The Cadets and GH history of sexual abuse (news article)

[garfield]

1 hour ago, BRASSO said:

 Yes, one of the people I was referring to above. , ie an individual that as the former Director of USBands one would assume would have direct knowledge of the YEA financials at the time this was written ( Oct, 2017 ) is stating they are ( his words ) "  nearly 1 million in debt ". Was it true then ? Is it better, worse, now ? Well, thats why DCI HQ is conducting their own financial audit, and why it is not at all unusual for people both here and elsewhere to " speculate " on what DCI might/ will find. The rumor of such possible debt, heard in several quarters, has been out there for at least 6 months. The upcoming  DCI  HQ audit will determine what the true state of their financial situation is, and take all this out of the realm of mere speculation.

Or, you might just read the numbers in my next post to step out of the realm of speculation.

[N.E. Brigand]

1 hour ago, Jim Schehr said:

Back in October of 2017 on Reddit I read the resignation letter from the director of USBands that stated YEA was nearly $1 million in debt and it is because GH didn't know how to use a simple budget. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/drumcorps/comments/75djf0/the_truth_about_george_hopkins/

I concur with garfield's analysis of YEA's financial position, but if what that resignation letter says is true, Hopkins was terrible both at managing cash flow (travel purchases declined due to unpaid credit card) and people.

[Jim Schehr]

3 minutes ago, garfield said:

I'm not seeing the legitimacy of the claim either by the Reddit poster or other speculators that Cadets are carrying a lot of debt relative to other orgs like it.

I don’t have any personal knowledge that Cadets have any more or any less incurred debt or risk than other like organizations. Maybe one of GH strengths was financial management. Maybe he shouldn’t have resigned either. When these types of allegations surface from employees of YEA one has to assume there’s some validity. 

[George Dixon]

13 minutes ago, garfield said:

So, of the claimed "...million dollars in debt..." by the Reddit poster, only $414,797 is actual debt.  (SNIP) not seeing the legitimacy of the claim either by the Reddit poster or other speculators that Cadets are carrying a lot of debt relative to other orgs like it.

so... you mean (gasp) the ex employee with an ax to grind wasn't entirely accurate!!?? I'm "shocked"

8 minutes ago, Peel Paint said:

No.... on DCP??... guessing and supposition??? uninformed opinion with few facts????

/shockface

If the mods shut down every thread with guessing and supposition, all we'd be left with is... YEA job posting announcements... /no, wait

Add some facts. The financial discussions by people with background in 990s have been very interesting.

no one is asking to 'shut down" the thread. I'm just saying that we have multiple people posting about supposed financial issues with apparently ZERO knowledge of the actual situation

on the heels of the Hopkins story stirring up essentially rumors of "financial crisis" at YEA is irresponsible and potentially quite damaging

[garfield]

1 hour ago, madisonsmiley said:

Regarding YEA!, what if they have $1,000,000 in liabilities and $2,000,000 in assets, which, hypothetically speaking, gives them net assets of $1,000,000? That might not be such a bad place to be financially. Based on the letter from the director of US Bands does he have access to audited financials? If Hopkins is a control freak, senior staff may not have access to financial statements. Would it not prudent to give significantly more weight to their 990s prepared by an independent accounting firm? A new board and management would be wise to have their own independent audit done so they can verify Hopkins wasn't cooking the books, which is pure speculation. Saying they have $1,000,000 in debt on its own isn't an issue. More information is needed. 

Several thoughts regarding your post:

According to their 2016 financial reporting (990), they had, roughly, $450m in net assets.

You'd have to find and ask the person who resigned from US Bands to answer your question but, even if the answer is no, the 990s are pretty accurate on gross numbers.

Why would "senior staff" (and, by that, I presume you mean the director of USBands) need to have access to YEA!'s financial documents?  Is he entitled to see them as a normal course of his business with YEA!?

It's not necessary to give any more weight to the "independent account firm"'s numbers because they create the form 990 from the financial docs given to them by the CFO/Treasurer of the organization.

I agree that the new BoD should do a forensic analysis (I love that term) to get a "Post-George" baseline.

I haven't found or read anyone (including the ex-director of USBands) who suggests that Hop or anyone else was cooking the books.  Further, the accounting firm puts their reputation on the line each time they file a 990, so they'd have to be in kahoots with a felon to knowingly present false financial information above their name.

I agree with your last two sentences, and neither at all suggests any impropriety, IMO.

[Jim Schehr]

6 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

so... you mean (gasp) the ex employee with an ax to grind wasn't entirely accurate!!?? I'm "shocked"

Are you picking and choosing which ex employees have an ax to grind now? Selective outrage. 

 

 

[garfield]

1 hour ago, madisonsmiley said:

"I do not agree with your business/financial model. YEA! is nearly $1 million in debt and it is because you do not know how to use a simple budget. USBands should have a budget, Performing Ensembles should have a budget. These are simple rules of business. Instead, we fly by the seat of our pants and have our travel credit cards declined while we are on travel because you can’t pay the bills."
If all of this is true, then it's plausible they don't have current financial statements, either, or Hopkins doesn't share them with senior management. If YEA! does have $1,000,000 in debt, what are their net assets? What is their revenue less expenses? There's simply not enough information to evaluate the situation fairly. 

As of the 2016 990:

Net assets were just over $425m (Oh, I forgot in the other post, for those who don't know "m" is thousands and "mm" is millions).

Revenue less expense for 2016 was $88,000 +/-

 

Edited April 15, 2018 by garfield

[BRASSO]

16 minutes ago, garfield said:

No, they're not.  Please source this quote that DCI "is conducting their own financial audit".

 

 Naw.. I don't think I'm interested discussing anything with you anymore. Maybe down I line I might care what you think/ want to know.. but not  at the moment. Ask somebody else if DCI is conducting their own look/ audit of YEA/ Cadets financials. They can tell you what it is DCI is doing re. this,.

[garfield]

29 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

This thread is really jumping the shark

lots of guessing and supposition and few facts 

"speculators" now are allowed to be quoted, apparently.

[BigW]

2 minutes ago, garfield said:

As of the 2016 990:

Net assets were just over $425m (Oh, I forgot in the other thread, for those who don't know "m" is thousands and "mm" is millions).

Revenue less expense for 2016 was $88,000 +/-

 

Glad you can figure that out, man. I'm a musician, not an accountant, which is why there's so much of a mess in this activity with money at times....