2015 Budget Execution
 




00:00 Vymala Thuron: Lunch, we have eaten five minutes into lunch already. Perhaps what would be reasonable is just to take this presentation, break for lunch and then we'll come back to this course. So that we can save some time. So please Patrisse item 5.4, 2015 Budget Execution. Five minutes.

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00:40 Patrice Dessee: Hello. My name is Patrisse, I'm the finance director of AFRINIC. I'm gonna quickly run you through the Budget Execution for the 2015, it's basically a finance report after the first quarter of our financial year. The operating cost budget was obviously approved by the board earlier during the year, hence setting us up for a new accounting year full of activities. We have as part of a main ingredient of our financial activities, is the members' billing activities. During the first quarter we were part and parcel of the preparation for the statutory audits, as was already mentioned the accounts are now maintained in US Dollars, so this is gonna be the second year that we're gonna be running the financials in US Dollars. So all of our systems, everything has been converted now into a US Dollar, as our functional currency.

01:43 Patrice Dessee: Usually during the first quarter of the year, the operating activities is fairly slow, there's nothing unusual about that, it's just awaiting to be picked up in the second quarter. As in every year all the membership renewal, which is one of the major activities of finance is to send out all the invoices for the renewals, membership renewals, and these are always done at the end of the year, which is December to enable members to sort of pay their membership fees in good time. We have so far collected in the month of December just in excess of $340,000, that was all paid in respect of 2015 fees. Our fee collection continues to improve, we have put in place a couple of reminders and automation, which is greatly helping us delivering a much higher fee collection. Again under billing side, this is just a couple of stats. We have so far our revenue, fee revenue is now 91% of the annual fees. The balance of a 9% is usually covered by new members for the rest of the year, and you can compare that with last year. This year is 91%, last year same time end of Quarter 1 was 76% here again we see an improvement in our fee revenue.

03:35 Patrice Dessee: As I've just mentioned, there has been a marked improvement in our fee collection since 2013 due to obviously a couple of measures that we've put in place. 70% of the bill members have paid, I think there is a couple of reason for this, we have instituted the late payment penalty unfortunately, but this seems to be helping a lot in quick recovery of membership fees. In addition this year so far as you probably know, we do offer some kind of discount to education institution. For the renewal of membership based on renewal of education institution, there has been a discount amounting to $87,000 that was extended to educational institution, which is basically a 50% of the fees, they don't pay the full amount this is part of our support towards that group of members.

04:34 Patrice Dessee: We have recruited 42 news members during the first quarter, which is more less on target with what we expected. The operating cost during the Quarter 1, reflected obviously the typical slow start of operational year. When we look at the total administrative cost we have reached 24% of the annual budget, which is more or less in line with what we expect, and of course with the distribution cost, which includes meeting and travels and all that we've only achieved 5% of annual budget, but this obviously likely gonna increase. Pick up pace as we move into the second quarter. Total operating cost for the first quarter ended on 19% of annual budget, which is basically not a bad achievement. At this point and time we do not have any major deviation from what we expect to happen during the course of the year. These are some of the numbers, which is individual cost line item and the amounts that was budgeted against what has been spent in the first quarter.

05:46 Patrice Dessee: The next group is the distribution cost, which is the same, it's where you see hardly anything has been spent on there, but obviously with the coming of this meeting which happened on the second quarter we'll start picking up pace for our distribution cost. That's basically the summary of what I've just shown you. As you can see, last year we had at the end of Quarter 1 we had 21% of annual budget, this year we've reached 19%, which is an improvement again, but again the rest of the year will dictate what will happen. Moving forward, it's a bit early at the moment, but it looks like our activities will carry on as normal and obviously operations will pick up pace as soon as we start Quarter 2. The current rate, there is no real indication that there will be any major deviations with all the measures and cost control in place and the only thing that we need to keep eyes on is the ongoing strength of the US Dollars, which is obviously not affecting just us but almost everywhere else in the world.

07:04 Patrice Dessee: Right. Again, this is what we're still focusing on this year: Delivering of service excellence, which I think is the main objective of each and every department and we will continue to put the members first in everything that we do. Thank you.

07:26 Sunday Folayan: Thank you very much, Patrisse. Well, members, we are 10 minutes behind schedule. The question to us is, do we break now and resume with Q&A after lunch or we would rather take the questions now? 

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08:05 Sunday Folayan: We need to approve the appointment of auditors as recommended and also what's the AGMM wants to do with the financial report as presented, but it's proper that we give members the opportunity to discuss before the motions are presented. So it's deliberate that the motions have not been presented, so that we can discuss, but the Chair needs guidance from members. Do we break for lunch now? We're already 10 minutes into lunch time. If so, the Chair seeks a motion from the floor. Please approach the microphone.

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09:00 Sunday Folayan: Please put it on.

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09:09 Sunday Folayan: Okay, it's on now.

09:09 Fiona Assonga: It's on. I think at the end of the day whether we ask the questions now or after lunch the members need time to ask those questions. So, I will throw it back to the Chair to give guidance so long as you are giving us time to have the discussions, because whether we break for lunch or we sit here through the lunch hour, we would like to be able to discuss what has been presented to us.

09:44 Sunday Folayan: Thank you.

09:47 Isaac Kasana: Isaac Kasana from Research and Education Network for Uganda. I want to propose that we take a break now, but make the lunch break short so we that we resume early.

10:00 Sunday Folayan: Thank you. So can you please move it as a motion, not a proposal? Thank you.

10:11 Isaac Kasana: I move a motion to have a short lunch break, so that we'll resume early.

10:16 Sunday Folayan: Motion moved for short lunch break. Seconder? 

10:19 Frank Habitch: Frank from Tanzania Internet Service Providers Association has seconded.

10:23 Sunday Folayan: Thank you. All in favor of lunch break, say break.

10:28 Floor: Break! 

10:30 Sunday Folayan: Those against who are not hungry same sign. Thank you. We shall break for lunch. Bon appetit madame and monsieur. We will be back at exactly 1:30 please, 1:30 we will resume.