVESTMENTS | R | R | |
| Nedbonus savings account | 100297 | 87378 | ||
| 2. | PREPAID EXPENSES | |||
| Advance payments for the 1997 / 1978 congresses | ||||
| 3. | CREDITORS | |||
| Provision for printing and stationery expenses in respect of current year, paid during the next financial year. |
SASAQS INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 1996
| 1996
R |
1996
R | ||
| INCOME | 51838 | 43820 | |
| Subscriptions | 17033 | 17827 | |
| Interest received | 13290 | 11155 | |
| Congress surplus | 21515 | 14838 | |
| EXPENSES | 31056 | 25244 | |
| Administration and typing | 1766 | 915 | |
| Audit fee | 855 | 827 | |
| Bank charges | 316 | 193 | |
| Conference bursaries | 9726 | - | |
| Computer Software and equipment | - | 7907 | |
| Honoraria | 2000 | 2000 | |
| Office equipment | 1778 | - | |
| Postage and telephone | 3742 | 3806 | |
| Printing and stationery | 10873 | 9596 | |
| NET INCOME FOR THE YEAR | 20782 | 18576 | |
| ACCUMULATED FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD | 111222 | 92646 | |
| ACCUMULATED FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 132004 | 111222 |