Welcome to my Blog!
I hope this will be useful and effective in keeping us in
touch with each other and ensuring that you can ask about anything you want to
know, and learn what's going on as quickly as possible.
As far as I'm concerned there are only two rules.
- ·
Let’s keep it polite
- · No
anonymous posts please
· And
maybe one request; try to keep it short
Don’t forget that I’m only one person on The Team though;
keep in touch with your executive councillors and let them know what you’re
thinking too. Often, I may deal with your posts by sending them to
one of The Team for attention, or to the office. We’re all here to
make the best job we can of running the organisation and helping you.
Hi Owen, it was mentioned at ACOD that the PL insurance increased from $9000 to $70,000? is this correct?. If so it would appear that DNZ is not charging the full amount on to the clubs as the increase is about 680% but clubs only increased by 150-380% Is this being Subsidized now?
ReplyDeleteI don't recall the exact amounts that were stated at the various points along the way of that discussion but I do know that the original insurer's increase was huge so Victoria engaged that broker who addressed ACOD and he went hunting for someone who would provide the same cover for a lower price. The one who was selected wanted – off the top of my head – around a third of the amount, which is where we landed.
DeleteThe remaining issue as I see it is the distribution of the costs over the different types of club, and this something I intend to review.
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DeleteThanks for the reply, At 70K P/A and no claims history surely there is a case to investigate Self-Insure. Why not let Risk and Audit take a look at it.
DeleteRisk and Audit look at everything. You can be sure they'll be seeing this too.
DeleteUnfortunately Audit and Risk were not consulted on the insurance blow out. Our DS confirmed at ACOD she had not consulted with this safety net. Perhaps our checks and balances are not functioning. Some delegates are waiting for a copy of the insurance policy as promised by our DS.
DeleteHi Owen,
ReplyDeleteI hope I am speaking on behalf of many members of NZKC aka Dogsnz.
Point #1. Many Senior members are struggling yes, I know it affects others also, but I wish to point out our Senior members whom would benefit from a reduction in membership fee. Many now have access to a computer and can view the gazette via the website. In doing this maybe its time that distribution of the Kennel Gazette be optional. This way this can be a saving of $63. I used to appreciate having the Gazette but realize that times have changed and one cannot remain in the past.
Point #2. Members with Kennel Names. Renewals are once again upon us, and its $50 to renew for another year. This is more than membership. I would like to see consideration given to those dedicated loyal members who have continuously renewed their Kennel name for 50 years and more be given free Kennel Membership as gratitude for being supportive for all those years. This is along time being so dedicated to this hobby of ours.
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ReplyDeleteYour last point is easier to answer, so I’ll deal with it first. We do intend to find some way of recognising long service but at this early stage I can’t say what form the recognition will take. Rest assured that it is on our ‘to do’ list, but we have many more pressing matters to sort out first.
ReplyDeleteThe so-called ‘Gazette’ fee is harder to explain. No doubt there was once a time when the ‘Gazette fee’ did literally pay for the Gazette: the one shilling and three pence, or whatever it was, really did pay to have the magazine - written and edited by volunteers, or as a small part of a staff member’s job – printed, wrapped and posted. That would have been up until around 1960.
Then came electronic media and communication with members was no longer about a simple little magazine. The whole field of communication and supporting technology expanded relentlessly. Now we have the website, and all that goes with it.
Financial management and reporting were never simple, but now they are massively complex. That’s why we have accountants, and even they can’t understand each other’s records and reports unless they agree on the methods and terminology to use. Reporting the finances of an organisation the size of ours is just as complex and we ordinary folk would never understand a word (or number) if every little stream of money was described and accounted separately. The Yearbook would be the size of the Old Testament and ACOD would have to be a three-day accounting and financial management seminar.
So here’s my attempt at changing the heading in the Yearbook that says, “Gazette fee.”
To be completely accurate it would have to become a whole paragraph something like this…
“The fee you pay as a contribution towards the cost of everything that is even remotely connected with the whole topic of communication with members, including but not limited to;
Dog World designer/editor’s salary
Supplementary design services by the publishers
Schedule information verification from other DNZ employees
Independent proof-reading (two-eyes on)
Printing costs
Wrapping and postage costs
Engagement with sponsors’ editorial in magazine
Web site maintenance and ongoing development
Web developer/manager’s salary
Web design
IT contractors’ costs as required for maintenance and development (since it’s far too much work for one employee, even full-time)
Share of other staffs’ salaries when they get involved in supporting communications to members”
So if/when the Dog World goes digital, all of those expenses except the physical printing and posting will still be there. Would there be a saving? Well, yes, on paper, but the “Gazette fee” you pay now only subsidises the whole range of communications-related costs. It’s far from covering them all, even when we add in the advertising fees and fees for publishing schedules and notices.
