Board of Trustees Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 24 th October, 2016

Transcription

1 Absent Apologies Present Edge Hill Students Union Board of Trustees Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 24 th October, 2016 Committee Members Full Name Position Initials Matthew Greenhalgh Chair of Board & Sabbatical Officer Trustee MG * Rachel Arland Sabbatical Officer Trustee RA * Lee Arrowsmith Sabbatical Officer Trustee LA * Lauren Mann Sabbatical Officer Trustee LM * Phil Garner External Trustee PG * Colin Dyas External Trustee CD * Joanne Caldwell External Trustee JC * Paul Hodgson External Trustee PH * Conrad Jones External Trustee CJ * Christina Donovan Student Trustee CD * Dawn Chadwick Student Trustee DC * Luke Myer Student Trustee LM * Gareth Shanks Student Trustee GS * In Attendance (Non-Voting) Paul Malone Chief Executive PM * Faye Vaudrey Head of Resources FV * Cleve Rushton Head of Membership Services CR * Ged Parker Head of Commercial Operations GP * Katie Crotty HR Manager KC * Kate Roberts Clerk to the Board KR * Michael Jayson Auditor / Presenting MJ * Section A 001 Apologies for Absence Joanne Caldwell, Luke Myer Absence: Gareth Shanks, Dawn Chadwick

2 002 Chairs Announcements / Actions N/A 003 Decelerations of interest N/A 004 Minutes of the Previous Meeting Trustees are asked to approve the minutes of: Monday, 1 st August 2016 Approved 005 Year End Audited Accounts Speakers Faye Vaudrey & Michael Jayson Overview of audit page 1 referenced. Areas for improvement on last year discussed. Audit doesn t test every single transaction just a sample, looking at the design and operations of control. Control points Overview of Page 1 discussed, then on to Page 4. Changes to accounting standards will have a big impact on other Student Unions, but won t affect EHSU. Changes to report remuneration. No issues identified regarding the International standards tests section 2.2 and 2.3. No issues identified around Management override of controls and management journals. Other matters - page 8 referenced. Clubs and societies not in control as those are treated as separate entities to accounts. These are controlled through restricted funds. EHSU trading trade assets transferred into the students union, 30,000. Systems and Controls Discrepancies in daily takings have been dealt with and are no longer an issue. No sales, approval of purchase orders. Adjustments Representation letter everything declared regarding the accounts. Clubs and societies discussed; how they are managed and how their finances are managed. PM declared clubs are now a part of EHSU again, and are included in the figures. Discussions have been had around what EHSU can provide for societies in the future, processes probably won t change, but may be easier to manage. Societies having responsibility over themselves is discussed, EHSU will be available for guidance, banking etc. not management. 006 Audit Findings Report Speaker CCW / Michael Jayson Leave the appendices for background reading; Fraud and error, risk aware, data protection, risk management and risk appetite. Big improvements from last year Auditor offers an unqualified opinion. They are comfortable that EHSU are making the right disclosures. If staff have any questions, CCW details will be distributed and staff can get in touch. All are happy to sign audit finding reports. 007 Sabbatical Officer Reports Speakers Sabbatical Officers, MG, LA, LM, RA All Sabbatical Officers delivered verbal reports on the Semester so far.

