WITH several sporting associations across the country failing to produce clean financial records, resulting in their inability to hold annual general meetings (AGMs) on time, Ali McNab, an adviser to Sport Minister Olivia Grange, says this is negatively affecting the growth and development of sports in the country.

One such association, Netball Jamaica (NJ), has not staged an AGM in almost five years due to its failure to provide audited financial statements to its members. The Tricia Robinson-led NJ organisation had to postpone its AGM several times last year, as members were informed that the audited financial reports were not available.

This has left many members frustrated, with some now calling for new leadership at the organisation. NJ has now planned to stage their AGM this month but no date and time have been set.

“One would have thought by now that good financial records and policies, the whole accounting business as it relates to sporting organisations, would be the norm because it is a requirement,” McNab said. “Even with the fact that successive governments have been giving them financial support, everybody should have their financial records intact.

“For me to hear that there are some associations that are not updated is rather disappointing because we as a country are known for our culture, our music, and our sport, and this is part of who we are. Our sporting bodies will now have to look at it as an industry, and all industries need to have good planning in terms of the business side of things.”

Businessman and financial advisor Dennis Chung says it is vital for local sporting associations to ensure that their finances are intact, as failure to do so could lead to serious financial problems in the future.

“The most important thing in an organisation is really to understand the finances and what is going on,” he said. “If you don’t have proper financial records it means that you can’t really know what is going on, and you won’t have a good budget or anything. It means that you could be running out of money, you could be running into serious financial issues, and you don’t know. Therefore, it is important from that point of view that you keep good financial records.

“It also has implications for the reputation of the directors of a company. When you don’t have proper financial accounts in place it casts some aspersions on the reputation of the directors.”

Chung, who is also the general secretary of Jamaica Football Federation, says failure to produce good financial records could significantly impact an organisation’s reputation and its ability to secure sponsorship in the future.

“The other thing is that for an organisation that doesn’t have proper financial records, it can’t be compliant with taxation,” he said. “You are also not going to be in a position where you have any credibility out there, so people are not going to look at you seriously as an organisation to give you sponsorship because they will not know what is happening with the money they give to you.

“One of the first things that I always do when I go into an organisation is try and get the financial records in place, the accounting updated, and the internal controls in place because that is the foundation of any organisation. If you don’t have that in place then your organisation is basically dead.”

McNab, who is a pro-chancellor of University of Technology, Jamaica, stressed that this issue will impact the growth of sports in Jamaica and hinder the chances of securing sponsorship from corporate Jamaica.

“We are at this stage of our sporting life — and I am talking about all sporting associations — [where] this should not even come up on the table; this should be a given,” he said. “So I think it is important, and I would urge all sporting associations to get their financial records in place.

“I believe that from a government standpoint, in terms of the financial assistance and also if you are going to get foundations to help you, this is absolutely necessary for financial records to be in place and updated so the business of sports can continue to help our young people.”