NORTH ATLANTIC MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION. Sixteenth Meeting of the Council 27 February 1 March 2007, Tromsø, Norway

Transcription

1 NORTH ATLANTIC MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION Sixteenth Meeting of the Council 27 February 1 March 2007, Tromsø, Norway NAMMCO/16/4 REPORT OF THE FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE This document contains the following: 1. Report of the FAC telephone meeting 10 October Report of the FAC meeting 30 January Result (income and expenditure) and Balance sheets for Copy of the auditors report for 2006 Report of the NAMMCO Finance and Administration Committee (FAC) Telephone meeting 10 October 2006 A telephone meeting of the FAC was held on 10 October 2006, from 14:00 14:50 Norwegian time. On line were Ásta Einarsdottir (Iceland) chair, Ole Heinrich and Fernando Ugarte (Greenland), Ulla Wang (Faroe Islands), Halvard P. Johansen (Norway), Christina Lockyer and Charlotte Winsnes (NAMMCO Secretariat). 1. & 2. OPENING REMARKS The Chair, Ásta Einarsdottir, welcomed the participants to the meeting. The Secretariat was appointed as rapporteur. The agenda was adopted. 3. BUDGET ITEMS 3.1 Accounts as of 31 July 2006 The Administrative Coordinator presented the accounts as of 31 July 2006 contained in document NAMMCO/FAC-October/ It was noted that TNASS, the annual Scientific Committee meeting and the Workshop on Struck and Lost will take place in November. Also a major Workshop on Harbour Seals was held the first week of October and these costs are therefore not included in the accounts as of July. Based on the available information a budget "surplus" i.e. not spent money in 2006 of around NOK is anticipated. This surplus relates mainly to the following items: Item 3 Meetings: NOK , Item 4 Staff travel: NOK , Item 5 Communication: NOK , Item 6 Data and office supply: NOK and Item 11 Observation Scheme NOK

2 Special attention was drawn to item 7. Information where in addition to the allocated money there is earmarked funds of NOK to cover the publishing of Volume 6 of the Scientific Series and work on the website. The General Reserve as of was NOK (NOK 146,644 from 2002, NOK 145,100 from 2003 and NOK 297,973 from 2004 and NOK from 2005). The budgeted deficit of NOK (item 24) for 2006 will in view of the anticipated surplus on the budget for 2006 be around NOK , making the general reserve in 2007 around NOK The Committee took note of the accounts as of 31 July. 3.2 Draft Budget for 2007 The Committee agreed to postpone the discussion of the draft budget for 2007 until the next meeting when the audited accounts for 2006 would be available. 4. STAFF EMPLOYMENT SURVEY The General Secretary (GS) introduced the document NAMMCO/FAC- October/2006/3 on the follow up on the staff review from She commented that for the moment, there was no recommendation for additional across-the-board salary increases on 2006 rates apart from the usual anticipated annual adjustments for the Norwegian cost of living index. The possibility of establishing a tradition for periodic accumulated service awards was raised with reference to the fact that this was usual in other organisations. The principle was considered favourably by all members of the committee, but because the document had been distributed late and there had been insufficient time to absorb the content, the decision regarding the timing and periodicity of the awards and amounts was deferred until the next possible face-to-face meeting early in The specific question of awards to the current Administrative Coordinator (who was absent for this discussion), was also considered favourably. All members of the committee agreed that her position with respect to activity and responsibility had increased in recent years, and that she was doing a good job. Along with the possibility of accumulated service awards, the committee agreed to defer detailed discussion on this matter until the next meeting so that there would be ample time to consider the appropriate scale of increase, and how it should be implemented. The salary scale on the renewal contract for the Scientific Secretary was introduced but was not discussed because the text of the contract would clearly not require any inclusion at this stage of accumulated service award. If any award is made next year, this will be described in a text that will be appended to any existing contract at the time. A review of the history of employees salaries since the beginning of NAMMCO will be prepared by the Secretariat for the next meeting of FAC. 2

