FINANCE
REPORT
The 2023/24 financial year for Bondi Surf
Bathers’ Lifesaving Club continued to build on
the fundamentals of the prior seasons with a
focus on mitigating the inflationary context as
much as possible. This season we also brought
the interesting challenge of the management
of The Scenic Lounge returning fully to the Club
leading to increased social activities but also a
better understanding of the costs associated
with running a function room. This season we
also experienced the well publicised inflationary
environment leading to a material increase in
our operating expenses and pressures on our
sponsorship partners except for the Legends Lunch
which delivered one of the largest fundraising
outcomes since its inception.
The Club has further improved its strong position
of cash held on accounts and leveraged the
current economic environment to invest in higher
performance term deposit accounts which
delivered additional funding for our operations.
The focus remains on raising funds for the
Clubhouse redevelopment project, which has
had some exciting success during the year, with a
couple of major Grants and Donations received.
Some highlights from the 2023/24 year are:
•
Total income increased to $1,079,383 (2022/23:
$988,807) largely driven by ongoing success in
activations, fundraising events (City2Surf BBQ,
Legends Lunch, BBQs) and strong membership
numbers.
•
Closing cash position and short-term deposits
of $1,650,177 (2022/23: $1,499,474).
•
The Surplus decreased relative to 2022/23
mainly due to the inflationary impact on
operating expenses as well as an increased
return to membership initiatives.
•
Trust account balances were as follow:
Trust
Balance (‘000)
Bassingwaithe
111
Murray
Paterson
27
Jenkins
11
Norman
29
Santos
Jackson
36
Total
131
The Finance Sub-Committee meets bi-monthly to
discuss the Club’s financial matters. The members
of the Sub-Committee have a range of expertise,
ensuring issues are dealt with in a timely and
effective manner and financial challenges and
opportunities are embedded in the overall Club’s
strategy.
The key areas of focus for the coming year for
Finance remain:
•
continuing work with the Fundraising
Committees specifically targeting Government
Grants and supporting the implementation of
all fund-raising options;
•
drive Grant application initiatives to fund
capital expenditure and free up operating
cashflows;
•
support all sections of the Club in promoting
well-planned financial management of their
activities; and
•
continue to develop and implement best-
practice policies, controls and procedures
around financial processes to ensure
transparency, accountability and efficiency.
Maintaining an efficient cost base while
supporting the Club to build long term financial
resilience.
I would like to acknowledge all of those donating
their valuable time and funds to the Club. Your
contributions are critical to the Club achieving its
vision. Notable mentions must be made to:
•
the Legends Lunch Committee for delivering
highly successful events year after year which
deliver substantial funds for the Club;
•
the Building Committee for bringing the project
even closer to execution;
•
the Marketing team for attracting several high
profile corporate activations and sponsorships
and delivering more and more great social
events at The Scenic Lounge;
•
our Members who once again have inspired
and led the community spirit throughout this
challenging year.
Thomas Wetula
Director of Finance
126
BONDI SURF BATHERS’ LIFE SAVING CLUB