[Osmf-talk] Financial Transparency

[Mikel Maron]

>
https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Finance_Committee/Minutes/2024-05-22#Report_to_the_Advisory_Board

Something is lost in translation in these minutes and a couple threads
intertwined. It's not accurate.

In Q2, I organized an Advisory Board meeting (which includes both corporate
members and local chapters), and I presented and discussed the 2024 OSMF
Budget (which was already publicly released). There was really no
substantial input from that discussion. I report on any Advisory Board
related conversations to the Board monthly.

There has also been discussion on providing donors of larger corporate
gifts with updates. These would be less financial and more narrative about
progress on technical work. Again it would not be based on any information
that's not already public.

If the FC were to start publishing reports more frequently than annual (and
I think they should and quarterly is a sensible pace), then any direct
communications about them with corporate members would be based on that
public information. So far this has not happened.

-Mikel


On Mon, Oct 21, 2024 at 6:06 AM Simon Poole <simon at poole.ch> wrote:

>
> https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Finance_Committee/Minutes/2024-05-22#Report_to_the_Advisory_Board
> Am 21.10.2024 um 11:45 schrieb Mikel Maron:
>
> I don't disagree on the request -- would be good and no problem to publish
> more frequent financials and minutes.
>
> But please do not spread falsehoods. "reconciled monthly financials
> available ... to corporate members" is pure fiction.
>
> -Mikel
>
> On Mon, Oct 21, 2024 at 5:38 AM Simon Poole <simon at poole.ch> wrote:
>
>> At one time in the history of the OSMF a commitment was made by the
>> board to provide the membership with regular (iirc at the time it was
>> quarterly) financials. On and off this was done over the years, but it
>> currently has lapsed for a long time. I'm the first person to agree that
>> doing this is a lot of work with little gain, but as a matter of
>> principle I would still think that this should be provided.
>>
>> Browsing the Finance Committee minutes for this year it seems that a lot
>> of progress has been made, and that there are actually reconciled
>> monthly financials available internally and to corporate members, just
>> not to the wider membership. That is, lets say, not a good look. I would
>> suggest that these be made available, if necessary in redacted form, to
>> all members.
>>
>> Simon
>>
>> PS: the minutes of the FC abruptly stop after June, I assume that is
>> just an oversight?
>>
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>
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