Hi Sam, just to make 2 corrections here: - NCUC has already a representative, James Gannon, to NCSG FC and I do think he participated in your election - NCSG doesn't have a bank account. Best, Rafik 2016-07-03 21:29 GMT+09:00 Sam Lanfranco <[log in to unmask]>: > I would like to thank those who have wished me well in the position as > Chair of the NCSG finance committee and take this opportunity to make a > short assessment of the issues and challenges to be faced. First, here is a > bit of background. I am the long serving treasurer for a small community > museum support group whose budget amounts are similar to those involved in > this position. I have been on non-profit boards with annual budgets of > several million dollars , and with a past as board chair I am well aware of > the transparency and accountability requirements for fiduciary > responsibility. > > I am now also the treasurer for NPOC and will represent NPOC on the > finance committee. Tapani, as chair of NCSG, is on the committee. NCUC will > designate a person to the committee. > > Initially I have two goals. The first is to propose a reporting scheme for > NCSG, NCUC and NPOC to report out financial information in ways that > support transparency and accountability, as a matter of best practice and > not because of any worries about accountability. The second is look for > possible improvements for how the modest (minimal) funding is administered. > That involves dealing with a number of minor but bedeviling issues. None of > our three entities has an independent legal status (we are not NGO’s). > Thus, most financial systems will not allow us to have independent bank > accounts. At the moment the NPOC account is held by an individual, as is > the case I believe for NCSG and NCUC. Also, for such accounts national tax > authorities may treat deposits as “personal income” and impose taxes. The > committee will explore (the rather limited) options for independent bank > accounts. The occasional suggestion that NCSG, et. al., look to > incorporation as not-for-profit entities brings additional complications > and is an unlikely option. > > Some of the comments have brought up the prospects for “fund raising”. > Certainly, if George Soros turned up with his Open Government support > cheque/check book, we would figure out how to be grateful recipients, but > that is unlikely. At the moment the activities of our groups may have > modest ongoing financial support from some quarters, but we mainly gain > effectiveness in outreach and engagement by partnering in with others to do > what we do. That is probably where we best continue our efforts to leverage > our effectiveness in outreach and engagement, and in recruiting support for > engagement within ICANN's activities. I note that “partnership” is goal #17 > in the UN’s list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). > > It is beyond the scope of the finance committee but we might collectively > consider doing an annual report of such collaborative outreach and > engagement to document the extent of our multistakeholder engagement with > our constituencies and their interests in Internet governance, interests > that in their case may go well beyond ICANN’s internal remit. Such a > report would be in addition to ICANN's efforts at internal Key Performance > Indicators (PKIs). Lastly, any and all suggestions are gratefully accepted. > > Sam Lanfranco, NCSG Finance Committee >