IEA Treasury Meeting 8/12/09



IEA Council Meeting

March, 2010

Wellington, New Zealand

Report of the Treasurer

Patricia Buffler

Introduction

This report is presented at the IEA Executive Committee for review and discussion at the meeting of the IEA Council in Wellington, New Zealand on March 25-26, 2010.

1. Budget Planning

The following is a summary of income and expenses for 2007-2009. A detailed Financial Report for Jan-Dec 2009 is attached as Appendix A.

|Summary of 2007-2009 IEA Income and Expenses (revised to include additional cost for IJE Editorial Office) |

| |2007 |2008 |2009 |Total |

| |(12 months) |(12 months) |(12 months) | |

|Income |$313,558.51 |$350,213.25 |$330,830.98 |$994,602.74 |

|Expenses |$126,736.81 |$248,072.45* |$583,965.28* |$958,774.50 |

|Difference |$186,821.70 |$102,140.80 |-$253,134.30 |$35,828.20 |

|Cash on Hand |$1,138,701.79 |$1,240,842.59 |$987,708.29 |n/a |

|* Including $92,000 per year for IJE for 2008 and 2009 |

The budget year Jan-Dec 2009 was the first year where expenses exceeded income (by an amount of -$253,134). The amount would be higher by approximately $130,000 (i.e. -$383,134) if the 2008 expenditures of $92,000 for the IJE Editorial Office and $38,000 for the WCE 2008 had been paid in 2008, instead of 2009. Accordingly, the difference between income and expenditures for 2008 would be -$32,921, and the difference between income and expenditures for 2009 would be -$123,135, rather than -$253,134 shown if these expenses are budgeted in the years that they incurred.

The budget overrun in 2008 is due to the unanticipated expenses related to the WCE 2008, and the budget overrun in 2009 is due to the expansion of support for regional meetings and the IEA International Course on Epidemiology; increased support needed by the Secretariat and the Treasurer’s office related to expanded activities of both offices and loans to support the WCE 2011 and the Lebanon Epidemiologic Association. During the past

2. Proposed Transition to Professional Association Management Service

We are planning to phase out the pro bono services of Mary Jane Varley as our accountant. She will be retiring from her position at the University of California, Los Angeles within the next year and has expressed a desire to step down from her volunteer duties with the IEA. Additionally, the IEA Council decided at the August 2009 meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, that the IEA would move to a system for receiving membership payments electronically, though a service such as PayPal (), via the IEA website.

To facilitate these transitions, we have solicited bids from three association management organizations for performance of the Financial/Membership management Scope of Work included in Appendix B of this report.

- FirstPoint Management Resources ()

- Total Management Solutions Inc.

()

- Association Headquarters, Inc.

()

Bids from these three firms are included in Appendix C of this report.

FirstPoint Management Resources was chosen as a bidder because of a previous association the IEA Treasurer had with this firm, in establishing them as association managers for the American College of Epidemiology. Total Management Solutions, Inc. (TMS) and Association Headquarters, Inc. (AH) were selected as bidders via an on-line search from the list of firms accredited by the Association Management Company (AMC) Institute, because of their willingness to submit a bid for the IEA’s limited scope of work and also because their client list included other professional organizations similar in focus to the IEA.

The AMC’s list of accredited firms can be found at (). To become accredited by the AMC, a firm must successfully met the ANSI/AMC Institute Standard of Good Practices for the Association Management Industry. Achievement of AMC Institute Accreditation demonstrates an AMC's commitment and ability to deliver consistent quality service to present and prospective clients. An AMC Institute Accredited firm has invested significant time and money to meet or exceed the requirements of the American National Standard for Association Management Companies. Because of the level of effort and coordination required to establish an online membership payment system, the IEA Treasurer has decided to include this task in the deliverables for the Scope of Work to be assumed by the selected association management firm. Firms such as these offer comprehensive services such as strategic planning, board committee support, government and public relations, financial and account management, membership management, website design and support, graphics design and support, fundraising and issues management. Their involvement in IEA management will initially be limited to financial and membership management. At a later date, the IEA council may reevaluate the desirability of adding to the Scope of Work, other functions related to IEA management.

After review of the three attached proposals, it is the Treasurer’s recommendation that the IEA Executive Council schedule telephone conference calls with each of the prospective management firms’ representatives, to discuss their proposals in greater detail, before choosing a particular firm. Additional bids can be obtained, from other firms, if the Council deems that necessary. Furthermore, when a firm is chosen, the Treasure recommends that the management service provider begin by meeting with IEA leadership to create a detailed strategic plan for the Association’s direction and management needs over the coming years. The IEA Council should consider inviting a representative from the chosen firm to attend future Council meetings, to report on management activity updates.

3. Management of IEA Finances

At the August 2009 IEA Council meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Council agreed that we will need to consider the possibility of diminishing revenue from royalties [and interest], prudent management of existing resources and continuity of financial processes with the transition of the Treasurer’s office. The IEA’s accounts include a Certificate of Deposit (CD), in the amount of approximately $202,000 (USD) with an interest rate of approximately 1.8%; and an interest-bearing money market checking account with an average annual balance approximately $1 million, with an interest rate of approximately 0.20% (June 2009).

Because of the significantly lower interest rate on the money market checking account, and with the Council’s permission, the Treasurer transferred $500,000 from that account into a Schwab One, high-yield investment account with Charles Schwab & Co. Investment reports are included in the Appendix D of this report. The $500,000 was transferred into the Charles Schwab account on November 9, 2009. As of March 17, 2010, the account value had increased to $521,088.68, representing an annualized return of approximately 12.65% for the invested funds.

4. Difficulties with Claims Payments in 2009-2010

During the August 2009 – March 2010 period, the Treasurer encountered some difficulties in paying IEA claims (reimbursements, invoices, bursaries). These difficulties included mostly delays in wire transfers that were due to international banking uncertainties and were not within the control of the IEA treasurer or accountant. All difficulties were successfully resolved.

5. Funding Request Form

To formalize the process for requesting funding from the IEA (not related to reimbursement claims), the Treasurer developed and implemented a new form to be used for requesting funds and loans from the IEA. This form collects requestor contact information, banking information, and descriptive funding information similar to that provided on the IEA Reimbursement form. The new funding request form also documents whether or not the requested funding is a loan and, if so, by what date repayment is required. The form is attached as Appendix E.

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