3 President Matthew Greenhalgh - Main points Good start to the year. The last board training was good, this has helped the Officers develop ideas on how they can help next year. Welcome Week had various successes. - More diverse programmes were hosted. - Good engagement from students. Good relationships with departments across the University have been built already. General Successes - 24 hour library extended to 38 weeks over the year. This is a campaign that has been worked on over a few years, and will probably be on going over the next year to come. Elections - Biggest bi elections so far. Just under 6% of student population involved, this equates to over 1000 students. VP Activities Lee Arrowsmith Give it a go scheme - This was a pilot scheme which has room for improvement. - Rather than it happening over just two weeks, it could be constant over the year. Funding for societies that want to collaborate has increased. The amount of societies that can apply for development grant has increased, which in turn will entice people to join and to set up more societies. Good links with academic departments have been created, which in turn is positively effecting sports teams. Faculty of Arts and Sciences have been working well with the Union. MG declared it was good to have more going on rather than just Welcome Week. The halls BBQ s, Give it a Go etc. These activities help with the transition into University life for the student. Queries PG enquired if the University help with these events for Students. MG responded that the University have been much more open to working with the SU, and Senior Leadership members have been involved with some events and campaigns, however they haven t helped financially. VP Welfare - Lauren Mann Consent workshops have been received well. - Feedback is positive so far, only 3% negative. 95% of students said they d learnt something, 94% said they would recommend the workshops to a friend. - To put forward the idea that these workshops should be mandatory every year, a paper on the findings will be produced and taken to the student board. World Mental Health day was a success Alcohol awareness week Housing workshops The University are working with EHSU on these. Queries CD enquired into how the SU monitor students needing help, and what help they need. CR responded by discussing the use of surveys and the monitoring of Advice Centre data. CD discussed the issues around consent and student behaviours being an issue on campus, as reported in the media. These issues are discussed as national, however, there are very little statistics published to analyse. RA discussed how good it was to see students approaching SABs on issues with consent. MG discussed how EHSU can t stop it from happening, but we can continue with raising awareness. VP Academic Representation - Rachel Arland Student Representatives System has changed completely from last year, now operating a 2 reps per year per department process. This has reduced the number of reps but hopefully will allow for increased training and improve the reps that are elected. Quality over quantity. - RA offered to send out papers on the new rep system upon request.

4 There have been some Challenges with communicating with the University. Lecturers have elected incorrectly and nominated incorrectly. Issues were resolved by the end of September as the nominating came to a close. Majority of reps have been elected, however some positions are still unfilled. The reason for this is pinpointed to the new online voting systems being used for the first time, which requires students to write a 200 piece on why they should be elected. The position was presented in a much more formal manner, which could have been a slight barrier. However the outcome of this has been really positive. Food for Thought New campaign offering free food to students in exchange for them talking to students reps. This was an attempt at increasing the communication between students and their representatives. Placements RA sat on the first Institutional Placement group Students Union will work closely with the University on having placements sorted earlier, ensuring students are receiving enough information, and ensuring that when students declare a disability or a carer responsibility they get the support they need. Also working with the Associate Dean of External Relations Specific Successes Sub committee - Students and staff are invited, but only staff are paid for their time. Students are now having their travel expenses paid for, but still not paid for their time, but this is in discussion at the moment. Peer Mentoring Working with Linda Robson from Health on University wide peer mentoring. MG discussed how well the student representation campaign has gone this year, specifically the hall BBQ s encouraging interest for hall reps. 118 students have shown an interest in being nominated as a rep for their hall. Data issues are slowing the process down, however. CR declared the elections will be held in the next couple of weeks, but EHSU will ensure all interested students are kept informed. Section B 008 Management Accounts September 16 Faye Vaudrey Overall summary Page 3 For the month only: Total income was 215,000, Down on budget by 40,000 Up on September 2015 by 7,000 Gross profit was 151,000 - a margin of 70% Total expenditure was 116,000 Net surplus for the month was 35,000 Down on budget by 35,00 Down on September 2015 by 5,000 For the YTD: Total income was 278,500, Down on budget by 30,000 Up on YTD September 2015 by 8,000 Gross profit was 207,000 a margin of 74% Total expenditure was 190,000 Net surplus for the YTD was 16,000 Down on budget by 18,000

5 Down on YTD September 2015 by 11,000 Membership Services Page 5 For September 2015: Overall there has been an underspend in September 2015 of 5,000 With regards to sports expenditure, no direct comparison against last year as there was 1 budget line for the 10% of EHSU s block grant contribution. For the YTD: Total expenditure was 42,000, which is down 16,000 on budget. Total expenditure compared to YTD September 2015 was down 4,000. Commercial overview Page 6 For September 2015: Total Income: Actual = 165,000 Down on budget of 206,000 Up on ,000 Gross profit: Actual = 101,000 Down on budget of 132,000 Up on ,000 Gross profit margin: Actual = 61% Budget of 64% Up on % Net profit: Actual = 52,000 Down on budget of 90,000 Up on ,000 Net profit margin: Actual = 32% Budget of 44% Same as % For YTD 2015: Total Income: Actual = 179,000 Down on budget of 210,000 Up on ,000 Gross profit: Actual = 107,000 Down on budget of 134,000 Up on ,000 Gross profit margin: Actual = 60% Budget of 64% Up on % Net profit: Actual = 44,000 Down on budget of 75,000 Down on Net profit margin: Actual = 25% Budget of 36% Down on % Sales and sponsorship - GP discussed the increased relationship with NUS and their role in booking events on EHSU behalf creating opportunities. FV discussed the growth of 17,000 compared to last year. Appearance of poor performance could be more reliant on budgeting issues. GP discussed the budget was over confident. Various issues occurred during Welcome Week including a fire alarm and a water supply cut off. This resulted in 2 key events ending early and set a negative precedence to the start of term. However, cost control and more focus on marketing will take us back to a reasonable position. GP discussed the laundrette development and the potential for a new retail opportunity - There is currently a retail unit closed on site which has potential for the EHSU, to which the University have verbally agreed. Opening a new shop allows for more competitive pricing and could provide a better experience for students. This is in development with NUS. PG discussed the Students Union hosting an accommodation fair. CR expressed this is something EHSU want to host, however there are various issues around letting agents and accommodation. Only certain letting agencies in Ormskirk are trustworthy, some have put members at risk. Housing week has been pushed back and no landlords will be invited to this. However EHSU are in discussion with

