In previous articles in this series, I have argued for the scrapping of laws about maintenance plans (instead imposing minimum contribution to capital works as a percentage of a buildings value) and conflict of interest disclosure (instead relying on the common-law and the Crimes Act secret commission provisions). This week I take the razor to summary statements about financial statements.
Repeal section 92 - statements of key financial information
This section of the NSW strata laws requires a summary of the financial statements to be sent with the AGM papers. It’s a classic solution in search of a problem. It replicates the work done by strata managers in presenting financial statements for no real benefit. A key financial statement can replace full financial statements for an AGM. But a competent strata manager would not hold back the full set. A full set of documents is a must for these meetings. Anything less breeds distrust.
What do you say, scrap or stay?
Michael Teys has more than 30 years’ experience as a strata lawyer and academic and has owned 11 strata management agencies throughout Australia. He has a Master of Philosophy (Built Environment) and Bachelor of Laws. He lectures and writes widely about strata management issues in Australia and internationally.
