Interesting. The patterns that appear from this exercise could be
informative. I took a brief look at the tool and I think that it could be a
valuable opportunity for reflection by affiliates, particularly the more
complex ones and the ones that foresee themselves growing in complexity in
the near future.
I suggest that WMF participate in this reflection as well.
I would be interested to know any suggested methods for Wikimedia entities
which are not legal entities, such as English Wikipedia, to conduct this
self-assessment.
I have one suggestion regarding the tool itself. I think that in addition
to a column for financial controls, there should be a column for financial
transparency. My personal view is that donors should know, to the maximum
extent which is realistic, where every penny of their money has been spent
or is budgeted to be spent. I believe that this expectation is common for
numerous government organizations in the United States such as public
school districts. Topics for consideration under the topic of financial
transparency include:
1. Are all contracts and contract modifications and extensions published in
their entirety in advance of being signed, and is the public given
reasonable notice and opportunity to comment regarding the proposed
contracts, and are the amounts actually expended under those contracts made
public on a regular basis (such as quarterly or annually)?
2. Are all budgeted and actual labor expenses made public, including
amounts and terms for salaries, benefits, deferred compensation, severance
packages, meals, travel, and lodging, for every employee (that is, not only
at an abstract level but for each individual employee and for each type of
expense)?
3. For organizations with employees, does the organization produce a
detailed and comprehensive budget that is drafted months in advance of the
need to approve it, and is the public given multiple weeks to comment on
the complete proposed budget before it is finalized?
4. Are the amounts and individually identifiable subjects of budgeted and
actual legal expenses made public, such as attorney fees and settlement
costs for employment disputes?
Again, my belief is that donors should know exactly how their money has
been spent or is budgeted to be spent. Many government agencies adhere to
this standard in the U.S. and I think that every Wikimedia organization
should do the same, being mindful that they are custodians of money which
was donated to support stated Wikimedia goal(s) and mission(s).
Thanks for this initiative. I think that the tool and an overview of
affiliates' reflections could be valuable to discuss at the Wikimedia
Conference.
Pine <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:CatherineMunro/Bright_Places>