Presidency Club Elections 2022

V. Gaudam (L-096)

V Gaudam has been a long standing member of Presidency Club. His father late Dr.R.Vasudevan, FRCS, was also an active and well known member of our Club. His brother, Late V.Natarajan (Natti) was a popular member of the Club. Mr.Gaudam is a Civil Engineering Graduate from Annamalai University, Chidambaram. He completed his post-graduation in the prestigious School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.Mr.Gaudam has been engaged in the successful running and management of two Hotels in Sardar Patel Road, Adyar and in OMR Chennai. The Hotels are equipped with full-fledged Bars and multi-cuisine restaurant. Mrs. Dr. Kalpana, wife of Mr.Gaudam, is a medical practitioner working for Sri Ramachandra Medical College Trust. The couple has been blessed with two children, Dr.Nithyalakshmi, MD, is settled in the US. Mr.Aditya Raj, a young and energetic Advocate, is a Partner in a leading law firm based in Chennai. Mr.Gaudam is a regular user of the Club facilities. Mr.Gaudam is fully committed to work for transforming Presidency club into the best in its class.

M. Ezhil (R-315)

M.Ezhil, has been a member of Presidency Club, since 2002. His father late Mr. K. Meenakshisundaram, (Bank of India) was an active senior member of the Club, who was part of a well-knit 'Ozone' Group.

M.Ezhil, a commerce graduate from Loyola College (1980-83), cleared the CA Intermediate and Final examination, in first attempt becoming a Chartered Accountant, in 1986 even before completing the statutory Articleship period of 3 years. He had also completed the ICWAI examinations and as a Fellow member of the ICAI, he has been in continuous practice since 1986.

He is an active member and an Associate Secretary in the Loyola Alumni Association, which is one of the stronger and vibrant Jesuit Alumni Associations in the country. He has been associated with multiple NGOs. He is the Hony. General Secretary of the National Association for the Blind, Tamilnadu State Branch. He was instrumental in setting up the first Inclusive Education Centre for the visually challenged in 2006 in an English Medium School in TN, (Sethu Bhaskara Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Ambattur), with just a couple of students and presently 30 visually challenged students are studying together with more than 6000 normal sighted children in that School.

Mr.Ezhil is also active with two entities forming part of the Guild of Service, Central, Egmore, Chennai. Mr.Ezhil is the Hony. Treasurer, which is responsible for managing the affairs of Seva Samajam Girls Home, Mary Clubwala Jadhav Girls Higher Secondary School (both in the Guild Complex at Egmore).The Girls Home is run like a model centre for girls from abandoned and broken homes. The MCJGHS School is an aided Institution catering to girl students from the lowest strata of society.

Mr.Ezhil is presently the President of Brownstone Apartment Owners Association, which is one of the older and well known Apartment complexes in the City. His only son is working in Mindtree Limited in New Jersey, USA.

Min. Billing - Our Approach

Minimum billing charged on the members and booked as revenue for services not availed from the Club for the last four financial years has been: (as per Audited Accounts)

from the Club for the last four financial years has been: (as per Audited Accounts)

#	Year	Amount
1	2017-18	Rs.62.40 lakhs
2	2018-19	Rs.62.34 lakhs
3	2019-20	Rs.72.57 lakhs
4	2020-21	Rs.38.45 lakhs

However, even with such high minimum billing income accruing to the Club for services not provided to members, the club is being run at excess of Expenditure over the Income

(Loss) as per Audited Income and Expenditure Account:

#	Year	Amount
1	2017-18	Rs.77.01 lakhs
2	2018-19	Rs.135.89 lakhs
3	2019-20	Rs.165.42 lakhs
4	2020-21	Rs.83.16 lakhs

This then leads to the question as to how any organization can sustain itself with such huge losses year after year. The answer is simple. Every year the club admits new members and receives Entrance Fees from them. The amount of Entrance Fees Income not taken as income and directly booked to Balance Sheet for the last four years:

#	Year	Amount
1	2017-18	Rs.139.40 lakhs
2	2018-19	Rs.117.50 lakhs
3	2019-20	Rs.110.00 lakhs
4	2020-21	Rs.224.50 lakhs

Against the huge revenue generated from Entrance Fees from new members every year, what is the amount being spent on upgrading assets or enhancing the value of the club through quality asset creation:

#	Year	Amount
1	2017-18	Rs.43.37 lakhs
2	2018-19	Rs.31.12 lakhs
3	2019-20	Rs.8.67 lakhs
4	2020-21	Rs. 0.66 lakhs

The declining value of fixed asset creation year after year is a concern when compared to the increasing dependence on new member enrolment. However, the club practice has been to book even major asset creation as revenue expenditure and write off the same under Repairs and Maintenance. An amount of Rs.50.96 lakhs spent on swimming pool renovation during 2020-21 has been entirely written off in the same financial year, though the benefit from the renovated Swimming Pool would accrue to the Club over many years. The following is the summary of spending on repairs and maintenance as against declining spending on creating new fixed assets shown above:

#	Year	Amount
1	2017-18	Rs.109.77 lakhs
2	2018-19	Rs.80.19 lakhs
3	2019-20	Rs.139.23 lakhs
4	2020-21	Rs.89.41 lakhs

Considering all the above the question arises whether accounting norms and juggling thereof results in booking of higher expenses / losses than the actuals and also result in low level of quality asset creation. From the perspective of members, it is also important to explore what are the additional options available for reducing the minimum billing burden on members, in the light of the above information

Viability & efficiency of key departments in the club

Is it possible for the Club to provide a wider range of products / services with improved quality and reasonable quantity at reduced prices?

It is possible to accomplish even much more than what has been stated above, if the club is being run with high levels of efficiency and a clear focus on viability.

The splash of red across the departments and various financial years is much more than the streaks of green. One must also keep in mind that the above numbers are before allocation of electricity, maintenance and other overheads, which will result in getting rid of the limited green numbers or increasing the losses (denoted by the red). One also has to bear in mind that the snack bar charges prices which are higher than the printed MRP and even levies multi-point GST @ 5% on such higher prices.

So from where can the Club achieve sustenance and deliverance from pernicious losses? The easiest way is by ensuring high levels of utilization of all existing facilities of the Club. When it comes to income from guest house, banquets and sports facilities, it should be noted that the consumption of consumables for these departments is either low or negligible or nil, except maintenance costs, parts of which can be easily capitalized. For example let us look at billing from banquets (cover and hall charges), guest rooms for the same period:

We leave members with one thought – When private swimming pools across Chennai were enjoying record attendance with severe overcrowding after the COVID outbreak, our brand new swimming pool had minimum utilization because charges were exorbitant @ Rs.200 per dip. We missed not only generating income from the pool but for income from catering and other services from the visitors to the swimming pool.