Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The board of directors of Okaz Organization for Press and Publication met on Thursday under the deputy chairman Nabeel Bin Abdullah Al-Hossain and discussed the performance of the organization and its expenditures during the period up to Oct. 31, 2018.

The board asked its executive committee to review the company’s draft budget for 2019. It discussed developments in the advertising market and its implications for the press establishments.

During the meeting, the board approved more measures to rationalize spending and cut expenses at both administrative and editorial levels in the coming phase. It asked the management to prepare a new pattern for employees’ contracts.

The board asked its auditing and risk management committee to review the performance of the organization’s financial department with a view to increasing its quality and realizing the aspirations of the board.

It also asked the committee to present the financial statements of the organization according to international standards and to revise the company’s contracts with the advertising agencies.

The board discussed the budget for 2019 and referred the draft to the executive committee for further study to achieve a balance between the expenditure and revenue.

The board was briefed about the efforts made by the management to expedite the collection of outstanding dues from government and private sector bodies. The board asked the concerned officials to evaluate the performance of the collection department during 2018, compared to the previous year.

The board, on the other hand, discussed the possibility of enabling businessmen who are members of the organization to directly and indirectly support its activities through the creation of successful partnerships in various fields so as to provide new sources of income for the organization as well as to accrue benefits for both sides. The board constituted a committee to communicate with businessmen who members of the organization and discuss with them this new trend.

The meeting was attended by Hamad Al-Qadi, Walid Bin Mahfouz, Dr. Tariq Fadaq, Dr. Ahmed Al-Yousuf, Hussain Shobokshi and Dr. Walid Arab Hashim, in addition to Director General Walid Qattan, Editor-in-Chief of Okaz Jameel Altheyabi and Ahmed Bin Sulaiman Al-Batah, secretary-general of the board.