5. Finances
The income of the
society originally depended solely on members' subscriptions, and after
the agreement with Pergamon in 1970 this was supplemented by some £400
per annum until 1974. The contribution from Pergamon's assessment of the
Society's share of journal profits fluctuated over the years from 1975
to 1980 and was usually between £3,000 and £10,000 (Fig. 3).
As described in section 8 it proved impossible for our Treasurers to assess
what it should be. Pergamon paid the expenses of the two Editorial Offices
and for an annual dinner for the combined Editorial Boards. It also solicited
and collected I.S.N. membership subscriptions at no charge.Then with the
new contract with Raven in 1980, the contribution to our finances from
journal profits (nett, after editorial expenses) rose to £23,000
in 1981 and £84,000 in 1982, since when our nett profits have been
running at well over £100,000 per annum.
On his election as Treasurer in 1973, Brian Ansell realised he had to
re-organise the accounts completely and at the end of 1973 he was confronted
with the unpalatable fact that the annual financial returns had not been
submitted to the U.K. Companies Registration Office for the 5 years from
1969 to 1973 - essential, if the I.S.N. were to retain its status as a
registered company. He received a letter from the Registration Office
threatening to dissolve I.S.N. as a Company and to strike it off the registry.
This registration was a requirement not only for continuing as a business,
but vital in the forthcoming negotiations for obtaining Charitable Status.
Henry McIlwain, as one of the Company Directors, received a letter informing
him that he was liable to a personal fine of £5 per day until the
returns were filed. This must have been disquietening and he immediately
contacted our solicitors who reassured him that he would not be personally
liable. Presumably the other Directors received similar missives, but
of these we have no record. They probably sensibly "binned"
them immediately. Brian Ansell quickly got a stay of execution and the
matter was settled within weeks. The solicitors advised the Society that
it was desirable for I.S.N. to have a Company Secretary, Brian being appointed
in 1976 and succeeded by Tim Hawthorne. Charitable Status was approved
in October, 1977, which meant that the Society had to pay no tax on income
or donations thereafter.
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G.
Porcellati
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B.
Ansell
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By the end of 1973 Brian Ansell had restored a sound financial base with
regular properly audited Treasurers reports, but the income was still
low, due essentially to poor returns from the journal. This improved only
in 1980-1, when true profit-sharing resulted from the new contract with
Raven . During this period the $ was in trouble (1977-9) and then, as
usual, the £ (1980-1). It was difficult for the Treasurer to decide
where to bank the money! However the improved financial health eased this
burden (Fig. 3), and in 1980-1, the Society was able to initiate travel
grants, mainly for young scientists, due to a $10,000 donation from Pergamon
Press (Section 8) and the income from the journal. Alan Boulton who became
Treasurer in 1981, and subsequently Chairman, was particularly conscious
of the new wealth of the society and the possibilities of implementing
much desired initiatives, as described in his personal recollections preserved
in the Archives. The Society was also fortunate in benefitting from the
generosity of the Italian pharmaceutical company, FIDIA, who due to the
efforts on our behalf by Guiseppi Porcellati, subsidised our International
Meetings with substantial grants for travel. By 1984, the nett share of
the profit from the journal (i.e. after payment for editorial expenses)
was running at such a level that there was now enough money to support
small conferences also (Section 7). In 1991, awards for Young Scientist's
Lectures were initiated.
Figure 3. : Income (£) 1969-1980 (from Treasurer's reports).1 In 1971-2 many subscriptions were not collected and were recouped in 1973.2 There was an intensive recruitment drive in 1977, related to streamlining of processing of membership applications (see text).3 This represented (given fluctuations in the $/£ exchange rate), the minimum guaranteed profit from Pergamon, who stated that the journal then had been running at a loss. However the Treasurers could not confirm this as they had no access to the publisher's accounts (see text). Members' subscriptions were $5 in 1969, increased to $10 in 1971-2, to $15 in 1973-4, and to the current rate of $30 in 1980-1. After 1980-1, income exceeded £100,000 p.a. due to journal profits, and since 1984, has been running at over £120,000 after editorial expenses had been paid (see text)].
Go to the next chapter 6. I.S.N. as a Professional Business Organization