The current website, as everyone agrees, is overdue for a revamp, to say nothing of the need to improve protection of data, electronic security, and prevention of data breaches, which aren’t cheap. That’s going to require engaging contractors and spending considerable amounts of money. We will do it during my term because it’s been put off for too many years already.
So frankly, I doubt there will be any room for a discount or reduction in fees if/when we ever go digital, because the whole pot of money is not paying just to print and post a hard copy of the magazine. It will be like when the council put a water meter on my property. I had to start paying for water, but nobody reduced my rates by the amount they used to call the “water charge.”
Its interesting that based off the accounts, it appears the NZ Dog World Magazine makes a profit. Magazine Subsciptions approx $276K + Adverts & schedules $125K Total income $401K less expenses $201K probably less Editor salary (it is not clear if included in Mag costs).
DeleteYour key word is "appear." You're a businessman, so you know the complexities of putting money in buckets to meet particular needs then finding simpler ways to describe those buckets and what's in them when you're reporting back. Two minutes on Google just now taught me seventeen things that could be included under 'personnel costs' in accounts. Some, like salaries, are obvious, and everyone must include them, but then there are the bits and pieces like meals, travelling expenses, shares of office lighting and heating costs, vehicle costs, and so on and so on.
DeleteDo your company reports include all the same items under ‘personnel costs’ that the reports of the company down the road does? Do they include everything Dogs NZ’s financial reports do? If they don’t, does that mean someone somewhere is cooking the books, or doesn’t know their job?
I think my earlier answer is enough for the purposes of discussion on a blog. I’m sure the office staff would be happy to take you through the accounts at the level of professional account managers if you’re ever in Porirua and want to look in. Please let’s not turn this blog into a forum for discussions I’m not qualified to engage in. I work on the basis of having faith in the people we pay to do these things and explain them; them and the auditors who relieve us of a lot of your money each year to keep them on track.
Owen, I was simply making an observation after your in-depth analysis of the Magazine. The question is, does the NZ Dog World magazine make a profit or a loss on its own? The answer could help with the original question of, could a member opt out of a hard copy of the Mag or pay a bit less and only receive the E version. Apart from a couple of anomalies highlighted by others at ACOD the DNZ accounts are efficient enough.
ReplyDeleteWhen the magazine becomes digital we'll consider the possibility of some sort of reduction, but for the reasons I explained, the "gazette fee" hasn't literally paid for the magazine for decades, like the 'water' component of my rates bill hasn't been paying directly for the water I consumed. Any fee reduction would be a self-imposed loss in real terms.
DeleteHI Owen, Just a couple of things please, Could you do a section where people can ask questions on a topic that you may not have covered yet so that we aren't jamming up questions on a thread that potentially doesn't corelate with the intended question?
ReplyDeleteMy question is in relation to postage costs. I see it was announced today that to save time and money, registration certificates will now not be sent and individuals can download them if they want them. All good if it is for yourself and one of your own puppies but if you have a litter and they are not being sent to the new puppy owner, and it is left up to the breeder to do this, doesn't that cheapen the pedigree of the said puppy? Isn't the honour of getting a pedigree with the logo seal directly from the controlling body to the new owner have a status that we at NZKC/Dogs NZ should treasure? How is it proposed that people without a printer send their pedigrees to their puppy people? They are also two sided I can see this turning into a nightmare for new owners, breeders and then the office trying to track down a pedigree that never arrived in the hands of the new owner. Surely we aren't leaving the thing that sets us a part from the non pedigree world, in the hands of breeders to get pedigrees to people? I still have the originals of my parents first pedigree corgi back in 1970's, I fear the damage this cost saving measure will do won't be able to be reversed without damage.
Cheers
Lisa
Martyn Dobermanns
Answering that on my own is above my pay scale so I'll refer it to EC.
DeleteYou'll have my personal reply by now, and I've answered this above, in a new post.
DeleteFollowing up on Lisa’s first comment. Does the Blog allow questions to be asked by members on new topics? Or is it only for comments on statements made by the President?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point and I have to admit I don't know the answer. I'll take advice on it and get back to you. If worst comes to worst you could send me an email that I could turn into a post, with my take on it included, and the comments could run from there.
Delete