3 The hypothetical situation where the Scientific Secretary (SS) might request extended unpaid leave in 2007 was raised. This was because some interest in extended unpaid leave had been tentatively raised by the SS. It was pointed out that the reason this had been placed on the agenda now was so that the matter could be informally discussed and feedback given to the SS on how Council might respond to a formal request if presented. A period of up to 12 months was generally not favoured, and certainly not in the first period of a term contract. However, it was pointed out that it would be the third contract period, and after 8 years of service, considering that the SS was doing a good job, it would be good to be open to such a possibility as NAMMCO would hope that he would return. Otherwise, if permission was denied, he might leave anyway and NAMMCO would have to appoint a new SS in which case he would then have no opportunity to return. The conclusion was that such a request should be considered on an individual basis, and that ultimately the GS should decide if such an option was feasible with respect to the current and future workload of the Secretariat. The GS thanked the FAC for their feedback, and noted that as yet, no formal request had yet been received, but should that occur, she would discuss matters closely with the Chair of Council. 5. AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE At the last Council meeting an amendment to the Rules of Procedure (Article 5 item b) was agreed in principle. However FAC was asked to prepare the final text with all specifications for the admission of observers for review at the next Council meeting. The Committee postponed this agenda item to the next meeting. 6. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held at Nordatlantensbrygge in Copenhagen on Tuesday 30 January The meeting will commence at 1300 hours. The report was adopted by correspondence on 27 October REPORT OF THE NAMMCO FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Copenhagen 30 January 2007 A meeting of the NAMMCO Finance and Administration Committee (FAC) was held on 30 January 2007, from 13:00 17:00 at the Faroese Representation in Copenhagen. Present were Ásta Einarsdottir, Chair (Iceland), Ulla S. Wang (Faroe Islands), Halvard P. Johansen (Norway), Christina Lockyer and Charlotte Winsnes (NAMMCO Secretariat). Ole Heinrich (Greenland) was unable to attend due to bad weather conditions. 1. & 2. OPENING REMARKS The Chair, Ásta Einarsdottir, welcomed the participants to the meeting. The agenda was adopted and meeting documents were reviewed. 3

4 3. BUDGET ITEMS 3.1 Audited Accounts 2006 The accounts for 2006 as contained in document NAMMCO/FAC-January/2007/2 were reviewed. The following items were noted in particular: Item 1 Staff related costs: The "overspending" is related to increases in pension payments incurred as a result of the general increase in salary levels from 2006 (NOK ) and inflation regulation of salaries for 2005 paid out in NAMMCO has a "ytelsesbasert" pension scheme through Storebrand. All three members of the Secretariat are members of the scheme. In 2006 the total payment to Storebrand was NOK Net pension funds/obligations are not included in the balance sheet. Item 7 Information: NOK have been used under this budget item in 2006 in relation to the printing of the User Knowledge publication, the Annual Report and the website. The reason the accounts show a surplus of NOK is that previously earmarked funds of NOK have been incorporated back to this budget item. In accordance with decisions at the last Council meeting an additional NOK (budget item 22 under draft budget 2006) which represents the remaining assets of the NAMMCO Fund have also been transferred back to this budget item. Item 15. Workshop: The Workshop on Struck and Lost was held in November An amount of NOK was allocated to the workshop of which NOK have been incurred. Item 24 Balance, item 26 Transfer from General Reserve and item 27 Total General Reserve: The General Reserve as of is NOK (NOK 146,644 from 2002, NOK 145,100 from 2003 and NOK 297,973 from 2004, NOK from 2005 and NOK from 2006). The Committee approved the final accounts for Draft Budget for 2007 and Forecast Budget for 2008 Draft budget for 2007 The Committee reviewed the draft budget for 2007 as contained in document NAMMCO/FAC-January/2007/2, giving special attention to the following items: Expenditure budget items not mentioned in the notes remain at the same levels as for 2006 or as endorsed at the last Council meeting. Item 1. Staff related costs: In addition to the adjustment of salaries in accordance with the Staff Rules Article 6, the Committee recommended an increase in salary of NOK for the Administrative Coordinator (AC) (see agenda item 4 below). Also included under this budget item is an estimated inclusive cost of NOK pertaining to costs of moving back to Canada for the present Scientific Secretary (SS) and for the new SS to move to Tromsø. It was clearly noted that at this stage in the process it would be very difficult to come up with a very reliable estimate. However by the time of the Council meeting more information might be available. 4

