Euan MacGregor, Financial Director

IN the short period of time since I joined Channel Television in March 1986, I have been faced with a variety of challenges. That I am still here and still enjoying the job enormously is in no small measure a tribute to my staff. Our small department is responsible for the accounting not just for Channel Television, but for a diversified group of companies active throughout the Channel Islands and employing 150 people. Group turnover is now in excess of £6 million per year.

My responsibilities include the preparation of management accounts, budgets, cash flow forecasts, annual and half yearly published accounts and development and improvement of our financial systems, as well as ensuring the smooth running of the day to day accounting. None of these tasks would be possible without the support of my staff.

Starting at the desk nearest to my own, Sandra Stringfellow, my Assistant, is guaranteed popularity at least 12 times a year, as one of her many tasks involves the preparation of the payroll. In addition to this she is responsible for ledger posting, the reconciliation of control accounts and bank reconciliations. She also reminds me of appointments I have forgotten and ensures that the right jobs are done in the right order.

Our youngest member of staff, Gill Tanguy, helps Sandra with many of these jobs, as well as looking after our petty cash. Gill is kept busy with a wide variety of claims and requests and it is to her credit that she manages to keep a straight face. Well, most of the time anyway.

Moving along we come to Sue Clifford and Lynn Pawelski who administer the purchaser ledgers for all group companies. It is their thankless task to ensure that every purchase invoice is approved for payment by the appropriate department head. As if this isn’t enough, they then have to retrieve all of these invoices in time to pay them before any discounts lapse. We have a very large number of suppliers, many of them local companies, although some of the goods and services we require, particularly on the technical side, simply are not available locally. Lynn and Sue also prepare the astonishing number of cheques we send out every month, most of which I sign.

Next we come to Mary Wilkins who does a sterling job looking after our sales ledger. With good humour and persistence she answers queries, provides copy invoices where required and reminds our more forgetful customers that they have forgotten to post that cheque. Mary was at the sharp end of the introduction of our new sales and accounts computer system which, despite initial teething troubles, has now become an essential management tool.

Mary’s efforts during the introduction of the computer made it possible for the rest of us to avoid many of the problems we would otherwise have faced in implementing the system.

Last but not least is Pauline Murphy who looks after the sales ledger and some of the other aspects of one of our group companies. Pauline is normally the one to suggest that we should have a barbecue or a quiet evening out, our one person social committee!

Although this completes the full time staff, it wouldn’t be fair to finish without mentioning the office cat. Although we know very little about her, she makes a very good paperweight! Unfortunately she can’t be relied upon to lie on the right papers at the right time, but then nobody is perfect!

In conclusion, I look forward to the future with enormous anticipation. Our acquisition of the La Pouquelaye premises has provided us with a golden opportunity to plan for the future with confidence. The mad world of television provides many challenges, not least providing the highest possible quality of service at the most economical cost. Throw in a few more variables, such as the rate of technological change and the new opportunities opening up in satellite broadcasting, stereo sound etc., and it is easy to see why the company is a stimulating environment. All of us are conscious that we exist to serve our public, and your interest and support over the last 25 years is appreciated. We look forward to amusing, informing and educating you in the next 25 years.