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The President Explains and asks a question - VK2ZRH - 13-12-2016
These are my personal comments.
In a President’s Comment back in April 2016 I referred to Italian philosopher, Niccolo Machiavelli, and his observations about change and reform. I said that the previous year had been difficult for the WIA, with an office restructure, the appointment of a new Executive Administrator, the resignation of one Director, and the resignation of two Treasurers, one after a very short term. I said that, in 2015, life as a WIA Director was never going to be easy. Well, it hasn’t got any easier, in fact a lot worse.
Then, I had attended a meeting at the WIA office with Fred Swainston, new Executive Administrator Bruce Deefholts, accountant Murray Leadbetter, and the WIA’s Auditor to get to the bottom of the financial concerns. I reported “On the information available at the time of writing, it seems the WIA has no major financial issues. We expect the Auditor’s review to go smoothly and the financial result for 2015 will be available after that”. The independent Review produced Reviewed accounts for the AGM which were accepted by members.
Well, I was wrong. Our new Treasurers have recently determined that the WIA’s accounting systems did have some significant bookkeeping issues and they are currently working through them as best they can. The Treasurers advise the issues are significant and will result in a significant loss this year, but they are not life threatening to the WIA if managed correctly.
It is too early to tell, but I suspect that a large portion of the loss will be shown to be unavoidable and to do with increases in the general running expenses and the publication and distribution of AR magazine. Some will be shown to be due to decisions to appoint an Executive Director to run the office for a period, a paid Treasurer, and an external book keeping service. There is no suggestion of fraud.
It is important to say that the WIAs accounts have been Reviewed since 2011, not Audited, so errors in book keeping would not normally have been identified in the Review process. It may be that a full Audit is more appropriate each year, or at least every few years.
I also mentioned volunteers and the fact that the WIA only continues to function due to their goodwill and considerable time and effort, but that all Directors and Officers of organisations now carry a considerable burden in the modern world.
This leads me to the current events. The past 6 months or so have been exceedingly difficult, much more so than I have ever seen in my 35 years in my own business. Maybe it’s because, in business, there is a clear financial motive, but in voluntary organisations the motives are less obvious.
At a time when we should all be concentrating on proposed changes to the Radio Communications Act, protecting our bands, STEM initiatives, and encouraging new radio amateurs, the WIA is divided. On one side there are people with years of experience at the coal face working for members, and on the other side there are those who think things should be done differently, better, more efficiently.
No doubt some things could have been done better or differently, but it is what it is – an organisation run by volunteers doing the best job they can and spending countless hours of time that they could be spending enjoying themselves. Both sides are probably right, in parts.
So, where are we now? Calls have been made for four Directors to resign immediately, (myself included) and the Secretary has now received 100 signatures from members calling for a General Meeting to decide the outcome.
Although it sounds like the simplest solution would be for the four Directors to resign, it’s not simple. There are several possible courses of action, each having advantages and disadvantages:
1. The four Directors resign immediately as proposed. The need for an expensive General Meeting is avoided.
The three remaining Directors would need to appoint interim Directors in order to meet the quorum requirements of the Constitution, (could they even do that without a quorum?). Who would they choose?
Have all four Directors done anything that warrants their resignation in an undemocratic process, forced out by the power of social media and some loud voices?
2. The four Directors do not resign immediately and hold-out until the decision of the General Meeting, which will be held in late January. This is the path we are currently on.
The advantage is that the members get to decide the outcome in a democratic process, but if the four Directors are duly dispatched, again the WIA will be left with only three Directors. New people will need to be appointed to Director positions up to the day of the AGM, a couple of months later. Would those new incumbents then have an advantage in the election process?
Additionally, the General meeting will cost the WIA about $10,000 which it can’t really afford.
3. The third option is that all Directors resign effective when the outcome is known from elections, and elections are held as soon as possible.Those Directors that wish to renominate can, but I suspect some will choose not to.
That process satisfies the greater democratic principal of ‘’let the members decide’ and it avoids the need to fill positions with short term Directors up to the AGM, and also avoids the $10,000 cost of calling a General Meeting.
4. And finally, just let the normal election process take place with new Directors being appointed in May. This is by far the simplest option but seems no longer a possibility.
The WIA is a very complex but fragile organisation, short on funds and trying to do way too much with too little resources, with an ageing and slowly but consistently declining membership. The issues the WIA fights for are far too important to let slip, and we all owe our current privileges to the many volunteers that have freely given their time and effort over very many years.
We need to get through this period of change as quickly as possible so the WIA can emerge a better and stronger organisation. There is a lot more at stake here than a few short term issues and personalities.
Right now we are heading towards an expensive General Meeting at the end of January, and notices to members will be posted very soon, (in the next few days).
What is your preference? Let’s hear your views about the best option to clear this mess up.
Phil Wait VK2ASD, WIA President