Chemistry International
Vol. 24, No. 5
September 2002
Treasurers
Column
Balancing
Sources and Uses
What Is the Current Financial Position of IUPAC?
Who Provides the Funds?Sources
Where Does the Money Go?Uses
What are the Challenges Ahead?
Balancing
Sources and Uses
As in
the past (see CI,
September 2001), I would like to discuss the financial situation
of the Union and make some comments on the role of the Unions
finances in furthering its activities. The financial situation of the
Union is good, our reserves are strong, and we have suffered minimally
from the recent decline in the stock market due to the conservative
approach taken by the Finance Committee in managing our investments.
This allows us to continue to do the work for which the Union exists.
The management of our finances is part of the strategic planning of
the Union, matching our resources to our needs. If our activities are
focused on the strategic goals, I believe the recognition of the value
of IUPAC will increase substantially.
What
Is the Current Financial Position of IUPAC?
A complete
review of our financial position as well as the audited statement for
2001 can be found on the IUPAC Web site at <www.iupac.org/news/archives/2002/treasurer-01.html>.
Who
Provides the Funds?Sources
The financial
resources of the Union come from three major sources: National Subscriptions
paid by the National Adhering Organizations; income from publications,
mainly Pure and Applied Chemistry; and investment income. The
Finance Committee manages the reserves of the Union to preserve capital,
not to maximize income. The main purpose of the Reserve Fund is to cushion
the effect of changes in revenue or expenses from biennium to biennium.
The Committee on Printed and Electronic Publications oversees the publication
activities of the Union and is faced with maintaining the income to
the Union from publications in the face of the declining number of subscribers
to our journal, Pure and Applied Chemistry. This is a problem
faced by all publishers of scientific journals.
The pie
chart below shows the sources of the funds used by IUPAC on the top
and the uses of the funds on the bottom. IUPAC spent more than it received
in revenue in the biennium 20002001 and therefore used reserves
to meet its needs. The wedge labeled National Subscriptions includes
all income other than that from publications or reserves, but is almost
entirely from National Subscriptions. The wedge labeled Publications
and AMP (Affiliate Membership Program) is the net of income from the
sale of the Unions journal, books, and magazine and that from
the AMP, less the expenses associated with those activities. This item
is almost entirely income from subscriptions to our journal, Pure
and Applied Chemistry.
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Sources
and uses of IUPAC funds, 2000-2001 biennium.
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Where
Does the Money Go?Uses
The Unions
expenses can be put into three broad categories. The first is the allocation
to Divisions and Standing Committees (STCs), including the Project Committee.
The second is the cost of the General Assembly. The third is the cost
of the support services provided by the Secretariat and the cost of
other items such as the IUPAC Prize, ICSU dues, and support of conferences
in developing countries. The support services of the Secretariat include
management of the project system, disbursing funds, program support
to the Divisions, and maintenance of the Web site. During the current
and future biennia, the cost of the General Assembly will be much smaller,
with those funds being diverted to the first sector in support of projects.
The level
of National Subscriptions is set by the IUPAC Council and is influenced
both by a desire to fund the necessary work of the Union and the difficulty
some National Adhering Organizations have in paying their National Subscriptions,
especially the smaller, less affluent NAOs. However, a number of the
larger countries also have difficulty in funding their National Subscriptions.
This concern led to the formation of a Working Party on National Subscriptions
by the Council at Brisbane.
From discussions
at Brisbane and in the meeting of the Working Party, it appeared that
in addition to the financial impact, other issues were buried in the
problems around National Subscriptions. The Working Party started their
activities very quickly and closed with a meeting in February 2002,
making several proposals to the Executive Committee and further to the
Bureau. These will be discussed by the Bureau and recommendations made
at the next Council meeting, Ottawa 2003. I have greatly appreciated
the fine cooperation and open discussions of the Working Party.
What
are the Challenges Ahead?
The future of IUPAC
is dependent on our financial resources. The problems as outlined above
show that there are some clouds ahead and we must make special efforts
to assure our funding. We have heard some critical comments by different
groupsin and outside of IUPAC.
It
is extremely important that our customers perceive the value of
IUPACs work.
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We take
those seriously and will keep an open dialog. One issue that became
clear in our discussions is the lack of recognition of our work in the
view of some of our partners and customers, NAOs, the chemical industry,
and governments. In most countries, government and industry pay the
National Subscription. It is extremely important that our customers
perceive the value of IUPACs work.
Please actively
convince IUPAC "Partners and Customers" in your country and
in your industry that IUPACs contribution to "Advancing Worldwide
Chemistry" is to the benefit of Mankind. When this message is appreciated,
financial support for IUPAC will follow. Only on a strong income base
can we provide activities that are in line with the IUPAC strategic
plan.
The work
of the treasurer was only possible with the great help of the executive
director and the Finance Committee. We are always open to good thoughts
and inputs
Dr.
Christoph F. Buxtorf is the current treasurer of IUPAC. He is retired
from Novartis Crop Protection where he was head of the Production and
Technology Division and a member of the Executive Committee.