Revenue is vanity. Profits are sanity. Cash is reality. I could not help but think of that phrase as I teased my way through the annual reports of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for the past eight years. On the face of it, the accounts paint a pretty picture, with consistent surpluses, robust revenues and solid reserves. But a detailed and forensic analysis of the association’s cash flow position yields an entirely different view. And it is a view that that will no doubt startle the myriad of accountants and consultants who have been brought in by the FAI…

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