Financial Report: April 1, 1999 to March 31, 2000
As can be seen from our annual reports published on the back cover of IME
in the past, we believe in sharing with our readers the financial status of the
organisation, not merely as an exercise in transparency but more importantly
because we believe all our readers to be partners in our endeavour towards the
cause of medical ethics.
At the beginning of the financial year 1999-2000, there were many
indications of our insecure financial and organisational status. Our
subscription base had fallen sharply, and we presume that this is at least
partly due to our poor follow-up in the previous year for renewals. At the same
time, our production costs had risen, as had our postage costs. Overall, we have
relied on honorary work, such as that of our auditors, M/S Sachin Mulgaokar and
Co. Such gestures instill in us the confidence that our work is appreciated not
just by our medical colleagues but also by individuals from other professions as
well.
For day-to-day activities, we continue to fall back on voluntarism. All the
editorial work for the journal is voluntary. Many of our editorial board also
put in hours for other administrative work in the Society. This can become
particularly difficult due to the nature of professional practice. The
administration had thus suffered significantly during the year. To correct this
partially, we had recruited part-time help (at Rs.2500 per month) in
administration and accounts for the past year (1999-2000).
In the current year, the Forum for Medical Ethics Society entered into a
collaborative project with the Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes,
to popularise medical ethics. CEHAT spent Rs 50,000 to support 500 gift
subscriptions to people and institutions identified by the editorial board of
IME, as potential subscribers. We received about 60 new subscriptions as a
result of these gift subscriptions. (Since the money was received after March
31, 2000, this information is not reflected in the accounts presented
alongside.)
After a sharp dip in the subscription base the previous year, the present
paid subscription base is approximately 450 annual subscriptions, with another
100 life subscriptions. We need the support of at least 5,000 subscriptions just
to break even with very modest budgeting, in order to ensure some stability. We
are far away from this figure at the moment. As we had written last year, the
struggle for stability is likely to be long drawn.
We urge every subscriber and reader to help our effort through donations to
the corpus. We also ask that you help increase the journal's readership by
promoting subscriptions. We need your readership, support, funds, and, most
important, your all-round participation in the debate on, and practice of,
medical ethics.
Statement of Income and Expenditure: 1999-2000
INCOME
Subscriptions
Rs. 54,615.00
Membership
fees Rs.
200.00
Donations Rs.
10,870.00
Interest of fixed deposits
With bank interest Rs.
26,407.00
Sale of back
issues Rs. 319.00
Advertisement Rs.
2,000.00
TOTAL Rs.
94,411.00
EXPENDITURE
Establishment expenses: Rs. 2,895.50 (Printing, stationery,
photocopying telephone,postage,conference , registration and
depreciation)
Conveyance Rs.
457.50
Salary Rs.
25,938.00
Bank charges
Rs. 1,404.00
Miscellaneous expenses Rs. 100.00
Subtotal Rs.
30,795.00
Printing of
journal Rs.
76,480.00
TOTAL Rs.
1,07,275.00
Deficit of income against expenditureRs.
12,864.00
Balance sheet: 1999-2000
PROPERTIES and ASSETS
In saving banks
Rs. 61,503.65
Fixed deposits with banks Rs. 1,59,158.00
Cash on hand with trustee Rs. 257.25
Office
equipment Rs
187.00
TOTAL Rs.
2,21,105.00
FUNDS and LIABILITIES
Trust funds / corpus
Rs. 11,157.00
Reserve
fund Rs.
5,000.00
Sundry credit
balance Rs. 200.00
Liabilities (life subscriptions) Rs. 1,62,180.00
Income and expenditure A/c Rs. 42,568.90
(Accumulated surplus till 31.03.2000)
TOTAL
Rs. 2,21,105.00
