The Franchise Council of Australia has released its Annual Report for 2023-24, revealing it has racked up a $1.32m loss.
Franchise Executives has sighted the report, which reveals the headline figures for the past financial year. At time of press, there was no balance sheet or audit attached to the annual report.
The FCA’s consolidated financial statement showed a revenue of $2,547,956, a rise from the 2023 figure of $2,487,143. However, expenses rocketed more than $1m, rising from last year’s $2,572,603 to $3,870,529 this year.
The released figures are in stark contrast to claims made earlier this year by the former FCA chair, Brendan Green.
In June The Age and SMH reported the FCA had a net loss of $1 million for the first nine months of FY24.
When the association’s woes were highlighted in the Nine mastheads, the suggestion that the FCA was losing money was denied by Green.
At the time, he told Franchise Executives “We completely reject the allegations made in The Age/SMH. The numbers reported are simply wrong”.
“The FCA continues to be in a sound financial position with strong cash reserves. It is not and has not been in deficit this financial year,” Green said.
He claimed the NFC was profitable and the FCA is “on track to deliver another healthy financial result this year”.
Green stepped down from the FCA chair in August after four years and was replaced by board director Richard Thame.
At the same time the FCA appointed a new CEO Jay Westbury, who took over from interim CEO Tanya Robertson, herself a replacement for Matthew Monaghan, the previous incumbent who swiftly exited the organisation in April.
The FCA has agreed to provide Franchise Executives with comment on its annual report once the auditor’s report has been released later this week.
The report will come under scrutiny from members when the FCA holds its AGM on 28 November 2024.
