At Agora Budapest, a proposal will be presented about changing the antenna criteria to take into account the recommendation of the Audit Commission about the financial report and the budget of locals. We asked Anna Gots, the Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe, about the proposal to find out how the Network would benefit from these changes.
The AEGEEan: Could you tell us about the motion about the antenna criteria that took place at Agora Enschede?
Anna: In Enschede, we asked the Agora for an exception concerning the fulfillment of the antenna criteria. One of the antenna criteria mentioned in the CIA is the submission of the yearly financial report and the budget until the 1st February, but it is not stated that these have to be approved. This means that even if an incorrect report is submitted, the local still fulfills the criteria. Before Agora Enschede, the Audit Commission checked all the financial reports, made suggestions to the locals for improvement, and then prepared two lists: one with the accepted reports, and another one with those that did not meet certain criteria. We asked the Agora to take this into account, and give the permission to the Internal Relations Director to use this information to decide whether the antenna criteria have been fulfilled. Now we would like to add the requirement of the approval of the financial report and the budget by the Audit Commission to the CIA.
What are the most important points of the proposal?
We are proposing changes to two sections of the CIA. One is the Antenna Criteria – here we would like to add that the Audit Commission has to check and approve all financial reports, and that the criteria is only fulfilled by locals in case the financial report is approved by the Audit Commission. The other section we would like to modify is about the General Financial Rules, by adding an article about the criteria that shall be used to judge whether the financial report is approved.
Why did you see the need for the proposed changes?
In case this proposal is accepted, locals will have to pay more attention to the preparation of their financial documents, and will hopefully increase their knowledge about financial issues. This would result in an increased quality of the financial documents in the association. Furthermore, we would have a solid base of financial documents, that would accurately reflect the financial situation of the locals in case this information is required, for example, by the Mediation Commission or the Financial Director. Another important point is that this way the recommendation of the Audit Commission would be taken into account when deciding about the fulfillment of the antenna criteria.
Written by Zsófia Komáromi, AEGEE-Budapest