The total liabilities of the Academic Association of the University of the Algarve (AAUAlg) reached 876 thousand euros at the end of 2011, according to the results of an audit carried out on the accounts of this structure, released today, Friday, by the president of the association Pedro Barros, at a Press Conference.
The so-called Current Liabilities of AAUAlg, which encompasses all short, medium and long-term debt, as revealed by the analysis, increased substantially in 2010 and 2011, but was already at 463 euros in 2009.
The increase was more noticeable in 2011, when the Academic Week of the University of the Algarve caused a loss of «176 thousand euros», revealed Pedro Barros today.
Contacted by Sul Informação, the president of AAUAlg in 2011 Guilherme Portada said that he does not want to take a public position on the audit results yet, since he does not yet have the documentation in his possession.
"I could not be present at the Magna Assembly yesterday, as I had already made other commitments, but I informed the assembly of the fact and requested that documentation be provided, something that has not happened so far," he said.
Although the debt numbers are high, Pedro Barros guaranteed that the situation is already being reversed. Short-term debts, for example, have already been reduced by hundreds of thousands of euros, with the help of a 350-euro loan taken out by AAUAlg, a process that began in the previous term, when the association's president was still Guilherme Portada .
Current Liabilities «will be around 700 euros» currently, after a year in which widespread cuts and renegotiation of debts and contracts were made. There was also a reduction in staff, which led to the departure of “seven people, some on their own initiative” and the reallocation of staff to different services.
In the accounts presented, there is a substantial difference in the second term of Guilherme Portada in terms of operating results. Between 2008 and 2010 the numbers were close, although in 2010 there was already a negative result, less than 20 thousand euros (in 2008 it was close to 3 thousand euros of profit and in 2009 of 19 thousand euros positive).
But in 2011 the numbers increase exponentially to 274 euros in losses, in annual operating results. The numbers from this year's Academic Week will have contributed decisively to that.
A situation that should serve as a warning for future directions, stressed Pedro Barros, who was already present in the preparation of this event in 2012. The result of the party this year was a profit of 76 thousand euros, he said.
In 2011, in the statutory review carried out by AAUAlg and which allowed Guilherme Portada to launch the process of taking out a loan, a consultative body was created, the Academic Council, responsible for giving opinions on the finances of AAUAlg and also for analyzing the budgets of the events it promoted.
The decisions of this structure, which in addition to the presidents of the different bodies of the association also have three external personalities as members, including the administrator of the University of Algarve, are not binding, but for Pedro Barros it will be "a matter of common sense" that future directions "take them seriously".
Recovery scheduled for 2015
AAUAlg's accounts are complicated to manage, but Pedro Barros guaranteed that the trend has already been reversed and that the path to recovery is being followed. The current General Management has drawn up a Recovery Plan which, if there are no deviations in the future, foresees that the financial recovery of AAUAlg will be achieved within three years, that is, in 2015.
This is also the year in which the 350-euro loan taken out to pay off short-term debt will be fully repaid.
In 2012, although operating results can only be definitively determined at the end, the General Management has already managed to reverse the trend in almost all quarters, namely with regard to the performance of services, guaranteed Pedro Barros.
For this, in addition to changes in the staff, which currently has «40 employees», the renegotiation of service contracts, namely in communications, contributed to lowering the cost structure by 20 thousand euros a year. «For the year, we expect these costs to drop by another 30 euros», revealed Pedro Barros.
The bars and restaurants managed by the association are also expected to generate profits this year, after contracts with suppliers were renegotiated and some spaces closed. In the Copy centers, which have always been profitable, this should increase, mainly in 2013.
Guilherme Portada summoned to speak at the Magna Assembly
The result of the audit commissioned from the DFK company was first presented to the students of the University of Algarve, in a Magna Assembly that took place yesterday, Thursday and brought together 170 students.
Two deliberations emerged from this meeting, following two proposals presented by the first two presidents of the AAUAlg Augusto Costa and Pedro Meireles, one of which determined that Guilherme Portada, the only one of the presidents of the boards in the years on which the audit focused, was not present. at yesterday's meeting, he will have to pronounce on the report in the Magna Assembly to be scheduled in the next 45 days.
It was also decided to create a Disciplinary Commission to analyze the results of the audit. This group will be constituted by the chairman of the Magna Assembly João Pedro Ferreira, by representatives of the General Management and the Supervisory Board, to be appointed, and by two students elected at the time, one from each sub-system of UAlg. Fábio Andrade will represent students from the university system and Marcos Bicho will represent Polytechnic students.
This committee has 60 days to decide.
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