The financial result for 2019 will be confirmed by the AGM, due to take place during the World Table Tennis Championships, and upon approval from the AGM, the Financial Statements will be made public to ensure transparency.

“This fruitful meeting is a result of our long-term work during the years within the area of finance and risk management. ITTF and its members can be proud to now have a very well composed Finance & Audit Committee – for the first time also with independent members” – Petra Sorling

2019 was a ground-breaking year for the ITTF with the establishment of World Table Tennis, the ITTF Foundation’s new Headquarters in Leipzig, Germany, as well as an office within North America. All of this contributed to tremendous growth for the world of table tennis. This growth also saw an increase in the range and complexity of the ITTF’s financial operations, to ensure that consolidated financial statements accounted for all transactions across five entities – namely the ITTF Headquarters in Lausanne (Switzerland), the ITTF Asia-Pacific Office (Singapore), World Table Tennis, the ITTF Foundation in Leipzig (Germany) and the ITTF North America Office (Canada).

In line with the growth of the financial operations of the ITTF, it was also pleasing to introduce new members to the Finance & Audit Committee, including first-time independent members, Petr Bohumsky (CFO of Czech Insurance Company Generali Česká pojišťovna) and Francesc Sollanellas (Professor in Sports Management, Finance). ITTF Board of Directors Member, Mr Dhanraj Choudhary, was also in attendance alongside Ms Sorling and ITTF Chief Financial Officer, Michael Brown.

The external auditors, Mazars, presented their comprehensive report to the committee. The following recommendations were proposed by the auditors, and will be integrated into the ITTF’s financial operations throughout 2020:

• Ensuring risk assessment workshops are undertaken on an annual basis;
• Confirmation of Remuneration Panel in determining elected officials and senior management’s remuneration;
• Enhancing the internal controls system across the various entities that fall under the ITTF Group

Since the meeting, the sporting world has been rocked by COVID-19, and now additional measures are being put in place by the ITTF Finance team to lay out appropriate plans for the remainder of 2020 and into the future.