And so, another journey to the home of the Salamander...

It is that time of year again, when your correspondent travels abroad to carry out the solemn duty of advising European liberalism as to its moral and ethical responsibilities in terms of internal financial management.

I enjoy my membership of ALDE's Financial Advisory Committee, in that it allows me to be helpful - at least to a certain extent - in a field I understand, and yet remain relatively non-political. Our role - the Committee has seven members - is to examine the financial aspects of ALDE Party activity, suggest ways to progress its objectives and act as, if you like, a back-up conscience for both the Bureau and the Secretariat.

You note that I don't claim that we are the conscience, as I have every confidence in both the Bureau and the Secretariat to behave appropriately. However, sometimes, an external perspective, not involved in the day to day necessities and obligations of running a political party, is useful and, I hope, valuable. We are, by our relative separation from the professional staff and leadership, able to ask questions the answers to which may seem obvious to an insider but, to an outsider, might smack of "but that's how we've always done it".

My colleagues, Boris, Hans, Luca, Monica and Roman, bring different experiences to the table, and different perspectives, which is useful because there are as many ways of doing things as there are countries in the European Union, and issues that might pass unmentioned in one country might be problematic in another. For example, accepting a particular source of sponsorship may generate issues in, say Italy, that cause no problems in Sweden.

We do have a new member this time, as there is a new LYMEC (Liberal Youth Movement of the European Community) Treasurer to be introduced and welcomed, replacing Anne, whose input was always helpful.

So, wish me luck, as I'm kind of doing this for you - because financial probity matters to everyone in civil society...