Minutes – Board Finance Committee (BFC) Meeting 3 November 2010

BFC Attendees: Rajasekhar Ramaraj – Chair; George Sadowsky; Bruce Tonkin (Observer).

Apologies: Gonzalo Navarro

Other Board Attendees: Rod Beckstrom – President and CEO; Steve Crocker; Peter Dengate Thrush; Dennis Jennings; Katim Touray.

Staff Members Present: Akram Atallah – Chief Operating Officer; John Jeffrey – General Counsel and Secretary; Kurt Pritz – Senior Vice President, Services; Kevin Wilson – Chief Financial Officer; Juan Ojeda, Diane Schroeder and Amy Stathos

Guests: Representative from KPMG; Representatives from UBS


The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken and actions identified:

  1. Introductions: Welcome to new ICANN controller, Juan Ojeda, who thanked the Board and Kevin for the opportunity.

  2. Preliminary Report: The BFC reviewed and approved the preliminary report from the last BFC meeting.

  3. Project List: Staff discussed the development of the project list as an ongoing document.

  4. FY10 Performance: The BFC received a brief staff report on FY10 budget. They discussed the overall management, revenue, budget variance, and the current financial picture. The committee also discussed the various postings made or to come, including the clean audit for FY10, Board member contractual relationships notice, Board member expense reimbursement report, fluctuation report, the Annual Report and the Form 990. Staff also reported on material line item budgets. The committee also discussed the interaction between the new gTLD budget and the overall budget.

    • Actions:

      • Staff to provide more statistical analysis of line item variances to be provided in the posted fluctuation analysis and finance blog.

      • Staff to look into opening additional account(s) to maximize interest return on working capital.

      • Staff to consider adding cash flow analysis to future performance reviews.

  5. FY11 Financial Performance: Staff provided status update on FY11 finances for the BFC to review. BFC discussed various aspects relating to reporting, including how the current year budget should be viewed with the understanding that funds allocated to new gTLD start-up will be recovered in the future.

    • Action: Staff to distribute historical budget analysis for discussion in Cartagena.

  6. FY12 Development Process: Staff presented proposals for changes in the development process for FY12 budget. The committee discussed the process for including SOs and ACs in the development process and discussed allocation and disbursement authority for funds earmarked for the SOs and ACs and the challenges in developing a plan. The committee also discussed the idea of developing a three-year budget cycle to provide for longer-term planning.

    • Action: Staff to continue working on development plan for further discussion in Cartagena.

  7. Investment Policy: KPMG representative presented results of survey to Board re: Investment Policy. Objectives of the reserve fund have not changed, but there did appear to be a change in risk tolerance. KPMG recommended that more detail should be included around income benchmarks, foreign investment profile should remain as is, and there could be expanded focus on commodities, real estate and emerging markets as part of investment profile and asset allocation.

    • Actions:

      • Staff to present committee with recommendations for revision of investment policy.

  8. Reserve Fund: Representatives from UBS, ICANN’s Investment Management Company, made a presentation about the current state of the reserve fund. The committee discussed issues around non-U.S. currency exposure and the various other risks inherent in reserve fund investments.

    • Actions:

      • Staff to present recommendations to the committee, including exploring alternative strategies such as using low load index funds.

      • Staff to quantify total investment fees paid in FY10, including any embedded fees in investment portfolio.