IUCN Treasurer sets out vision
14 October 2008 | News story
IUCN’s new treasurer, Kurt Ramin, set out what he hopes to achieve over the next four years in his speech on Saturday, October 11.
Mr Ramin has been involved in various functions in finance during most of his career as an International Controller, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and partner at the largest audit and consulting firm.
He was a global leader in developing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Switzerland was the first country to implement IFRS and it is now used in more than 100 countries.
“People are obviously the most important assets of IUCN,” said Mr Ramin. “Close to 80 percent of IUCN’s expenses are people expenses, such as salaries, benefits and travel expenses. We need to implement best practices, transparency and provide electronic information to empower them to manage their projects and serve members – critical to our income.”
He said IUCN needed to use the latest management information system technology to track its successes. In terms of fixed assets, such as buildings, Mr Ramin said it is critical to have the best input, knowledge and control over them as they can easily turn into liabilities.
“We need to have transparency on all the fixed assets owned and managed around the globe,” he said. “Perhaps we can visit all these offices via Google Earth and document the location and status of these assets.”
Mr Ramin said: “Obviously, we need to raise money, spend it wisely and manage it efficiently. We need to have better and more timely reporting to know where and when we spent the money.
“Reputation is at the heart of intangible assets of an organisation. If we are not open and transparent, and cannot anticipate challenges and opportunities, this can easily turn into a liability.
“To communicate effectively we need the best tools we can afford. To me, the uncompromising implementation of the management information system project is critical.”
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Kurt Ramin, Germany
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