Robert, Budget control is not just accounting. When a process that employs a lot of staff and contractor time was planned to take some period of time and is then extended, then yes, that is a reason to ask about control of costs. Anna alludes to one method of budget control – "We have plenty of measures in place to monitor costs (e.g., we don't need to control them because they are not out of control, we are within our budget)." – which sounds like that old-fashioned method in which you assign a sum of money to an activity and stop that activity when it is finished or when the money runs out, whichever happens first. This would not now be best practice, but perhaps it is unfair to place too much weight on a passing comment.
"Rogol" On Tue, Jun 27, 2017 at 10:53 PM, Robert Fernandez <wikigamal...@gmail.com> wrote: > What kind of answer are you expecting here? Do you have any reason to > believe that the WMF is not acting within its normal fiscally responsible > procedures in the particular case of the movement strategy process? What > measures to control costs do you believe they are or are not taking in > regards to the strategy process? Why is "the regular accounting stuff we > do all the time with millions of dollars of donor money every year" not a > specific enough answer? > > > On Tue, Jun 27, 2017 at 3:38 PM, Pine W <wiki.p...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > We have plenty of measures in place to monitor costs (e.g., we don't > need > > > to control them because they are not out of control, we are within our > > > budget). Also, describing financial metrics at any lower level of > detail > > > would be a waste of the strategy budget since we are within it. > > > > I disagree with that assessment. Simply because expenses are within > > budget don't mean that all expenses which were charged to the budget > > are reasonable and accurate, and I am disappointed to hear that WMF's > > standards for its finances are so lax. This convinces me all the more > > that my original request is important for WMF to answer: please discuss > > what measures are being taken to control costs in the strategy process. > > The level of detail that I now think WMF should provide is much higher > > than the level of detail with which I previously would have been > satisfied. > > My level of concern here is high enough that I am asking the WMF > > Audit Committee chair, Kelly, to comment on this situation. Something > seems > > very wrong here, and I am concerned about WMF's financial integrity. > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
