2020 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2020 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 26 The task of describing the financial journey we experienced this year is by no means straightforward. Indeed, there has been nothing straightforward about this year. PAU L E L L I S TREASURER’ S REPORT Ultimately, despite the myriad of financial stresses and strains caused by the global pandemic, which caused our forecasts to fluctuate violently during the course of the year, the club has been able to announce a pre-tax surplus of £167k. It would be a significant understate- ment to say this performance is far better than we could have imagined for the majority of the summer. As we approached the halfway point in our financial year at the end of March, it was becoming increasingly apparent that we, like everyone else in our sector, were about to experience unprecedented disruption. The immediate concern from a financial standpoint was centred on our ability to protect the organisation and ensure its ongoing survival.This was made more challenging by a lack of understanding as to what we were dealing with and for how long it would last. The first six months in any given year routinely produce significant trading losses for the club, which are then offset across the cricketing summer when our ability to drive commercial revenue is at its peak. By the end of March 2020, our business had reported a deficit of £2.3m in its management accounts. This was a seasonal position, in line with our budget and one in which we find ourselves to varying degrees each year.The number, in fact, represented a significant improvement on the corresponding point of the previous year given the club did not host aTest match in 2019. If the financial position at the halfway stage was what we expected, the remainder of our financial year was to be the complete opposite. Unlike any other trading year where the profits associated with the cricket season would offset our winter costs, with an indefinite lockdown underway and no guarantee of any cricket being played, our half-year accounts added to the sense that our position was particularly precarious. During the initial planning stages, forecasts and financial models were generated to provide a framework within which to assess the ever- changing situation and make the most informed decisions possible. A Covid-19 sub-group was formed ANNUAL INCOME £M