Chairman Update 17th November 2020
17 November 2020
During week commencing 2nd November 2020 a document was anonymously sent to a number of Society Directors, and was accompanied by a printed note which read “Council do not want you to see this – read carefully”. A council meeting was called to address the serious matter of the breach of a confidential document and was held on Wednesday 11th November 2020.
The document circulated was addressed to the Trustees of the Society and sent via email on 9th September from the Society auditors Macintyre Hudson, following completion of the final stages of the 2018/2019 accounts audit. This letter was marked private and confidential and therefore was not for circulation without consent of the Trustees, no such request was made, and therefore the circulation of this letter was not granted. Consequently, the release of the document to Directors originated from within Council.
The document that was circulated anonymously listed a number of recommendations for possible improvements within the Society’s accounting processes, forming part of good housekeeping procedures. This is a document that is produced annually by the auditors and forms part of the Society audit process. Similar documents relating to previous years are held on file by the Society.
Council had discussed the document and the recommendations during a routine Council meeting held on 9th September 2020, where actions were agreed, and some of these actions have since been completed. Whoever circulated the document obviously has a poor understanding of the audit procedure which accompanies the year end accounts of any organisation such as the Society. There are no elements within the document that discredit the good work that Council continue to procced with for the good of the Society.
The most disappointing aspect of all of this is that it appears that a member of Council, who has been elected by their nation to represent members, to further the aims and objects of the Society, has released a confidential document without consent of their fellow Trustees, this is destructive behaviour, and behaviour such as this reflects badly on fellow Trustees who must feel that they are under suspicion.
Kind Regards
Ian Fleming
Chairman, International Sheepdog Society
