The Irish Sailing Association’s recently-published 2022 annual financial statements present a picture of robust financial good health, with almost €1.4m in the bank, though nearly €900k of this reflects grants received, which have yet to be disbursed.
However, the summarised financial statements provide no explanation for the extraordinary reversal of the overall operating result, with a surplus of €171k in 2021 turning into a loss of €67k in 2022, a swing of €238k.
The Association’s accounts also show almost €650k in “Members Funds”, to which a further €436k in deferred Grants can be mentally provisionally allocated because it is largely a bookkeeping exercise which is unlikely ever to have to be repaid.
To this, of course, the valuable premises on Park Road in Dun Laoghaire can also be added, which is carried in the accounts at a book value of €116k and is probably conservatively worth something in excess of €2m. The building is currently used as offices for Association staff (which are now closed to the sailing public unless by prior appointment), but with a change in use to domestic accommodation under planning regulations, the value could be considerably more.
The members can take considerable comfort from the healthy state of the Association with liquid and tangible fixed assets worth something close to €3m.
In a major change of policy from what has been adopted for over 30 years, the Board seems to have decided that the members do not need to have sight of the customary unaudited detailed income and expenditure accounts and associated analysis which used to provide a wealth of information and data on the activities of the Association. Instead, the decision seems to be that the members should be satisfied with the minimum statutory disclosures required by law. This contrasts with the five pages devoted to analysing Government Grants received, excluding Covid Grants.
There are no details of salaries, income from the membership, income generated from trading activities, or regulatory compliance and certification roles.
As part of the original Joint Membership Scheme (JMS), this analysis was also promised, on an ongoing basis, to reassure the members that general funds from Core activities were ring-fenced from the High-Performance area. Hopefully, this data will be provided in anticipation of the forthcoming AGM on the 25th of March in a format closer to what the constituent club members of the Association would see in their own annual accounts.
Download the 2022 ISA Accounts below as a PDF file
March 20th 1900 hrs Read update: Irish Sailing Association Publishes 'Updated' Financial Statements