6 the University to see if they can invite landlords to Welcome Back in January, as it seems more appropriate for them to attend this event. LM discussed the conversations taking place with letting agencies and how they need to change. CR announced that the University are supportive of EHSU s stance towards landlords. Various reasons were discussed surrounding the Bar s poor performance this year. It was highlighted that not enough conversation is happening between the Students Union and the students, the best way to find out what they want is to hold student focus groups. Plus the option of having mystery shoppers to gauge customer service and facilities was discussed, however it was identified that that NUS have no central method for this. PM and GP are to work on a trading paper. Balance Sheet Page 13 Stock 36,000 made up of: Wet 18,000 Dry 2,500 Retail 15,500 Debtors 240,000 made up of: - Trade debtors - 40,000 - Cash due to be banked from the trading activities 22,000 - NUS Card sales 15,000 Other debtors - 155,000-25,000 rent grant due from EHU - 100,000 block grant due from EHU - 30,000 NUS Media sales income Prepayments - 45,000 Bank balance was 436,000 at 30/09/16. At the same date in 2015 this was 350,000. Creditors/current liabilities of 200,000: - Trade creditors 130,000 - NUS 77,000, NUS Extra cards 15,000 & remainder other general suppliers Other creditors 25,000 - Rent payment 18,000, NUS Commission for Media Sales 6,000 - Accruals 23,000 - Audit fee, Purchase order accruals (PO s raised but invoices not received yet) - VAT 11,000 - PAYE 13, Business Continuity Management Strategy Gerard Parker Most similar organisations will have a strategy, EHSU could define their own plan or use another frame work. The two frameworks are outlined, both have gone to SMT. ISO model can provide EHSU with a process and a system that is evidence based. Action plan for accreditation they all interlink. No questions all happy to approve recommendation for ISO. 010 Talent Management Strategy Katie Crotty Summary and background of the Talent Management Strategy provided. Two frameworks were discussed CIPD toolkit and the NHS 9 box model Framework.

7 Comparison of the two outlined, but overall recommendation was for EHSU to adopt the NHS framework. This was because the literature and guidance for line managers is easily adaptable, EHSU wouldn t have to start from scratch. Queries Joanne (Apologies) enquired if the University had a similar tool EHSU could adopt. KC discussed The University hosted a Staff Development course in September as a one off project, but there doesn t appear to be anything else. ST enquired if this new system meant there would be a greater budget into staff development. KC discussed that this isn t outlined in the document, but there will be a change in the way the staff development budget is set up. Further information on this can be presented at future BOT meetings. PM discussed the budget has always been there, but hasn t always been used. But in the future it will be more targeted around talent. PM discussed the new HR cloud based platform and how this will allow EHSU to see performance snapshots of the organisation. PG discussed a concern around the relation between performance and pay, ST insisted EHSU will remain supportive of all staff. All happy to approve. 011 Research Project Update Paul Malone EHSU have commissioned NUS to do project regarding the reputation of EHSU and how the organisation communicate with their audience. This will be the first time EHSU have used an outside, independent to provide this information. The project will consist of 2 papers, interviews with senior University staff, 3 student focus groups and an online survey going to students live next week. Between now and December, we will received feedback on the reputation of EHSU, and by February recommendations can be made. Predicated outcome is that there could be a gap with Marketing and Communication across the organisation. Section C 012 Any Other Business None 013 Date and Time of Next Meeting Monday 12 th, December 2016