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it not been for the support of the organisations and univer-
sities with whom Council members are affiliated. INPE fully
funded the travel cost of the Second Vice President, Mar-
cio Barbosa, while partial support was provided for all
other Council members by their respective employers.
Travel costs of the Congress Director, Klaas Jan Beek,
were fully funded through the Conference Organising
Committee as required by the ISPRS statutes and bylaws.
As mentioned under the Income section above, a signifi-
cant reduction of expenses for Council activities resulted
from the excellent support received from ISPRS Member
Societies and Council Member employers, who provided
accommodation for Council during Council meetings in
Oigami (Japanese Society) in 1996, Seattle (American
Society) and Rio de Janeiro/Natal (INPE) in 1997, Banga-
lore (Indian Society), Washington (Lockheed Martin) and
Stuttgart (German Society) in 1998, Bangkok (Japanese
Society) and Enschede/Delft (Netherlands Society) in 1999
and Budapest (Hungarian Society) in 2000. The Council
wishes to express its appreciation of the outstanding hos-
pitality and generosity extended at these occasions.
It is impossible to quantify the amount saved through the
indirect financial assistance described above, but this
amount is clearly above SFr 100,000.
The Treasurer’s activities have increased significantly dur-
ing the report period. The changes in investment and cur-
rent accounts make it necessary for the treasurer to
administer three UBS accounts, one UN sub account, four
individual Council member sub accounts and four invest-
ment accounts. These accounts are held in five different
currencies. Due to a considerable broadening of ISPRS
activities, the responsibilities of all other Council members
have increased similarly. It can be estimated that an aver-
age of one to three days a week, not counting Council
meetings and attendance at symposia and the congress,
is spent by some Council members on ISPRS activities.
This is becoming problematic and steps are needed to
provide assistance to Council.
Conclusions
The Society is financially in an good state of health with
increased memberships in all categories, diverse low risk
investments and excellent support from its members.
Cape Town 1 July 2000
Report of the Financial Commission 1996-2000
by Armin Grün
1. Membership of Financial Commission
The Members of the Financial Commission (FC), as
appointed by the General Assembly (GA) at Vienna 1996
are:
- Armin Grün (Chairman)
- Anders Boberg
- Ivan Katzarsky
2. Role of the Financial Commission
According to ISPRS Statutes the role of the FC shall be
advisory and consultative.
It shall examine expenditure of all kinds incurred by the
Society and suggest to the General Assembly broad lines
of financial policy for the Society having regard to its sci-
entific responsibilities.
3. Additional Activities
On request of Council the FC contributed to the
- Guidelines for Council Spending Policy
- Guidelines for Financial Commission
The FC was informed about the
- Definition of Task of Financial Advisor to ISPRS Coun-
cil 2000-2004 and the related draft contract
and approved the Report of the
- ISPRS-funded project "Development of an Image
Transfer Standard (ITS)"
4. Meetings of the Financial Commission
Meetings took place in Stuttgart 1997 and in Amsterdam
2000.
With the availability of modern communication devices it
was felt that physical meetings of the FC are becoming
more and more redundant, also considering the cost factor
involved. E-mail provides an excellent tool for negotiations
and exchange of information. When appointing new FC
members for the next period of office the GA should make
sure that direct e-mail access is available to each member.
5. Approval of Budget and Accounts
The fiscal year of the Society begins on 1st April. Financial
management relies on a projected annual budget which is
endorsed by the FC. The annual statement of accounts is
audited by the FC prior to acceptance by Council.
Starting with the Fiscal Year 1997 the format of the yearly
reports of the Treasurer has been modified, also consider-
ing the input of a professional accountant. As a result, the
Treasurer’s Report is now more streamlined and much eas-
ier to read.
The Statements of Receipts and Payments and the Bal-
ance Sheet for the period from 1st April, 1996 to 31st
March, 2000 was audited by the FC prior to its presenta-
tion to the GA by the Treasurer.
6. Receipts/Payments and Income/Expenses
According to the Treasurer's Report the nominal Member-
ship fees have risen from SFr 91,840 in 1996 to SFr
119,550 in 1999 (an increase of 30%).
The actual Arrears in Membership fees have developed
from SFr 50,971 in 1996 to SFr 81,325 in 1999 (an increase
of 60%, not even considering the SFr 4050, written off as
bad depts in 1998). This has been a permanent point of
International Archives of Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part A. A lam 2000.
113
ISPRS
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