You will have seen from the report of the Treasurer and Finance Committee
that the Union's financial position is a strong one and that the adverse
circumstances in which we found ourselves in the few years following
the stringent measures we were forced to take in 1991 at the Hamburg
Assembly, are well behind us. There are three principal reasons for
this, 1. The efforts that all have made to keep expense down; 2. Ensuring
that national and other subscriptions have been kept in line with inflation
and; 3. The success of our investment policies.
The OECD inflation figures for the last two years have been 4.3% and
3.7% respectively, an average of 4.0%. But since we are now in a strong
position financially and have been generating good surpluses, and because
all the last Council a number of NAOs told of the restricted allocations
granted by their governments, an increase of only one percent in total
national subscriptions is recommended for each of the years 2000 and
2001; it is felt that we should not fall back on the practice of freezing
the level of subscriptions that led to the difficulties that it has
taken so many years to overcome.
The subscriptions of individual NAOs will depend, as well, on any changes
in chemical turnover that have taken place since the last Council meeting.
In the past, the values of chemical turnover have been taken from the
latest UNIDO figures (due to the time needed to collect the national
figures these are always for about five years previously). The latest
edition has many important gaps but the latest equivalent CEFIC figures
are more complete. As a comparison between the two sets show little
differences for individual countries it has been decided to use the
more complete CEFIC figures and to fill in a few gaps with UNIDO figures.
Although only a one-percent increase in total national subscriptions
is being recommended, the strength of the union's finances enables me
to increase the biennial budgets of the Divisions and Standing Committees
by five per cent. The 1998-99 budget for the Standing Committees contained
a contingency sum but because there is a substantial operating reserve
available for 2000-01, this was divided pro-rata between the Committees
before adding the five-percent.
The Operating Reserve, some USD 274K for each year derives from the
unallocated reserve held in the present biennium for expanded programmes
and new projects by Divisions and Standing Committees. It is available
again for the same purposes either directly or through the new Project
Committee.
Thus, the Union now has ample funds to develop and expand its activities
to meet the needs of the vigorous and expanding chemical community.
We must not rest on our laurels and reduce our financial efforts
but, rather, put them to maximum use.
JMW 99.06.04
> Budget Allocations to Divisions and Standing
Committees 2000-01 (pdf file - xKB)
> IUPAC Budget 2000-01 (pdf file - xKB)
> Tentative National Subscriptions 2000-01
(pdf file - xKB)
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