Madam, - In her Artscape column of July 30th on the financial difficulties at the Abbey Deirdre Falvey comments that "the issue of poor financial management is said to be rife in smaller arts organisations" and observes that it may be in the nature of small companies to place less emphasis on financial controls.
In my experience the opposite is the case.
Small organisations with restricted budgets have to be more disciplined in their control of expenditure, not less. When the margin for error is non-existent and the next show depends on the outcome of the last, there is a vital imperative for the producer to deliver a show on or under budget, and to ensure that the outcome is accurately reported.
I have been fortunate in Rough Magic to work as part of a management team with some of the best producers in the country. There is, of course, never enough money; but it is to the producers' credit that our resources can be managed efficiently and that the company's ambitions continue to be realised.
I have also worked with several other independent companies and serve on the boards of two arts organisations. In all cases I have observed best practice and never cease to be grateful for the diligence, skill and acumen of the financial managers.
I suggest that in re-assembling the board of the Abbey, it might be wise to include some people who come not just from the business world, however impressive they might be, but from the theatre business - people who know how to assess real value for money in a financially tight situation. - Yours, etc,
LYNNE PARKER,
Artistic Director,
Rough Magic
Theatre Company,
South Great
Georges Street,
Dublin 2.