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HCGM Budget Approved

HCGM_LowerRes copyThe postponed HCGM Annual General Assembly was held at the Hellenic Community Centre “Adrian Maris” on Tuesday, January 27, 2015.  The main topics on the Agenda were the presentation of the HCGM audited Financial Statements for the year ended June 30, 2014 and the approval of the HCGM 2014-2015 Consolidated Budget.

Mr. George Koufalis and Mr. Pantelis Tsinalis were elected Chairman and Secretary of the Assembly, respectively, and Andreas Crilis, HCGM Executive Vice President, sat in for President Pagonis, who is presently in Greece.

Following the approval of the Agenda, Mr. Nick Flouris, HCGM Treasurer, presented the audited Financial Statements.  For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, total revenues were $16,097,904 ($16,640,551 the year before) and total expenses amounted to $16,093,683 ($15,941,119 the year before), resulting in an excess of revenues over expenses of $4,221 ($699,432 the year before).  Mr. Flouris underlined the main reasons behind the overall decrease in revenues, including “reduced participation in fundraising campaigns, the grant reductions by the Ministry of Education (MELS) and lower revenues from the churches.”

The HCGM Treasurer then itemised certain elements of the Balance Sheet, including those related to Accounts Receivable, the BMO Line of Credit and the total Community debt.  He also presented the bank interest fees charged over the period, by the various former financial institutions.

“We are aware that we did not have a good year and we intend to focus on those Departments that need to improve their performance, in an effort to do better this year” stated Mr. Flouris at the end of his presentation.

Michael Stern, CPA Auditor, CA, with Ernst & Young – the firm that audits the Community’s books – underlined that his firm complies with the Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards.  “The HCGM was even better prepared this year for the year-end audit and everything went smoothly.  We were very satisfied with what we found.  We have made some recommendations for a few improvements and we are certain that everything will be even better” said Mr. Stern.

The HCGM Treasurer concluded by saying that “the reduction to our bottom line is due to decreased revenues.  The overall expenses have not risen, although there is a slight increase due to inflation, but in general terms, the expenses are under control.”