RST AGM - Secretary's statement

[BrahimHemdani 1]

I have slightly abridged my AGM statement [where indicated] below for the sake of brevity since some of the matters are covered in greater detail on the other thread I have just posted about the financial affairs of RST.

 

RANGERS SUPPORTERS TRUST

AGM 19 SEPTEMBER 2010

STATEMENT BY ALAN S HARRIS

 

As Secretary of the Trust at the Financial Year end and at the time of the audit it was my responsibility to sign the accounts on behalf of the Board. I am an Independent Financial Adviser by profession and both I and my business are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). I am also a Director of Supporters Direct (SD) which is the umbrella organisation for Supporters Trusts.

 

The auditors of RST drew attention to a debt of �£2,690 arising from bounced cheques issued by followfollow.com. This means that the Trustâ��s money, your money from your contributions and events, effectively was lent to followfollow.com. That loan was outstanding in whole or in part during most of our last two financial years. This was known to the Chair, the Vice Chair and the Treasurer but the Board were never informed.

 

The auditors pointed out that our Rules, which determine our objectives, do not allow for making loans to third parties and that as a result there were breaches of various Rules. The auditors stated furthermore that breaching these Rules could lead to action being taken by the FSA or our taxable status being challenged by the Revenue. In other words by making the loan we could become taxable on our income.

 

In addition to followfollow.com, the Trust received and paid income on behalf of other third parties such as the Erskine Appeal, Sam English Committee and for some reason that I don�t understand we also had monies owing to the Student Loan Company.

 

The auditors [abridged] (stated) there was no documented reconciliation to ensure that only income received was in fact repaid to third parties; [abridged] this could lead to wrong amounts being paid and expenses not being recouped from third parties; the possibility of inaccurate accounts; and an increased likelihood of errors or misappropriations.

 

My professional standing and integrity are very important to me. Indeed it was as a result of my standing in the financial services community that earlier this year I was able to introduce the solicitors who were (said to be) acting for the richest man in Scotland who was considering underwriting our bid for the Club. I took the view that if I had signed the Accounts I would be putting my professional standing at risk by condoning the mismanagement and irregularities disclosed in the audit. Furthermore, I was not prepared to jeopardise my own business authorisation by being associated with breaches of Rules that the auditors said could result in action being taken by the FSA. Therefore I was not prepared to sign the Accounts and in the circumstances concluded that I should resign as Secretary which I did on 12 August.

 

Some people have asked why I did not resign from the Board at the same time. Certainly that was my original intention. There were two reasons why I did not do so:

 

1. Several Board members urged me to remain on the Board arguing that they would then be well placed to ensure that the Board acted responsibly by implementing my financial management proposals and ensuring that others stood down; but more importantly,

 

2. I wanted to ensure that if necessary I was in a position to make these facts known to the members especially all of you have taken the time to be here today.

 

Of course it is for you the members to decide the best way forward for the Trust.

 

For my part I am glad to have had the opportunity to serve as Secretary of RST and I am proud of my contribution. During my time on the Board and six months as secretary I re-wrote the Rules of Gersave and wrote a set of Financial Management Proposals including requirements to have budgets and controls over income and expenditure. I made a significant contribution to the Acquisition Proposal for the Club that we drew up in March. Lastly I introduced an election procedure based on SD best practice.

 

At all times I have acted in the best interests of the Trust and the wider trust movement which I now serve as Director of Supporters Direct. SD are aware of my resignation and the reasons for it and have indicated that they feel I have acted with propriety.

 

Alan S Harris

[Guest Dylanger]

Would it be right to assess since this statement probably won't reach the membership and that membership activity is pretty inert that this will now boil down to being solved internally by the RST board?

 

Am I also right in thinking (and this depends on the timeline of what you are referring to) that the three office bearers who were aware of this are either no longer in their positions or are in the process of stepping down?

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Would it be right to assess since this statement probably won't reach the membership and that membership activity is pretty inert that this will now boil down to being solved internally by the RST board?

 

Am I also right in thinking (and this depends on the timeline of what you are referring to) that the three office bearers who were aware of this are either no longer in their positions or are in the process of stepping down?

 

I can't answer the first point but you may feel free to circulate it wherever you chose.

 

Unfortunately I was not able to attend the last properly constituted RST Board meeting on 26 August 2010 and the customary post AGM meeting to appoint new officers did not take place. However, according to the RST web site all three office bearers concerned remain in post at this time. The Chair, Stephen Smith stated at the AGM that he would not chair another AGM; beyond that, I do not know his intentions. However, I believe you know him well enough to ask him! It is my understanding that Alison is going to replace Chrisitine as Treasurer but I do not know when.

 

Alan

[Guest Dylanger]

I suppose this will hit most if not all of the websites but inevitably there will be a different side/slant to the story which might confuse the membership further.

 

I think SS has stated he plans to leave the Chair before the next AGM but I wasn't there.

 

I suspect/fear this is going to drag on and the Trust will be damaged further until a line is drawn under it all.

[boss 0]

It is frightening to think that the RST board tried to cover this up.

 

Shame on those board directors who tried to keep the facts from the members - in it for yourselves and to see how many books and t-shirts you can sell.

[Guest Dylanger]

It is frightening to think that the RST board tried to cover this up.

 

Shame on those board directors who tried to keep the facts from the members - in it for yourselves and to see how many books and t-shirts you can sell.

 

If you read it fully it's clear only 4 individuals out of the board knew about it.

[plgsarmy 111]

At all times I have acted in the best interests of the Trust SD are aware of my resignation and the reasons for it and have indicated that they feel I have acted with propriety.

 

Alan S Harris

 

Right Alan, so you have. Do SD have your version or what actually happened?

[Guest Dylanger]

Right Alan, so you have. Do SD have your version or what actually happened?

 

Christine will there be other comments or will we need to wait for the official RST statement on this?

[plgsarmy 111]

Christine will there be other comments or will we need to wait for the official RST statement on this?

 

B, I don't think I'll make further comment and will probably wait until our official statement.

[Guest Dylanger]

B, I don't think I'll make further comment and will probably wait until our official statement.

 

I hadn't seen your other comment-I think it's clear as I suspected was the case that there are quite different interpretations of what has actually unfolded. Inevitably due to the forum wars certain versions will want to be believed and others dismissed hopefully when the details emerge the truth will be clear and/or what parts of this are subjective.