The Financial State Of Down

[thegael]

What is needed is an economic report on why  there is such a financial mess in Down GAA.

A reputable group of financial consultants (without links to current or previous county board officers) should be employed to carry out an analysis of the whole situation and why and how this situation has been reached to avoid something similar in the future.

A get out of jail card by virtue of the sale of Newcastle is too short sighted.We need to know why we are in this mess and to avoid this ever happening again.

Selling the family silver is a very lazy way of planning for the future.

[whassupp2]

Roscommon were in this situation last year.
The GAA appointed Mazaars accountants to carry out a full financial audit.
Things are since looking up.
My guess is that Down are not alone in this and that there are several other counties hiding in debt.

[thegael]

The point is we are in this situation.

why?

when this is answered we can then make sure that it doesn't happen again .

Forget about the merits of selling Newcastle , before we come to that issue the reasons why we are in this position should be sorted out.

It is a bit like lending a gambler money what will he do with it ? So before even coming to the issue of Newcastle we need the opinion of unbiased financial consultants / gurus call them what you like to see why we are here and to prevent it happening again , a big lump sum from a shopping multiple hides these issues.

It has to be done in a professional manner. It is not as if we are being run by entrepeneurs like Sean Quinn etc and we can trust their judgements, we cannt so we must have a proffesional appraisall of why we are in this position.

So before moving on we must know why we are in the position we are in now and what the county board has actually done to find out why we are in such a position . What has been done as opposed to just thinking about  the sale of Newcastle and a new facility.

[Over the Bar]

Does the County Board have the right to sell a club's ground?

[behind the wire]

with the prices they charge into club championship matches i dont know how the county board could be in so much debt. but i can see what the gael is saying, we definitely could do with finding out why we are in such a situation. for once gael you have raised a very valid point. are many of the clubs in debt at the minute?

how much ground would it take to build a good base for the county, for example, like owenbeg in derry? its a good idea and as soon as newry is finished id say it'll be the next project on the agenda, or at least it should be. it would mean that the development squads could also have a base to work from and everything would be a bit more organised.

[thegael]

The point is we are in this situation.

why?

when this is answered we can then make sure that it doesn't happen again .

Forget about the merits of selling Newcastle , before we come to that issue the reasons why we are in this position should be sorted out.

It is a bit like lending a gambler money what will he do with it ? So before even coming to the issue of Newcastle we need the opinion of unbiased financial consultants / gurus call them what you like to see why we are here and to prevent it happening again , a big lump sum from a shopping multiple hides these issues.

It has to be done in a professional manner. It is not as if we are being run by entrepeneurs like Sean Quinn etc and we can trust their judgements, we cannt so we must have a proffesional appraisall of why we are in this position.

So before moving on we must know why we are in the position we are in now and what the county board has actually done to find out why we are in such a position . What has been done as opposed to just thinking about  the sale of Newcastle and a new facility.

[armaghniac]

Why not ask Feargal McCormack to sort it out. he knows everything!   

[Pangurban]

Agree with everything Fivetimes has said. Also reasons for financial muddle are multi-factorial. Parc an Iur obviously a big drain, also the current size of Co Squads which are ridiculous

[thegael]

We need  someone total neutral to carry out this analysis , not someone related to previous board members.

Also to receive these new mananagement trendy terms like multi factorial are typical of a white wash and not getting to the core issues.We need a professional analysis from people who are not in anyway shape or form related to previous board members- totally independent .

[Square Ball]

where does the money go we pay into county matches and finals? who knows how many peopel go in? you pay your tenner and you get in, no ticket, no audit trail, how can this be audited?

[Captain Scarlet]

how bad is it?

as was said id reckon there are plenty around who are in a similar mess. there are some serious clowns knockin around county boards.

the gaa need to get an auditor in to all counties i reckon. i know in my club we had one and the amount of money we wated in the last few years was serious and a bit of belt tightening and we're on the up again.

id hate to think what kind of debt aco board could rack up, ball park figure??

[thegael]

These people don't care it is not their money and sure we have a get out of jail card we'll sell an urban venue and get a big pay day !!!

At the same time not worrying why they were in a such a financial position prior to that and come 5  years down the line the same thing happens again.

To prevent this we need a group of totally independent financial consultants with absolutely no family / financial link to the past or present board members to assess what happened and procedures put in place to prevent this happening again.

Also everything must be accounted for and no free lance fundraising must be allowed to be carried out by managers or their representatives.

There is serious money involved here and we need professionals - it is not as if the county board is run by a bunch of entrepeneurs or succesful business men - hence we need safeguards in place regarding procedures and what not - the days of the treasurers  report saying team expenses is long gone,  everything needs to broken down right to the conditioning coach , masseur etc..

[Pangurban]

Quote from the Gael...  everything needs to broken down right to the conditioning coach , masseur etc.
Would that include payment to Managers from under the counter funds, if so, then sorry its never going to happen

[thegael]

I am talking about the Down Co Board and their financial position , again are we  talking about a smokescreen here that pangurban wants to create about the main issue i was talking about!

[Pangurban]

I would have have thought you wished to audit all aspects of the Co.Boards financial transactions, surely that includes payment to managers as well as others you cited such as physios and masseurs. Wheres the smokescreen. I am broadly in sympathy with your proposal, but real politik dictates its never going to happen.