It has come to my attention that some members may not fully understand some of the financial terms used in my Secretary-Treasurer reports and are confusing a current year deficit with the overall state of the Union’s finances.
In accounting there are two main statements that are reviewed to determine the financial position of an organization. Those are the Income Statement, also called a Statement of Operations, and the Balance Sheet. The Income Statement shows the Revenues and Expenses of the current year, with the net result being a Surplus if it is positive and a Deficit if it is negative.
In our current fiscal year, which runs from July 2020 to June 2021, we are currently running a small deficit of approximately $150,000. This is not unlike many businesses who have been impacted by the pandemic. Currently our expenses each month are greater than our revenues. I have spent the better part of the last 6 months trying to reduce the Component’s expenses which I have chronicled in my previous reports. We have been relatively successful and for the month of November actually had a small surplus.
The second and more long-term statement is the Balance Sheet. It shows the Assets, Liabilities and Retained Earnings of an Organization over the year. It is generally a snapshot of the organization on the given day it is produced. The Component has well over $4 million in cash and investments currently available to us. On our most recent audited statements for the year ended 2019, our Retained Earnings were over $5.3 million. We are currently in the midst of having our 2020 year-end audited and expect this number to increase.
I hope this clarifies the positive financial health of the Component and explains what allowed us to approve the two-month dues reduction in April and May of 2020. I have prided myself on my financial management of the Component over the past two years and if you ever have any questions or concerns of a financial nature, please reach out to me anytime.
In Solidarity,
Alex Habib
Secretary-Treasurer, Air Canada Component of CUPE