5 Item 7. Information: NOK was allocated to cover the publication of Vol. 7 of the Scientific Series, the annual report and some general information. Under this budget item note was taken that there exists earmarked funds of NOK in addition to the allocation. The funds are earmarked for the publication of Vol. 6 of the NAMMCO Scientific Publication Series. Both Volumes are planned to be published in Item 8 Subscriptions: Suggested decrease of NOK to be more in line with actual spending the last years. Item 9 Accounts and auditing: Suggested increase of NOK to be more in line with actual spending the last years. Item 11 Observation Scheme: Based on the planned activities for 2007 the allocation under this budget item is set to NOK Item 13. Scientific Committee: Last year the Scientific Committee budget was increased to NOK to cover some of the extra costs incurred by T-NASS in There is still a need for more money to T-NASS as funding from other sources so far have been scars. The FAC was positive to allocate more money to T-NASS, but was reluctant to do so before having a better estimate of the overall costs combined with the change of SS in the Secretariat. Item 17. Contributions: The contributions have been adjusted for inflation with a 5% increase. Item 24 Balance, item 26 Transfer from General Reserve and item 29 Total General Reserve: The General Reserve as of is NOK (NOK 146,644 from 2002, NOK 145,100 from 2003 and NOK 297,973 from 2004, NOK from 2005, NOK from 2006 and NOK from 2007). Item 28 Relocation fund: Council at its last meeting decided that the Relocation Fund of NOK should be incorporated back into the general budget as of Item 30 Total general reserve incl. relocation fund: Estimated to NOK The Committee agreed to recommend the draft budget for 2007 with budget notes as contained in Annex 1 to the Council. Forecast Budget for 2008 NAMMCO/12 established a practise of adopting a forecast budget on a preliminary basis in order to give the Secretariat a preliminary spending authorisation until the budget for the year in question could be finally approved by the Council at its meeting later that same year. The Committee reviewed the forecast budget for 2008 as contained in document NAMMCO/FAC-January /2007/2, and noted the following items: Budget items not mentioned remain at the same levels as for

6 Item 1. Staff related costs: The staff related costs are adjusted for an expected salary inflation rate of 4,1 %, approx. NOK , in accordance with the Staff Rules Article 6 Item 7. Information: There are presently no special plans pertaining to information (new publications etc). An allocation of NOK is sufficient to cover costs related to printing of the Annual Report, Christmas cards etc. An additional NOK will make it possible to renew some of our information material such as posters. Item 11 Observation Scheme: This budget item is back to its original figure awaiting specific plans for the 2008 activities. Item 13. Scientific Committee: This budget item is back to its pre T-NASS figure. Item 17. Contributions: The contributions have been adjusted for inflation with a 3,01 % weighted inflation rate, approx. NOK (Prognosis for salary inflation rate is 4,1 % and inflation rate for goods and services is 1,5% according to SSB). The Committee agreed to recommend the forecast budget for 2008 contained in Annex 1 to the Council. 4. STAFF EMPLOYMENT SURVEY The Administrative Coordinator left the meeting under this agenda item. The General Secretary introduced the documents NAMMCO/FAC-January/2007/3 and NAMMCO/FAC-January/2007/4. The latter had been produced in response to a request from the FAC in October 2006 and was a table that comprised a record of gross salaries for all members of the NAMMCO Secretariat since 1993 up to and including Comment was made regarding the Assistant Secretary post in 1993 and 1994, which had ultimately been overtaken by the new Scientific Secretary post in Clearly salaries had risen in line with inflation and also with the recent awards in The GS reminded the FAC that although no further request for a consideration of overall salary increases to bring NAMMCO salaries in line with other international organisations was pending at present, current salaries were at least comparable with NAFO, although there was still a shortfall with respect to other organisations based on UN and ICSC/IMO rates of pay. The FAC were aware that the NAMMCO staff salary and conditions review is still ongoing. Attention then turned to the specific awards requested for the Administrative Coordinator. It had previously been agreed unofficially, that pay awards made to this officer in 2006 would be examined in more depth at a later date; the 2006 award being a temporary arrangement. NAMMCO/FAC-January/2007/3 presented the case for two possible grounds for a pay award: years of service and also a change in job status with increased responsibility. The FAC were favourable to these recommendations, but it was generally agreed that the aspect of long-service awards would be deferred to 2008, and therefore focussed on the responsibility aspect. The FAC also considered that a change in title more befitting the position should be sought because the job had changed considerably and evolved over the years. 6

