2002 - 2003 Annual Report - Tourism Australia

Corporate Services
The role of Corporate Services is
to supply financial, administrative,
risk management, information
technology project management
and technical support, and
corporate database and web
development support as well as
Board secretarial services to the
Commission.
Finance
The Sydney Finance Unit provides
professional services for the total
finance functions of the ATC.
The unit develops strategies and
maintains operations for financial
systems, budgeting, tax reporting,
and treasury operations for the
ATC and supports the regional
finance teams.
The regional finance teams
operate from London and Hong
Kong, overseeing the Western
and Eastern Hemispheres
respectively.
Highlights and activities
• A key responsibility for the
unit was accounting for the
Commission’s expenditure for the
year of $117.7 million, down from
$120.5 million in 2001/02.
• Government revenue was
$99.9 million and revenue from
cooperative industry activities and
other sources reached $22 million;
a combined total of $121.9 million.
• A $2.3million decline in
non-government revenue on last
year reflects a reduced participation
in marketing by the industry, and a
partial refund for some Australian
Tourism Exchange delegates to
assist industry participants
impacted by the SARS outbreak.
• The ATC incurred an operating
surplus of $4.1 million for 2002/03,
after recording a $1.7 million
surplus last financial year.
• Debts written-off during the year
totalled $30,808 with provision
for doubtful debts remaining at
$211,000 in 2002/03 to reflect
the accrual of potentially nonrecoverable
debts over the year.
Debtors profile and collections
were improved during the year.
• Under a directive from the
Department of Finance, foreign
currency funds management was
undertaken on a spot basis with
transactions being initiated to
provide the ATC with the most
cost-effective level of foreign
currency funding.
• There were no significant
acquisitions or dispositions of
property by the ATC during
the period.
• In 2002/03 the ATC
completed an upgrade of its
financial system.
Risk Management &
Administration
As an integral part of ATC
business practices, risk
management principles and
practices have been incorporated
into the Commission’s decisionmaking
and operational activity.
The operations of the risk
management area are designed
to meet the principle objective
of minimising risk to the ATC in
a cost effective manner and to
an acceptable level.
The ATC has a comprehensive
insurance program that includes
Directors’ and Officers’ Liability
Cover which is managed by
Comcover.
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