Sport transparency, reporting and integrity
The ASC has a leadership role in ensuring the integrity of sport as a sector. The ASC also has a duty to eff ectively monitor the performance of NSOs to ensure that taxpayer money is being spent effectively. To do so, the ASC requires that NSOs comply with a range of policies and practices as a condition of funding.
3.1 NSOs to publish annual reports consistent with Corporations Act requirements.
The Board must provide members and key stakeholders with a comprehensive annual report containing information consistent with that required under the Corporations Act in the same time frame required of public companies.
3.2 NSOs to report consolidated national financial accounts annually to the ASC in addition to national entity information.
As part of the Annual Sport Performance Review, all NSOs will be required to present consolidated national financial accounts and any other information that the ASC needs to assess the effectiveness of the organisation on an overall national level in achieving outcomes set under funding agreements and any risks that may impact on an NSO delivering those outcomes.
3.3 NSOs to adopt rolling three-year Strategic Plans with clear and measurable targets, including a detailed operating budget for the next financial year.
The sport must have a single overall three-year strategic plan (covering both participation and high performance) which is endorsed and implemented consistently and effectively by the member bodies. This plan should include measurable objectives and a detailed three-year forward financial model which is compared with historical financials.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are most relevant to the sport and by which its performance can be measured should be identifi ed and trends shown.
A detailed operating budget for at least the next financial year should also be included.
3.4 Full disclosure of administration expenses in the sport, including compensation and associated expenses for top executives and all related party transactions.
In an organisation owned by members and which receives substantial public funding, both members and taxpayers have a right to know how the organisation spends its money and therefore to provide input into the eff ectiveness of expenditure.
NSOs should therefore fully disclose administration expenses for the organisation on a gross basis before any allocation of such expenses across functional activities within the NSO. This should include full transparency on compensation and associated expenses of the top five staff members in the sport. This will enable stakeholders to understand the level of administration expenditure in the sport and the efficiency of the NSO in undertaking its operations. The linkage of the CEO’s compensation to the achievement of goals and KPIs identified in the sport’s strategic plan should also be identified.
3.5 NSOs to provide in a timely manner all information requested by ASC.
The ASC requires NSOs to provide information to the ASC on a timely basis to facilitate a comparative Annual Sport Performance Review (which will become public information) and also so that the ASC can eff ectively monitor the performance of NSOs against the outcomes set in funding agreements.
3.6 NSOs to sign-up to ASC integrity measures on anti-doping and protocols for sports science.
The ASC has a leadership role in ensuring the integrity of sport in Australia. To this end and in light of recent events, the ASC is introducing new requirements relating to NSO Board processes to ensure appropriate integrity safeguards are in place. These include:
- Boards should adopt and observe the Sports Science Best Practice Principles to be promulgated shortly by the Australian Institute of Sport (the largest employer of sports scientists in Australia)
- Boards should have in place proper investigation, supervision and reporting practices in relation to the sports science practices in use in their sport. These should be either direct to the Board or through no other person than the CEO. ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ will not be a satisfactory position for Boards to adopt; they will have a positive obligation to inform themselves about sports science practices and to supervise them in a manner consistent with ASADA, ASC and Australian Government policies.
3.7 New financial and high performance reporting requirements.
Consistent with the Australia’s Winning Edge, the ASC will be introducing new cross-sport reporting templates for fi nancial and high performane (HP) reporting. These templates will enable a greater degree of transparency around HP spend and enable the ASC to utilise data to provide comparative analysis to assist sports in investing and achieving efficiencies.
