AFL Clubs 2012 Annual Reports

Here is an example of why the AFL should adopt a reporting standard:

Football Department Spend

• Carlton - $20,349,646
• Essendon - $19,200,704
• Richmond - $3,915,909 (specifically cited)
• Hawthorn - $2,378,471 (Specifically cited)

you've done well wookie i havent recieved mine yet.

FYI the Australian Sports Foundation monies are not government grants. They are donations by individuals and corporations to the club that go thru the ASF.

In 1997 the Howard government changed the tax laws to encourage more sports organisations to raise funds by allowing tax deductible donations to be made to those organisations when they have registered an eligible project thru the ASF.

So clubs, sporting bodies, schools, councils and community groups who organise eligible projects can get people to make their donation to the ASF and the ASF then redistribute between 100% and 98% ( ie admin fee and credit card fees deducted) of the donation to the relevant organisation who registered project(s).

The ASF gets a small amount from the federal govternment and distributes it to an organisation(s) ie outside the donation funds, but its bugger all. Many moons ago the govt granted more $$ to the ASF to make discretionary grants for projects by smaller community type organisations, but those days are effectively over, especially since the tax deductibility rules changed. Plus the government is making grants directly to clubs and sporting organisations eg grandstand grants so they can get the publicity directly rather than hidding in via the ASF like they used to prior to 1997.

Read all about it
http://www.asf.org.au/home

http://www.asf.org.au/who/donations

And their Annual Report is at
http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/502802/ASF_Financial_Statements.pdf

The Australian Sports Foundation Ltd was established in 1986 to generate funds from the
corporate sector and the community at large for the development of sport. The Australian Sports
Foundation is a public company with deductible gift recipient status, which enables it to offer tax
deductions to donors for unconditional contributions of $2 or more.

Incorporated not-for-profit entities and government organisations can register sport-related
projects with the Australian Sports Foundation to achieve specific objectives in the areas of
facility development, sport equipment, sports development, team travel and hosting major events.
Since its inception, the Australian Sports Foundation has helped raise more than $200 million for
the benefit of sport in Australia.

In the wake of the global financial situation, and with natural disasters home and abroad
impacting on the not-for-profit sector, the Australian Sports Foundation increased the number
of projects registered to 601 (up from 564 in 2010–11). Discretionary grants amounting
to $20.54 million were made in support of registered projects. There was a continuance
of the increase in the amount of distributions made to the Australian Sports Foundation by
ancillary funds.



......

And from Essendon's AR info missed

NET ASSETS $35,059,757

and breakdown of the ASF and govt grants and other non operating income info

(ii) Non-operating revenue................2012......2011
Australian Sports Foundation grants 3,079,185 335,000
Donations received......................... 374,182 250,293
Federal and State Government grants 7,115,740 44,091
AFL special distribution................... 1,425,000 -
Interest received.............................. 398,077 182,481
Rental income.................................... 14,898 14,689
Total non-operating revenue........... 12,407,082 826,554

Yet another example of reporting standards.

How many ownership structures are there amongst clubs in the AFL? Wookie?

Take the Bombers from their Annual Report:
2. ESSENDON FOO TBALL CLub
Essendon Football Club is an unlisted public companylimited by
guarantee with a registered office and principal place of business in
, Essendon Victoria 3040. The liability of each member
of the Company is limited to $20.

The majority of AFL clubs are company's limited by gurantee ( ie a nominal gurantee amount by members ie $0.10 to $20) and because they have more than 50 members (members and shareholders usually have the same meaning) they are public companies, not proprietary ltd companies and they are not listed on a stock exchange because they have no shares to list.

I did the exercise several years ago when there was the usual BS about the two Port's and looked up the structure of all clubs on the ASIC website search function. Essendon was the first club to go from an incorporated association ie Inc after its name to Ltd, in the 1950's. Most Vic clubs convereted in the 1970's and 1980's from Inc to Ltd as the clubs started borrowing more and the banks wanted the directors to be subject to directors duties and securities remedies under the old state Companies Code which became the Corporations Law on 1/1/91 and then the Corporations Act in 2001.

The SANFL registered a company in 1986 called the Adelaide Football Club Ltd. It had 2 shareholders the SANFL President and CEO who held them in trust for the SANFL. When they joined the AFL they kept the 2 shares and issued members guarantees so when you look up the Adelaide FC Ltd on ASIC's register it says Australian Public Company, Limited By Shares & Guarantee.

Limited by guarantee is pretty standard when sporting organisations change from incorporated associations ( run by state law) to companies subject to the Corporations Act.

You do the search here
https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/R...hRegisters.jspx?_adf.ctrl-state=159sgkjpsy_22

Adelaide's details
https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/R...=Adelaide Football Club&searchType=ChkNmAvail

Essendon's details
Registration Date 21/02/1951
https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/R...hRegisters.jspx?_adf.ctrl-state=159sgkjpsy_82

West Coast Eagles still sit in their original Indian Pacific Ltd structure.

https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/R...hRegisters.jspx?_adf.ctrl-state=13mvgcay3f_31

not sure why its still a public company because all its shares are help by the WAFC - as per the WAFC's annual reports I have seen.

Where as Fremantle are like Adelaide
Australian Public Company, Limited By Shares & Guarantee

https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/R...hRegisters.jspx?_adf.ctrl-state=13mvgcay3f_49

Does this indicate some level of disclosure in the Annual Reports, #7?

The Annual Reports will state if they are limited by gurantee and what that guarantee liability by each members is, either in the Directors Report or somewhere in the notes to the accounts.

There's a link to North's data, but the OP does not include North's figures - is that just a case of timing?

And from Essendon's AR info missed

NET ASSETS $35,059,757

You still haven't made the adjustment yet The_Wookie

A case of the spin doctors at work?

Delay from press release to posting Annual Report suggests to me the release is big on spin, and there is hope that no one will check out the detail when posted - but that wont happen on BF.

Wookie is very thorough.
He's a forensic accountant - nothing escapes him.
North could contrive to list revenue coming from a subsidiary with a Bahamas bank account and Wookie would sniff it out and tell us straight.

We can only live in hope that other football codes would be as forthcoming with their financial information.

That makes 2 of us Wookie. It is amazing what you find in annual reports both the chairman and CEO's report as well as the Director's report, let alone the financial report and in particular the notes to the accounts. And its just not the AFL clubs and AFL annual report, its other sporting organisations, corporations and government bodies. The annual report is where the nuggets are usually buried.

Barkly...

My constant whinge is the failure of the AFL to demand standards of the reporting that allow the most basic of interpretation of the Financials presented.
Particularly in terms of the list management: no of contracts to expire in each future year, ball park contract values attached to the number of contracts.
Profit/loss on football operations.
A standard approach to presenting the value of non football income.
A comparison of membership to get away from the reliance on numbers (no idea on how a standard reporting criteria could apply).

I'd like to see an ability to compare directly sponsorship income, yes wrinkles would be interesting ..

#7 handballing at Port might set me stright on the level of disclosure required by the various ownership structures - I might even pony up for the Indian Pacific financials, but I fear a 6 pack might be better value.

Love the input of all, well done to The Wookie.