As the University’s liquor-licence holder, I have been following coverage of Clark Hall Pub in recent editions of the Journal and there are two areas where I wish to make comment. First, I believe the articles regarding the pub’s finances, particularly the financial records, require some perspective. A licensed operation must always be in a position to pass a Provincial Sales Tax audit conducted by the province. Although former members of the Clark Hall Pub staff note that previous managers “always knew exactly where the pub stood,” proper documentation is required for an audit.
In a PST audit, the Ministry of Finance contacts suppliers and collects documentation of all alcohol purchases during the period of audit. They then calculate the revenue that should have been received on the sale of the product at prices that were established by the organization. They then calculate the PST based on this calculated revenue number and if the actual remittance was lower, then there’s a balance owing.
It’s my understanding that Collins Barrow, the accounting firm hired by the Engineering Society to examine the pub’s finances, couldn’t perform a financial audit of the financial records of Clark Hall Pub because of questions about the accuracy of the data input into the Clark Hall Pub financial records, the completeness of supporting documentation and because the internal control recommendations that were made by an accountant in 2002-03 had never been implemented. Thus it would also be unfair to target the immediate past management as solely responsible for these problems.
Also, in trying to find records, Collins Barrow observed that the office wasn’t organized and there were loose documents in the office. The filing cabinet in the office, intended to contain all Clark Hall Pub’s financial records, wasn’t complete, and there were supplier invoices missing for purchases. Some of the needed documents weren’t present in the office.
Collins Barrow didn’t conduct a PST audit, and it’s very unlikely that a record system in this condition could successfully complete a PST audit. In the event such an audit was commissioned by the government and Clark Hall failed to have the necessary records, the University would have been forced to immediately suspend the pub’s use of the liquor licence and the pub would have been closed.
My second perspective arises from the opinion piece, “Clark report ‘inadequate’” (Journal, Jan. 15, 2008). I want to make it clear that I am not commenting about the author personally, but I do believe some of the sentiments in the article are commonly held beliefs among those who have worked at Clark in the past and that those beliefs, which presumably guided the pub’s operations, are in large measure why Clark is currently closed. The author states, “By closing the bar ‘on their own terms,’ the EngSoc executive has unfortunately opened the doors for the University administration to force changes in the bar and the society’s operations.” It is my observation that Clark Hall Pub as an entity didn’t see itself as accountable to either EngSoc, the pub’s owner, or to the University, which grants the right to operate a licensed premises.
The University, as the licence holder, has always had the right to request that changes be made to the operations of the pub and I believe the lack of recognition that the University is a partner in the pub’s operation contributed to the current situation.
One of the most notable areas of concern is the University’s requirement that in order to reopen, Clark must have professional management in place similar to the position held by AMS Food and Beverage Officer John McDiarmid. Although the closure of the pub by the EngSoc executive has been characterized as some kind of opening for the University to “force” this change, the lack of professional management at Clark has been an area of concern for some time and regardless of the closure, this would very soon have become a requirement to operate a pub on campus.
Any concerns that such a position would be “unaffordable” doesn’t change the fact that in an environment where the courts and the public have a low tolerance for alcohol-related liability, professional management is no longer optional. As well, a well-run operation is quite capable of covering its costs. I’m certain that the right individual could be invaluable in helping Clark Hall Pub evolve and succeed in a variety of areas, such as marketing, events, security and financial controls, thereby guaranteeing the pub’s future prosperity. The administration wants the pub to do well, and we will continue to support efforts to refine the practices so that this can happen.
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Bruce Griffiths is the University’s director of housing and hospitality services. He holds the University’s liquor licence.
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