Letter from EVP Finance and Governance
Dear members,
As the new Executive Vice President of Finance and Governance for PASS, I’m excited to share a few new processes that PASS is implementing around Governance.
First off, PASS is continually looking for ways to improve and help the SQL Server Community more. Recently we have implemented some banking changes including the addition of ACH payments to our regular payment options. The Finance and SQL Saturday teams are actively working to extend this convenience to all SQL Saturday events, which will improve response times and help event leaders manage their funds more efficiently.
We also launched a new budgeting process that is aligned with overall PASS goals, as well as individual portfolio goals. We are currently working on the fiscal year 2013 budget which begins 1 July 2012. In the past, the budgeting process took place closer to the start of the new fiscal year, but we wanted to get a jump start on it – so all Directors are (hopefully!) drafting up their budgets as I write this post. We want to properly vet the final budget to ensure it aligns with the overall PASS goals of extending our reach through technical training hours and events, and achieving global growth to better service our members outside of North America. Do you have thoughts around what PASS can do for the community in the next year? Now is the time to approach the applicable Directors and get budget allocated for those great ideas.
The third item I want to highlight is the Board meeting minutes. I’m hoping everyone is aware that we publish all Board meeting minutes. You can view the latest ones here. It does however take us a couple of weeks to get the minutes ready and have them approved by the Board before we post. We’re working on shortening that process and are hoping to post all meeting minutes much more quickly so that members who wish to review Board discussions can do so in a timelier manner.
And last but perhaps most crucial, we are making material progress surrounding planned changes in PASS governance to properly support and represent our global membership. The current Board is mostly North American-based, as is our management team, and without proper consideration and changes this makes it difficult to support and grow the PASS community outside of North America. Our next step is consider where help from global growth experts (concerning governance, finance, IP, etc.) are needed to assure we are aligned with proven models while all growth and compliance concerns are considered. As we gather more information and come up with a strong draft proposal we will share it with the membership for feedback and discussion.
Thanks
Douglas McDowell