Annual
Report
(2003)
ARLIS/NA Treasurer
17
January, 2004
Submitted
by Phil Heagy (Treasurer, ARLIS/NA)
Fax:
713-525-9444
The
Treasurer is completing the second year of a two-year term, and will assume the
Chair of the Finance Committee upon completion of his Treasurer’s term at the
2004 ARLIS/NA Annual Conference.
MEETINGS
ATTENDED:
Annual
ARLIS/NA Annual Meeting, Baltimore, 19-26 March 2003 (including Pre-Conference
and Post-Conference ARLIS/NA Executive Board meetings)
Conference
Planning Advisory Committee (CPAC), New York City, 13-14 June 2003
Planning
Meeting with ARLIS/NA-VRA Joint Task Force on Continuing Education fellow
members, updating plans for the 2004 “Summer Educational Institute for Visual
Resources and Image Management”; 1 April 2003
ARLIS/NA
Mid-Year Executive Board Meeting; Philadelphia, 26-27 August 2003
ACTIVITIES
NARRATIVE / GENERAL COMMENTS:
The
Society is in its fourth year under the executive directorship of Clarke
Association Services (now allied with McPherson Management Ltd.), and financial
procedures are being executed with exceeding smoothness and professionalism in
the opinion of this Treasurer. A
scheduled, full audit of ARLIS/NA finances is currently being conducted by our
auditors Mills, Rouse and Company with the assistance of the ARLIS/NA
Headquarters Financial Manager. The
results of this audit (which replaces the more brief “Financial Statement”
every three years of Society operation) will be posted on the ARLIS/NA
Website (“AWS”) upon completion this spring.
Preliminary
financial results for 2003 indicate a healthy net income (“profit”) once
again for the Society. Our
investment accounts continued to report monthly gains, and the balance of these
accounts more than comfortably covers the dollar-total allocation of our Equity
Funds (the Reserve Fund, Internship Fund, Travel Grant Awards, Conference
Speakers Fund, and HW Wilson and Worldwide funds).
The Treasurer, utilizing the knowledge of the Finance Committee
chair/members, produced descriptions of the history, current position, and
intended utilization for each of these Equity Funds.
At the 2004 Annual Conference the above committee will, as mandated,
re-visit Society investment decisions with a view towards the current economic
climate.
The
2004 Operating Budget, approved at the ARLIS/NA Mid Year Executive Board Meeting
in August 2003 (and available in summary form in the “Financial Matters”
members’ section of the AWS), does project a negative net income for the
Society in 2004. This negative
projection (not without precedent) is, as always, highly dependent upon
predicated financial results of the Annual Conference.
The Treasurer works closely with the Conference Planning Action Committee
in establishing a realistic Conference Budget which subsequently becomes a
(major) part of the overall Operating Budget of the Society.
The Development Committee, under its capable Chair, produced/co-produced a New York 2004 ARLIS/NA Conference Sponsorship Opportunities document; a revised Fundraising Guide; an updated ARLIS/NA Prospects List; and an attractive ARLIS/NA Society Circle Donation Form. A more complete list of this very energetic committee’s activities will be forthcoming in the annual report of the Development Committee.
A complete re-write of the now-outdated “Finances” section of the ARLIS/NA Policy Manual has been completed by the Treasurer and ex-Treasurer, and awaits final approval before re-insertion into the Manual. This Treasurer, upon becoming Finance Committee Chair, will also oversee a much-needed overhaul of the Society’s also-aging “Financial Information for ARLIS/NA Executive Board Members” document. The Treasurer has authored an exhaustive “ARLIS/NA Treasurer Manual” which will, hopefully, greatly facilitate the transfer of knowledge of financial procedures/duties to future Treasurers. On this subject, the incoming Treasurer will visit this Treasurer for a training session prior to the transfer of duties at the 2004 ARLIS/NA Annual Conference.
The
Treasurer wishes to note that his availability for authoring/revising these
Society procedural documents was largely enabled by the successful past efforts
of the ex-Treasurer and other Executive Board members in stabilizing Society
finances, greatly simplifying this Treasurer’s time in office.
In
conclusion, the Treasurer would like to thank the staff of ARLIS/NA
Headquarters, particularly our Financial Manager, for patience in answering
questions and diligence in discharging financial responsibilities of the
Society. Many thanks also to the
tremendous energies of the CPAC and Local Planning Committees for the Baltimore
and New York City conferences. Finally,
special thanks are due ARLIS/NA Executive Board members, not only for keeping
this Treasurer “on his toes” with challenging and illuminating financial
questions, but for being a superbly congenial, patient, and hard-working group
in which the Society’s membership can take great pride.