STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOP)

GUIDELINES & SCHEDULING NOTES
for the Production of the XXXXX Annual Report


1. Appointment & Duties of the Editor
1.1 The Communications Committee to appoint an Editor for the Annual Report in its first meeting held after the Annual General Meeting. To facilitate the work of the Editor, this appointment should be approved by ExCo.

1.2 The appointed Editor to have discretion for editing, design and layout of the Report,
bearing the following in mind:
- Presentability
- Conformance with the Guidelines for Corporate Identity
- Consistency with the image projected in other publicity materials during the period that the Annual Report is being produced.

1.3 The Editor shall work closely with the staff in Communications Support.

1.4 The Editor is able to undertake editing work, and oversee the production of the Report - which is typically scheduled to start in January and complete by end April.

2. Appointment of Design Company
2.1 The Editor to decide if GGS will use the Design Company contracted the previous year, or to consider the services of other Design Companies.

2.2 The Editor to decide which Design Company will be awarded the job, and confirm this appointment by January of the new year.

2.3 The staff in Communications Support to ensure the expenditures in producing the Report is in compliance with Finance guidelines.

3. Call for Submission of Reports & Materials
3.1 The staff in Communications Support to send out an email on 1st November to inform office bearers in ExCo and Secretariat staff of their area of responsibility and to submit their reports/information as per requested in the Contents Schedule in Appendix I & II.

4. Guidelines to Facilitate Production
4.1 All reports by office holders are to be submitted as a WORD document, free of formatting.

4.2 To facilitate the work of the Editor and the staff in Communications Support, office holders submitting their reports should select the pictures accompanying their reports and messages themselves.

4.3 To facilitate the work process, avoid submitting one report several times because of minor amendments and omissions.

4.4 All pictures MUST be submitted in JPEG format - and NOT as a JPEG image pasted into a WORD document.

4.5 The organization chart should be prepared in WORD. Do not convert into JPEG, and then paste into WORD document for submission as this creates unnecessary work for the Design Company.

4.6 The reports from the President, Chief Commissioner, Headquarters, Branches, Committees and About Our Leaders will be edited and checked by the Editor.

4.7 Information submitted by staff of the Secretariat – for example, the list of recipients for PGA, CCA and PNA – must be vetted by the the respective Commissioner for accuracy before submission.

4.8 The Organization Chart and the list of members in National Council, ExCo, Committees and Branches (the latter in particular) must be vetted by Chief Commissioner and Deputies to correct all omissions and errors before they are submitted to the Design Company.

4.9 ExCo to decide by October the two persons to feature under the section “Our Leaders” and who is to write the reports - if it is to be someone other than the staff in Communications Support.

5. Deadline for Submission
5.1 The deadline for submission of reports and materials for the Reports section of the Annual Report is 15th December, or whatever date the Editor deems appropriate.

5.2 The deadline for submission of the Financial Statements of the Annual Report is 7th March. The Honorary Treasurer and the Finance Executive to work with our appointed auditors to meet this deadline. To produce the accounts section of the Annual Report quickly, efficiently, without errors, omissions and misalignment, it is recommended that the signed audited accounts be scanned and printed without the Design Company having to reformat and redo the layout in a smaller font (to cut down on number of pages).

The Honorary Treasurer to consider and advise the auditors to present the audited accounts in a smaller font – as this would be a more efficient way of reproducing the accounts section.

5.3 To facilitate the work of the Editor and the staff in Communications Support coordinating the production, office bearers and Secretariat staff responsible for the various reports and submissions are requested to respect the deadlines set by the Editor.
6. Guidelines for Editing & Proofreading
6.1 The Editor to ensure that submissions are edited for grammar, spelling, consistency in the use of words, punctuation, proper nouns, style, salutations, designations, etc.

6.2 The Editor to ensure the reports by the Branches, Divisions as well as content of messages within the Annual Reports do not overlap. The Editor to have discretion to make changes if this were the case.

6.3 The Editor together with the staff in Communications Support to ensure that the cover design as well as the layout of the inside pages conform with the Guidelines for Corporate Identity.

7. Guidelines for Organizing Materials for Design Company
7.1 Reports and pictures are to be organized in separate folders, and burned on a CD for submission to the Design Company.

7.2 To facilitate the work of the Design Company, all submissions should be checked and edited thoroughly before being submitted. Avoid changes after materials are submitted to the Design Company as it hinders the production process.

8. Production Timeline Upon Submission of Materials (Reports Section)
8.1 Submit materials to the Design Company by 1st Feb, and request to see First Proof two weeks later.

8.2 Check the First Proof against guidelines listed under Point 6. Allow at least 2 weeks for proofreading and amendments.

8.3 Submit amended proof to ExCo for comments and final check by office bearers in early March. Allow 1 week for minor amendments. There should not be numerous and/or major changes at this stage.

8.4 Submit to Council for approval in mid March. Allow 1 week for minor changes.

8.5 Reports Section to be approved by 3rd week of March.

9. Production Timeline Upon Submission of Materials (Finance Section)
9.1 Submit audited accounts for scanning on 7th March. Annual Report ready to print when Reports Section is approved in 3rd week of March. Delivery by pinter by early April.

9.2 If audited accounts are to be submitted as a soft copy in WORD for Design Company to layout, request First Proof for checking on 21st March.

9.3 The Finance Executive to check for errors in figures, omissions and misalignment. The Communications Executive to assist. Allow another two weeks for checking and amendments (7th April).

9.4 Submit to Honorary Treasurer for checking and final approval. Allow one week (by 14th April) for completion.

9.5 Annual Report ready to print by 14th April. Delivery by 25th April.