and provide an environment of interaction and learning. Finally, our annual conference is a great chance to im- prove your knowledge as well as discuss clinical and work related issues with colleagues around the coun- try. Membership of this organisation will allow reduced price registration and potential involvement in the ses- sions. We strongly invite you to attend these meet- ings and next year in Liverpool there will be a focus on emergency surgery and those that work in the field. We are already planning a “Big” conference in 2020 in Belfast. As well as AUGIS, BOMSS and GBIHP- BA, The Pancreatic Society and the EUS Users group will also join us. There will also be a large contingent of clinicians from China joining us. All very exciting. AUGIS remains the ‘go to’ organisation for the Depart- ment of Health, the Colleges and Trusts in all issues re- lating to upper GI surgery. BOMSS and GBIHPBA have generated significant momentum and have become piv- otal in providing advice to many NHS and Government bodies. AUGIS is there to support all upper gastrointesti- nal clinical team members both benign and cancer teams. These are all very good reasons to be a member of AUGIS and to suggest to your colleagues they do the same. Please join us and let us know your views and feedback Best wishes Giles Toogood President, AUGIS President’s Message AUGIS Winter 2018 Newsletter AUGIS Council Members - Winter 2018 President: Professor Giles Toogood President Elect: Mr Nick Maynard Honorary Secretary: Mr Adrian O’Sullivan Honorary Secretary Elect: Mr Simon Galloway Honorary Treasurer: Mr Stephen Fenwick Clinical Services, Audit & Corporate Lead: Mr Iain Cameron Education, Training & Research Lead: Mr Mark Taylor BOMSS Secretary: Mr Vinod Menon BOMSS President: Mr Shaw Somers HPB Group Representative: Professor Ashley Dennison OG Group Lead: Professor Ashraf Rasheed Trainee Member Representative: Miss Siobhan McKay Regional Representatives: Mr Bhaskar Kumar (East Anglia), Mr Andrew Kennedy (Northern Ireland), Mr Shajahan Wahed (North & York- shire), Mr Dinesh Sharma (North Thames ), Mrs Naheed Farooq (North West & Mersey), Mr Zahir Soonawall (Oxford & Wessex), Mr Adrian O’Sullivan (Republic of Ireland), Mr James Gossage (South Thames), Mr Richard Krysztopik (South West), Mr Matthew Forshaw (Scotland), Mr Krishnamurthy Ravi (Trent), Mr Bilal Al-Sarireh (Wales), Mr Jan Dmitrewski (West Midlands). AHP/CNS Representatives: Louise Jones, Orla Evans, Bernadette Fairley Communications Officer: Mr Nick Everitt ACP Representative: Mr Shahab Siddiqi 2 AUGIS is required to submit an annual report to the charity commission. I presented a summary of our accounts for the last financial year, which have now been submitted, to the AGM in Edinburgh. I am pleased to report that the association overall remains in good financial shape. Last year our overall income was the highest we have ever achieved - £673K. Our expenditure on charitable activities and governance was £517K, giving an overall surplus for the association of £156K. The chart below shows our income and expenditure over the last 6 years. This is by far the most successful year AUGIS has had, however much of this success was down to the achievements of BOMSS, particularly the IFSO meeting held in August last year in London. The financial landscape for AUGIS as a whole remains challenging. We are less able to attract commercial sponsorship than previously, and more dependent on membership subscription and meeting registrations for the sustainability of the association. As a result we will be restructuring subscription rates over the next year, to bring us more in line with comparable associations, to achieve a simpler membership structure, and to ensure there is equity across the various members of AUGIS. More information relating to this will be circulated in the near future. The last year has seen a complete restructuring of our financial activities. As a result, we no longer have any financial relationships with ASGBI. This has been a huge amount of work for the staff in the office, but is already enabling us to have far greater day to day control of our association. Best wishes for 2019 Mr Stephen Fenwick Honorary Treasurer AUGIS Winter 2018 Newsletter 3 Honorary Treasurer’s Report Mr Stephen Fenwick Telephone: 020 7869 6115/6116 Specialty Managers: nichola@augis.org / sarvjit@augis.org The Royal College of Surgeons of England 35/43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PE REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1093090