While no-one has suggested the franchise has breached the ANZ Championship's $380,000 salary cap, sources have questioned whether there has been over-spending on third-party deals within the organisation that help top up a player's income.
Netball Central Zone chief executive Carolyn Young, who has been in the role only since October, declined to divulge whether any Pulse players were receiving additional salary payments from Netball Central.
It is a sensitive topic, given the Pulse has overspent in the past and required a financial bailout from Netball New Zealand in 2009.
''Anything around a player's contract is obviously private and confidential information,'' she said.
''But what I can say is that for every single player - their contracts are all signed off by TTNL [Trans Tasman Netball Limited]. It is very upfront.''
Not everybody feels the system is as transparent as Young asserts.
One senior member of the netball community said the test for a genuine third-party agreement needed to be clearer.
Another estimated the real cost of the Pulse's playing roster was likely to be more than half million dollars.
Marquee players Irene van Dyk and Donna Wilkins were rumoured to be earning between $90,000 and $110,000.
Some of that funding would be coming from commercial sponsors. But Netball Central would also be picking up some of the tab and ran the risk of getting into financial trouble ''again'', they said.
Netball Central recorded a small deficit of $34,000 for the financial period ended November 30, 2013.
Young said the organisation was ''working hard to get to a break-even position'' by the end of the next financial period.
''Players' salaries do not make a difference to whether we make a profit or a loss,'' Young said.
''There are a wide range of things which come into the cost of running a team. It is an enormous challenge to break even in a semi-professional sport that has a lot of constraints around it.
''TTNL are working hard to come up with a model that is going to be sustainable. The numbers that go to the game and the broadcasting numbers suggest things are going well on this side of the ditch.''
TTNL general manager Andy Crook said he had not been alerted to concerns regarding the financial position of any of the 10 teams in the league.
''We work really close with Netball New Zealand and we'd know if there was going to be any major issues and at the moment we are not seeing any red flags,'' Crook said.
''In terms of the cash component, we are very comfortable with how teams are spending their $380,000.
''Effectively there are two type of deals which currently sit outside of the salary cap. One is a deal with the franchise ... and then there are [other] third-party arrangements which are effectively with commercial entities and might be sponsors.
''There is a lot of transparency and there is more transparency than there has ever been. We are basically aware of every penny which is spent within a franchise.''
Netball New Zealand chief executive Hilary Poole shared Crook's confidence.
''Nothing has been raised with us, so there is nothing to suggest those agreements are out of hand,'' Poole said. However, Poole does have concerns about the financial sustainability of the zones.
''I'm not talking specifically about Netball Central ... but there is genuine concern or interest in the financial sustainability of the zones. We'd be concerned if any zone was not cutting its cloth ... or making contractual commitments where they didn't have the funds to [honour those contracts].
''We expect prudence from our zones with their financial management. We have been very clear with the zones that this is not a big-sister relationship, it is one of partnership.
"And there is absolutely no commitment from Netball New Zealand to provide an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.''
