Should the January Newsletter not be posted here for all members to see?
Ian Taylor
January Newsletter
We agree with you Ian about Posting Newsletters on here, but are sure that it will be in due course, as the Committee have said that they recognise frequent communication with Members is important. It would also be a good idea to have the Newsletters from at least the last year on here too please? They've probably been too busy interviewing and appointing a new General Manager - welcome to Keith Jones, and two new Committee Members - welcome to Maureen and Ron too. We hope to meet you in the future, either virtually at the AGM or when staying at Rannoch.
We found the Newsletter very refreshing and positive - great to get some good news about the Club. We hope the Committee can now move forward and be given time to demonstrate that they can achieve positive results for Members, against the background of Covid and associated difficulties. Clearly from the items covered in the Newsletter, they've been beavering away busily behind the scenes e.g. Accounts, Club Membership, Exit Strategy and Check-in times. All very time consuming, but demonstrating their commitment to the Club, which we appreciate.
It will be interesting to hear about Loch Rannoch Estate's outline proposals, but it's good to know that there have been positive talks with Nick Pattie. It sounds as if LRHC and the Hotel are on the same wavelength.
With 90% of Fees paid, it's disappointing to hear that Red Deer upgrades aren't going ahead yet. However we're sure that the Committee will schedule the work as soon as it's financially prudent. After all, we Members elected them to make decisions which are the right ones for LRHC.
We found the Newsletter very refreshing and positive - great to get some good news about the Club. We hope the Committee can now move forward and be given time to demonstrate that they can achieve positive results for Members, against the background of Covid and associated difficulties. Clearly from the items covered in the Newsletter, they've been beavering away busily behind the scenes e.g. Accounts, Club Membership, Exit Strategy and Check-in times. All very time consuming, but demonstrating their commitment to the Club, which we appreciate.
It will be interesting to hear about Loch Rannoch Estate's outline proposals, but it's good to know that there have been positive talks with Nick Pattie. It sounds as if LRHC and the Hotel are on the same wavelength.
With 90% of Fees paid, it's disappointing to hear that Red Deer upgrades aren't going ahead yet. However we're sure that the Committee will schedule the work as soon as it's financially prudent. After all, we Members elected them to make decisions which are the right ones for LRHC.
Audit Update
I am please to update you that the audit for the June 2020 accounts is progressing well. I have
prepared my initial queries schedule and will be sending it to Katie at Morris & Young at some point
today, (21st January 2021.)
These queries are a mixture of requests for documentation to test check and some generic audit
questions which I am confident can be answered easily enough. At present, there are no major
concerns about the accounts containing any material misstatements, however, until the queries have
been answered and I have finalised the file, I cannot confirm this.
With this being our first year as auditors, the engagement is taking slightly longer than normal.
Additionally, January is our busiest month of the year with the fast-approaching tax return deadline.
Given the circumstances, I completely understand that there is frustration in not having these
accounts ready, but it is important to understand that they are not late from a statutory point of view
and have only been delayed in line with the AGM.
It is my hope that the audit can be completed and ready to be signed off by Friday 5th February. I trust
this meets with your approval however if you have any queries or questions then please feel free to
get in touch through either Norman Laidlaw or Katie Hefer.
Many thanks.
I am please to update you that the audit for the June 2020 accounts is progressing well. I have
prepared my initial queries schedule and will be sending it to Katie at Morris & Young at some point
today, (21st January 2021.)
These queries are a mixture of requests for documentation to test check and some generic audit
questions which I am confident can be answered easily enough. At present, there are no major
concerns about the accounts containing any material misstatements, however, until the queries have
been answered and I have finalised the file, I cannot confirm this.
With this being our first year as auditors, the engagement is taking slightly longer than normal.
Additionally, January is our busiest month of the year with the fast-approaching tax return deadline.
Given the circumstances, I completely understand that there is frustration in not having these
accounts ready, but it is important to understand that they are not late from a statutory point of view
and have only been delayed in line with the AGM.
It is my hope that the audit can be completed and ready to be signed off by Friday 5th February. I trust
this meets with your approval however if you have any queries or questions then please feel free to
get in touch through either Norman Laidlaw or Katie Hefer.
Many thanks.
Good morning Norman,
Although I appreciate your post concerning the accounts, [is it in the correct section of the Forum?] I would have thought that Frances would have been the ‘poster’ as it was her who had been in charge of them previously.
In your post you state “With this being our first year as auditors,......’ Is the committee now our auditors or has this post been written by some outside agency, such as Morris & Young who have, I believe, been auditors for a number of years?
I am also concerned when you state the accounts are not late - in my mind they are VERY late and should have been available for our AGM in November 2020. Because that AGM was not held due to Covid-19 is no excuse for the accounts not to have been prepared and audited.
You also mention there are a number of question requiring answers and I hope these include issues such as:
Professional fees,
Staff redundancy payments,
Reduction in committee expenses due to Coronavirus
Furlough payments,
Refurbishment costs
IT expenditure
and many more.
To me, transparency is paramount as was promised at the last AGM in November 2019 but it is still not apparent by our present committee, for whatever reason. There are still many unanswered issues but unfortunately the committee as a whole do not appear to wish to rock the boat and are not coming forward with developments/positive changes etc. in the Club by using our official Forum - surely this MUST change and the sooner the better.
Ian Taylor
Although I appreciate your post concerning the accounts, [is it in the correct section of the Forum?] I would have thought that Frances would have been the ‘poster’ as it was her who had been in charge of them previously.
In your post you state “With this being our first year as auditors,......’ Is the committee now our auditors or has this post been written by some outside agency, such as Morris & Young who have, I believe, been auditors for a number of years?
I am also concerned when you state the accounts are not late - in my mind they are VERY late and should have been available for our AGM in November 2020. Because that AGM was not held due to Covid-19 is no excuse for the accounts not to have been prepared and audited.
You also mention there are a number of question requiring answers and I hope these include issues such as:
Professional fees,
Staff redundancy payments,
Reduction in committee expenses due to Coronavirus
Furlough payments,
Refurbishment costs
IT expenditure
and many more.
To me, transparency is paramount as was promised at the last AGM in November 2019 but it is still not apparent by our present committee, for whatever reason. There are still many unanswered issues but unfortunately the committee as a whole do not appear to wish to rock the boat and are not coming forward with developments/positive changes etc. in the Club by using our official Forum - surely this MUST change and the sooner the better.
Ian Taylor