The Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) were told yesterday that they will forfeit their entire 1998 funding from the Irish Sports Council unless they can resolve all outstanding queries in last year's accounts before a mid-December deadline imposed by the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI).
The association's new national chairman Ado Kenny, who took office just eight days ago following the mass exodus from the executive led by former chairman Bernie Brennan at the end of October, was informed at a two-hour meeting in Dublin yesterday that the SJAI had until December 18th to resolve its financial difficulties.
If the deadline is not met, the £53,000 earmarked for show jumping from the Sports Council's £200,000 funding for equestrian sport will be rescinded.
The federation issued a brief statement yesterday evening immediately after the meeting. "Following guidelines received from the sports council, the federation informed the chairman of the SJAI that no monies could be paid out to the SJAI in the current year until the auditors' qualifications contained in the 1997 accounts were removed."
The statement added that the federation pledged its full support to the SJAI and reiterated its wish "to be in a position to release the relevant funds before the end of the year."
Dublin accountants Deloitte & Touche were called into the SJAI headquarters in Ballsbridge at the beginning of the year to audit a backlog of accounts from 1992 to 1997. The audited accounts were presented to the a.g.m. at the end of September before being filed with the Companies Office, but the 1997 accounts still have a question mark hanging over them, with an alleged drop in income of around £100,000 on the previous year's figures noted by the auditors.
One of the main criteria for receiving Sports Council funding is complete accountability and the council's chairman John Treacy has insisted that the SJAI adhere to this. Following a meeting between John Treacy and federation president Lewis Lowry and secretary general Ned Campion last week, this message was passed on to Ado Kenny at yesterday's meeting of the EFI executive committee and the December deadline imposed.
Ado Kenny, who first held the post of SJAI national chairman between 1989 and 1991, was not unduly concerned about the limitations of the EFI deadline. "I'm hoping it can be sorted out," he said last night. "If we can remove the qualification from the accounts then there's no stumbling block at all."
He will be briefing the SJAI executive committee on the latest move at a meeting next Monday night, but believes that Deloitte & Touche will be able to produce unqualified accounts, "if we can explain the reasons behind the shortfall to them".
Tony Kelly, who took over as director general in 1992, resigned last August after a period of ill-health and concerns over the 1997 accounts. He was reinstated eight days ago when the new regime stepped in at the top and it is to be hoped that all the financial queries can be resolved once he is able to meet the auditors.
The association retains a part-time book-keeper, but the mandate from the September a.g.m. that a full-time accountant be employed has still not been carried out after a qualified accountant who had been offered the job, turned it down last month.
