Call for nominations for election as Treasurer of the Academia Europaea#

The Board of Trustees under Regulation 13, hereby issue a call for nominations to members of the Academia Europaea. The Call will be published on the AE website and notified to all members after the AGM on 4 September, 2017. The closing date for receipt of nominations will be midnight on 31 October.

NOMINATIONS PROCEDURE:#

Nominations are open to all Ordinary Members of the Academia Europaea who have a record of regular financial contributions to the Academy. New members are eligible as candidates. Life members are eligible and formally exempted members are also eligible.

For practical reasons of access and travel to meetings, candidates should be resident /working in Europe. There is no requirement for candidates to be based in the UK or to be UK citizens. There are no age limits.

Self-nomination is acceptable, but each candidate must have the agreed support of two members.

The nomination form must be completed fully and returned as an attachment by email to the Executive Secretary execsec@acadeuro.org by the closing date.

The Role of the Treasurer#

The Role of the Treasurer is set out formally in regulation 8.

In addition: The Treasurer is an elected officer of the Academia Europaea and a Trustee. Candidates must therefore be willing to be appointed and assume all the legal responsibilities of Trusteeship under UK Charity and Company law that apply to the Academia Europaea (a company limited by guarantee and a registered not-for-profit charity).

A search group will be appointed by the Trustees, to scrutinise all candidates and a shortlist drawn up. The Board reserves the right to re-open a search, or otherwise identify and approach possible candidates in advance of any election. It is hoped that if circumstances permit and for the first time, an electronic ballot of all eligible members will be arranged. Or, otherwise in line with the regulations, an election shall take place at the 2018 AGM.

The general role of the Treasurer is seen as:

The Treasurer is one of the directly elected officers of the Academy (the others being the President and Vice President(s)) and is de facto, a member of the Board of Trustees and a Director of the Academia Europaea Company Ltd. The Treasurer serves a term of 3 years, renewable for one further term. The Treasurer may be required to act as a counter signatory for the Bank Accounts of the Academy.

The Regulations state that "the duties include budgeting and control and the maintenance and supervision of the accounts and the receipt and expenditure of money on behalf of the AE and any other such duties as the Board may decide". In practice, the AE "budgets" on the basis of a rolling cash-flow forecast, which the Treasurer needs to monitor through the office of the Executive Secretary. Full Accounts with a Balance Sheet and Income/Expenditure statements are prepared once a year as required by law and this may involve discussion with the Auditors.

In addition to monitoring the routine finances of the organisation it is essential that the Treasurer takes a strategic view of the situation and can alert the Board if needed on the longer term financial implications of any initiatives and policy changes. For example I have tried, not always successfully, to keep an eye on the finances of the Annual Meetings which are always financed locally but could have implications for the organisation. The same is true of the new Hubs. The policy with respect to Members Subscriptions also has profound implications for the future of the AE's funding.

The Treasurer will find it useful to have at least a rudimentary acquaintance with accounting practices such as balance sheets, cash flow, out-turn etc. Since the AE is registered in the UK as a private Company limited by guarantee and also a registered charity, these will be governed by UK law. I have found it convenient to call on the London Office but with modern methods of communication this is a marginal advantage.

One thing the Treasurer is not, is the Academia's fundraiser, which is a job for the whole Board led by the President and the Executive Secretary. It is something that requires continuous effort.

Ole Petersen
Treasurer