Questions and Answers on the ABPS 2016 Accounts

The ABPS Accounts for 2016 are available here. The graphic below summarises the areas of nett expenditure.

The Answers below are from Nigel Gooch, the ABPS Company Secretary and Treasurer.

Firstly, it is nice to see the ABPS accounts in the black again, congratulations, however Income from Subscriptions, though up from 2015, is actually significantly down when adjusted for the increased affiliation fee (up from £1.10 to £1.25) that were introduced last year. This is worrying, what is the ABPS doing about it ?

ABPS continues to support organised philately through all the avenues available, with a long list of activities which are of benefit to both local and specialised societies and for the benefit of organised philately in the UK. If the list of our endeavours is not long enough I am sure that the executive would like to hear some additional ideas. Please send a delegate to Congress for the Kate Goodman lecture to be given by Graham Winters - "The Future of ABPS"

I assume the larger income and expense on advertising & publications are mostly due to the publication of the ABPS Handbook ?

Your assumption about adverts and publications is correct.

Who have the £8,154 grants gone to ? Is this where the £7,500 payment to "Stamp World Exhibitions Ltd." is included in the accounts (p5 of the accounts) ?

£500 was donated to StampActive Networks.

£37,500 [£7,500 per year for five years] represents a grant from ABPS to the exhibition organisers to support the 2020 international show in London designed to encourage organised philately in the UK and to attract foreign collectors and exhibitors to meet and mix with their colleagues worldwide.

Who are "Stamp World Exhibitions Ltd." and what exactly is the "£37,500 commitment for London 2020" for ?

What is the ABPS getting for this large amount of money ? £7,500 in 2016 amounts to over 35% of the income derived from subscriptions.

What is the relationship between "Stamp World Exhibitions Ltd." and ABPS Exhibitions ? From a quick search on the internet it appears as if the Directors have a number of people in common. Who are the shareholders for "Stamp World Exhibitions" and where are the accounts ?

Stamp World Exhibitions organise the exhibition side of Stampex (bi-annually) and the periodic international exhibitions held in the UK on behalf of ABPS.

As far as I am aware the only common director is Chris King. Stamp World Exhibitions is a company limited by guarantee and therefore has no shareholders - its accounts are available at Companies House.

Every ten years an international exhibition is held in London, one of the centres of organised philately in the world. In the intervening years the show is held elsewhere on the same form of timetable eg Washington 2006, New York 2016 and Boston 2026. London 2020 will be a major international exhibition that not only provides a significant opportunity for exhibitors and collectors to attend and take part, it also is a fundamental way in which philately is promoted within the UK.

These international shows are held under the auspices of the country's national body, in the case of the UK - ABPS, without whose permissions it could and would not take place.

Stamp World Exhibitions (SWE) are delegated by ABPS to organise the show. They are a separately constituted legal entity and they agree to hold harmless ABPS for their actions thus nullifying any financial risk to ABPS. The exhibition is managed 100% by volunteers but the financial overheads are not trivial - probably in excess of £700,000.

The funding grant from ABPS, by its very nature, is given freely with no expectation of repayment, and can be spent by the organising committee in whichever way they feel is most beneficial so long as it is fit and proper. I have spoken to the chairman of the organising committee, a director of SWE and am advised that "at the end of London 2020 the financial outcome will be reviewed by the organising committee and any shortfall / excess will be managed thereafter."

What is the breakdown of the £3,142 spent on "Travelling Expenses" ?

Similar to last year, ABPS committee meeting expenses accounted for 35% of travelling expenses with a further 12% spent on FEPA representation. The remaining 53% covers the costs of attending federation meetings, meetings regarding the organisation of Congress, meetings of the Postal Advisory Council and those of the BPMA.

Can we please have more details on the ABPS Exhibitions accounts. What income sources and cost lines make up the Turnover of £31,750 and Cost of Sales of £32,568 ?

The turnover and cost of sales shown in the accounts of ABPS Exhibitions Ltd are the frame fees received from collectors wishing to exhibit overseas and the associated costs. Regretfully due to the strength of the US$ following the £ crash in early 2016 the latter exceeds the former.