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Sports

It's time to learn from past mistakes
By Vimal Perera
The Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union was held on the 26th of February. Still there are discussions and newspaper reports about the previous holders of office

The meeting commenced with the Schools Section being absent to record their protest on statements made which they felt were distasteful. The need for reconciliation with, a vital arm, the school section is left behind, and discussion is on, how the AGM was conducted. The Office Bearers continued to sit at the head table and conduct the meeting even after the new president was elected. They also exercised their vote to determine members to the council while the new holders of office continued as spectators. The outgoing President who was in the Chair in the absence of a pro - tem chairman ruled that they hold office till the conclusion of the AGM as per the constitution of the SLRFU.

The constitution states "The office bearers and the council of members of the union, unless they vacate their office earlier, shall hold office from the date of election until the conclusion of the annual general meeting." There is similar wording in the company's act in relation to appointment of directors. The practice, however, is to vacate office once the new members are elected.

The constitution has to be interpreted considering the expectation of the clause and in better interest. Clauses of this nature cover the holder of office to continue if for some reason the annual general meting is not held in the year or is held late. It is not a cover to continue to hold office and exercise a vote once new office bearers are elected. Similarly it is not ethical to remain in office once the new office bearers are elected.

The SLFRFU constitution states the new office bearers shall hold office from the date of election to the conclusion of the AGM. The essence is: what does it mean by the date of election? When does the meeting conclude? The date begins at the first minute of the day. New office bearers are elected at the Annual General Meeting and the term of office should begin once they are elected. The holding of office is therefore till the AGM is held and the new are elected. The clause in the constitution is from the date of election and until the conclusion. There cannot be two sets of people in office. Good practice should have been for the outgoing to give way to the new. What if there was a contest for the post of president and the outgoing president who if being contested was to continue in the chair? The precedence created need to be checked and opinion should be sort preferably from the attorney general through the ministry of sports. Then the ruling is binding and there can be no insinuations cast.

The other question mark is about the accounts tabled. The accounts were not circulated early and a statement has been attributed to the ministry representative. "The accounts were not properly presented."

Has the SLFRU ever presented accounts properly? The constitution of the Union states "The accounts shall be audited by a Chartered Accountant who is a member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Accountants". Where in the framework of accounting in Sri Lanka do we have a Sri Lanka Institute of Accountants? How come the authorities never spotted this?

The more important focus should be to learn from the past and correct oneself for the future. For this the new committee should brainstorm on the negative Rs 18.8 million accumulated fund as at the end of 2004 in comparison to a positive fund of Rs 2 m at the end of 2001. Why the union committed to spend Rs 7.5 m over its income and leave a liability of 7.7 million as against current assets of 1.1m. Why Rs 2.8 million was spent on TV broadcasts without any income generated? This obviously seems to be the result of weak and ineffective management.

The trend will continue as long as those who should voice their opinion are silent at meetings and then resort to discussion outside. The best that could be offered to the new president is to voice your view than to say yes as he is the president and we should agree on what he says.

The union is in a situation of being unable to meet its liabilities, on paper, can be termed to be technically insolvent. It is difficult to understand how the Union is considered a going concern. The Treasures report mentions this but the financial statement and audit report is silent on this vital issue. It is true that the accounting and auditing standard act of 1995 is only applicable to specific business enterprises. "Best Practice", as in governance, would require following the relevant accounting standards. Specifically as these are the accounts of the national body and not that of a Sunday School Society.

The practice as required by accounting standards is for the directors (in this case the council) to accept responsibility for the accounts and to certify same. The accounts are signed by the Treasurer who I presume has taken all responsibility. One reaps what one sows seem appropriate when one looks at the amateurish certification of the accounts. There is neither date nor an indication as to whom the report is addressed.

The scope of the audit has not been mentioned. Nor the accounting policies disclosed. It is true the law requires adherence to these requirements for specified business enterprises but best practice go beyond the law to provide information to the stakeholders. There is social responsibility as this is a national body. We got to learn from our mistakes and look brightly to the future. Experience is a good teacher but the price paid is high.

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