Following the issuing of the BHRC accounts to March 2011 it is now possible to report the amount of cash the BHRC has burnt through under the stewardship of the current Chairman and Vice Chairman, Mr Gordon Garnett and Mr Barry Delaney. On 31st March 2006 the accounts showed that the BHRC had £136,388 in the bank and an additional amount of £49,278 held in trust for the Prakas fund was in a separate bank account, the combined total of cash was £185,666.
The BHRC no longer have a separate account for the Prakas fund but include this cash figure as part of the bank account, the £50,000 owed to the Prakas fund is shown as a creditor on the balance sheet. As the BHRC has no other evident means of settling the debt to the Prakas fund then the first £50,000 of any bank balance needs to be discounted. In any event the BHRC accounts at 31st March 2011 show £103,280 in the bank which means that the BHRC spent £82,386 more than it earned in the 5 year period to 31st March 2011 an average of just under £17,000 per year, ( In the 12 month period to 31st March 2011 the BHRC spent £20,156 more than it earned). It should also be noted that there is only £53,280 in the bank if we discount the amount owed to the Prakas Fund.
We do not know what the bank balance is at the moment nor has the BHRC published a budget for the period to 31st March 2012. However if the BHRC continues to spend more money that it earns at the same rate as it has done over the last 5 years then the £53,280 will be spent before the summer of 2014.
It is to be noted that traditionally the BHRC had been successful in balancing its budget and regularly made a small profit, that in the main the £135,00 that was in the bank in 2006 was because the fees paid by owners, trainers and promoters to the BHRC was in excess of the costs incurred by the BHRC. In the period leading up to 2006 the BHRC produced detailed management accounts and budgets regularly throughout the year and produced the annual accounts in enough time to be sent out with the notice of the Annual General Meeting in accordance with the constitution of the BHRC, this has not happened for some years. It could be argued that because the conditions of calling the AGM were not met then the AGM was not valid and any votes taken at such meeting were null and void.
If a financial disaster is to be avoided then the Directors of the BHRC, ie Members of the Council need to ensure that sound financial management is re-introduced at the BHRC. It is a fact of life that no organisation can continue to spend more that it earns year after year without going bust.
Produced by David Senior FCMA using extracts taken from the official annual accounts issued by the BHRC on 31/03/2006 and 31/03/2011
