The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7196 p611-613
4 May 2002

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Letters to the Editor

The Society

Information on financial accounts unsatisfactory

From Mr R. C. Mills, MRPharmS

I would strongly support the members of the Hull branch (PJ, 13 April, p498) in their efforts to obtain fuller and clearer statements of the financial accounts of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Surely, it is not acceptable for the Council merely to tell the membership that there are internal committees overseeing the Society's financial activities and ensuring all is under control. Even the local sports clubs of which I have been treasurer would expect a higher degree of transparency than this.

May I therefore add to the list of questions to which I believe the membership are entitled to have more detailed answers. We have heard much about the purchase of the President's new flat and I am sure that I am not alone in asking:

• How much money was spent on the furnishings of this property?
• What is the budget for the annual maintenance of this property?

At the same time, as we are now being asked to elect new honorary auditors for the next three years, perhaps we could be given answers to the following:

• How long are the honorary auditors given to examine the account?
• Do the honorary auditors get a final set of accounts?
• Can the honorary auditors ask for further information and, if so, do they receive it?
• Why did all the honorary auditors not attend the auditors' meeting in 2001?

I would also be interested to know whether the members of other equivalent professional bodies receive more information than we do from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

R. C. Mills
Ascot, Berkshire

We will press for answers

From Mr G. M. Hill, MRPharmS, and others

We were disappointed by David Allen's reply to our letter (PJ, 13 April, p498). We asked him 12 direct questions and he failed to answer a single one of them. Non-financial questions about benefits to be gained from a new database system, why the results of the CPD pilot have not been published and milestones for the modernisation process were completely ignored. Further, his reply stated that there were a number of misconceptions in our letter, yet he failed to highlight or correct any.

Mr Allen indicated that he was only prepared to answer questions on the 2001 accounts at the annual general meeting. Rest assured we will be asking him about the costs of the previous database update and how much has been spent on the modernisation process to date. If answers to these questions are not forthcoming, we intend to press the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, its Council and the Treasurer for answers by all means possible.

G. M. Hill
Cottingham, North Humberside

P. J. McGorry
M. P. Smith
A. S. Hersom
B. Wells
Hull, North Humberside

J. McDonald
Beverley, North Humberside

Retention fee payment by credit card

From Mr M. H. Anisfeld, MRPharmS

Today I received at my United States home, by second class United Kingdom mail, the annual request for my retention fee which, because I live in the US, means I need to obtain an international money order to make the payment. This costs me US$75 in bank fees, almost 40 per cent of the overseas retention fee itself, takes several days to obtain, and is a major hassle to get.

I do not understand why the Society cannot do what all other UK professional associations I belong to are able to do, and that is to accept my annual membership payment by credit card. Even charging me an extra 3–4 per cent over and above my retention fee to offset any charges the credit card company would make against the Society still means that I, and I am sure most members, would be well ahead. In fact the Society could hold my credit card details and automatically bill me every year, significantly improving the Society's cash flow by receiving prompter payments.

I am not suggesting this is rocket science, or even that it is a major breakthrough in creative accounting. I only want the Society to be responsive to and convenient for members. Even e-mailing the annual reminder or being able to renew membership on the Society's website would save the Society a fortune in postage and administrative costs. We keep hearing about how cash poor the Society is — these are simple, 21st century ways to save significant amounts of money and to provide a convenient and decent service to the membership.

Michael Anisfeld
Illinois, United States

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