Dear NCSG Colleagues,

As of the first of August, I am the NCSG Finance Committee Chair on an interim basis, until NCUC selects its FC member and the FC decides on a Chair.

I would first like to thank Ayden Férdeline, the outgoing chair, for his able management of the chairpersonship. I will call on him for advice as we move forward.

There are several things that NCSG members, especially relatively new NCSG members, should know about the Finance Committee.

Since the NCSG charter was adopted (2011) the Finance Committee has only operated intermittently.
The Finance Committee has no money, no budget to manage, and no treasurer role to carry out.
The Finance Committee carries out literally none of the tasks sketched out in the NCSG Charter.
The Finance Committee is more-or-less a “workspace” to assist NCSG through the NCSG Policy, and Executive Committees, in their work.

When the NCSG Charter was adopted there was a much grander role foreseen for the Finance Committee. Literally (or virtually) none of that was ever undertaken. See (below) relevant Finance Committee text from the NCSG Charter.

To give you an idea of what the Finance Committee is currently doing here is the agenda for it last (July 23^rd) online meeting:

I. Updates to Statements of Interest
II. Finalize Finance Committee Comment on Financial Assumptions for Formal Review by NCSG Policy Committee
III. Continue Wordsmithing Operating Procedures and Discuss Next Steps
IV. Finalize Code of Ethical Conduct Document for Review by NCSG Executive Committee
V. Discuss Process for Appointing New Finance Committee Chair
VI. Any Other Business

Here is the wording of the remit of the Finance Committee as found in the 2011 NCSG Charter. (formatting slightly off due to pdf copy)

https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/filefield_25801/ncsg-charter-05may11-en.pdf

NCSG Finance Committee (NCSG-‐FC):

The NCSG Finance Committee is responsible for establishing a firm financial footing for the NCSG and administering NCSG funds within a defined framework that meets relevant legal requirements as well as requirements imposed by ICANN. The NCSG-‐FC’s responsibilities include fund raising, setting voluntary contribution levels for members, determining procedures for the distribution of funds, and for monitoring the utilization of funds. The NCSG-‐FC will also be responsible for the Treasurer function. Formation of the NCSG-‐FC, its composition, and duties within the NCSG-‐FC are set out in Section 2.6.

Here is the text of Section 2.6:

2.6 The Financial Committee

The NCSG Finance Committee is responsible for the following:

•Elect a Chair who will also serve as NCSG Treasurer;

•Determine rates for voluntary contributions from members;

•Develop and deploy a fund-‐raising plan for the NCSG;

•Work with the ICANN staff to determine levels of support available to the NCSG;

•Work with ICANN finance officers to insure the NCSG and its Constituencies receive fair and equivalent financial support from ICANN;

•Accounting for any funds received by the NCSG from any source. This accounting will include the following:

*All funds raised by voluntary membership fees or otherwise must be held in a separate NCSG account.

*Proper controls must be implemented.

*Regarding Expenditures:

•All expenditures under 500 Euro may be made on the authority of the NCSG Treasurer

•All expenditures over 500 Euro must be approved by the NCSG-‐FC

*Financial reports must be prepared annually and be made public.

•Provide internal conflict resolution process regarding funds.

•Provide the oversight of the Treasurer function.

•Fulfill any other accounting, auditing or other prescribed financial requirements as set by the ICANN Board of Directors for organizations within the ICANN structure.

•Document methods and procedures used for accounting, reporting and budget creation. Such documentation is subject to review by the NCSG-‐EC

Comments, opinions, suggestions and questions are welcomed.

Sam Lanfranco, interim Chair,

NCSG Finance Committee