NUS student questions student union’s transparency in financial accounts

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Disturbed by the lack of transparency in the financial report published by the National University of Singapore Student Union (NUSSU) in its 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM) Report, 2nd year NUS student, Teo Yu Sheng posted his findings of the financial report along with observations of his email communications with the Student Union on a blog post, “NUS Student Union’s Finances – A twisted form of transparency”.

Teo noted that 2013′s operating income of the Student Union was classified under “Other Income,” with no notes explaining the source(s) of income, along with 89% of 2013′s operating expenditure was classified under “Other Operating Expenditure,” with no notes explaining what the money is spent on.

Teo then emailed the Student Union, asking if further breakdowns can be provided, so as to improve the transparency in NUSSU’s financial summaries. He also probed further by asking if financial details relating to Rag and Flag Days, the annual projects by the Student Union, were available and if not, why.

Mr Shermon Ong, the vice-president of NUSSU replied Teo through a series of emails, explaining that NUSSU has little control over the presentation of its financial figures. He added that NUSSU has the unaudited Statement of Accounts for Rag Day but is hesitant to release them into the public domain as the accounts are yet to be audited.

Teo’s issue with this is that NUSSU does not disclose the amount it spends organising Rag Day and Flag Day, yet claims to be “very transparent” about the finance records. Teo felt that the student union might have conflated being transparent to the school administration with being transparent to the student body.

“The lack of control that NUSSU has over the presentation of its finances does not diminish the fact that its finances aren’t transparent,” wrote Teo. “Neither does it grant the Union the right to declare that its finances are transparent (even though the finances might be as transparent as they can be). The lack of control merely absolves NUSSU of most of the fault.”

Teo summarised his findings:

http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2014...cial-accounts/


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