7 Consideration of both the recommendations of scale of award made by the GS and the overall capacity of the existing budget resulted in an agreed increase in salary for the AC of NOK to be back-dated to 1 st January 2007 once approved by Council at the 16th Annual Meeting. Furthermore the AC would work with the GS to find a suitable new job title for her position which would be notified to Council at the 16th Annual Meeting. 5. AMENDMENT TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE At the last Council meeting an amendment to the Rules of Procedure (Article 5 item b) was agreed in principle. The FAC should prepare a text on specifications for the admission of observers for review at the next Council meeting, and Greenland was tasked with supplying a draft text for the amendment. As background documentation for the deliberations under this agenda item, Faroe Islands had supplied an extract, $34 and $35 from the RoP of NEAFC in advance. Since Greenland was unable to participate in the meeting due to weather conditions and had supplied no written material for the meeting to consider, the FAC tasked the Secretariat to present a text to be discussed by the Heads of Delegation when they meet prior to the Annual meeting in Tromsø. The text should build on the existing RoP with input from the NEAFC RoP. 6. SCIENTIFIC SECRETARY The General Secretary updated the FAC on the process of hiring a new Scientific Secretary. The position had attracted a lot of interest from all over the world and it was anticipated that there would be quite a few very competent applicants. The Interview Board will consist of the two Chairs of the Council and the Scientific Committee, the General Secretary and the Administrative Coordinator from the Secretariat. The plan is to hold interviews in Tromsø either just prior to or after the Annual Meeting. 7. ANY OTHER BUSINESS The FAC was pleased to learn that the IUCN had taken the minke whale off the Red List. The FAC took note of an article on BBC News regarding Norway s plans to offset the greenhouse gases produced by public employees when flying abroad by buying emission credits. The FAC was pleased that the EU Seal Campaign had not succeeded in banning import of seal products. 8. ADOPTION OF REPORT The report was adopted by correspondence on 19 February

8 INCOME AN EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT For 2006 (1 January - 31 December - in Norwegian kroner - NOK) INCOME Contributions Interest Book sale Employers Tax Employees Tax TOTAL INCOME EXPENDITURE Staff related costs Rent of premises Meetings Travel and subsistence Communications Data & office supplies Information Subscriptions & reference Accounts & auditing External expertise Observation Scheme Other expenses Scientific Committee NAMMCO Conference TOTAL EXPENDITURE Excess of income over expenditure Excess of expenditure over income(-) Transfer from General Reserve Transfer to General Reserve Total transfer

9 BALANCE SHEET 31 DECEMBER 2006 (NOK) ASSETS Outstanding claims Bank deposits TOTAL ASSETS EQUITY Distributable equity General Reserve Restricted equity Relocation Fund TOTAL EQUITY LIABILITIES Other NAMMCO Fund Creditors Employers tax Feriepenger TOTAL LIABILITIES TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

10 10 NAMMCO/16/4