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PRSA's loss for 2000 was $678,893 on revenues of $8,805,108,
according to the audit released this week. The Society earlier
had estimated its loss at between $650K and $700K.
A big jump in expenses came in the travel category, which
was up 23% to a record $717,478. Causes were increased travel
by staffers and members for chapter, ethics, international
development, accreditation and strategic planning purposes.
A first-ever leadership conference was held last June in
New York for more than 100 chapter leaders from throughout
the nation. PRSA picked up part of the travel and hotel expenses.
This helped cause travel spending for chapter purposes to
balloon from $8,598 in 1999 to $121,105 in 2000.
A similar meeting is set for this June but expenses will
be held down, said Catherine Bolton, PRSA president.
While $12,291 was spent on travel for strategic planning
in 1999, this grew to $24,111 in 2000.
"Global leadership" travel spending went from $188 in 1999
to $12,035 in 2000; APR travel from $19,389 to $30,212; awards
program travel from $6,884 to $17,001, and general leadership
travel from $138,654 to $143,061.
PR Student Society of America, the fourth biggest consumer
of travel funds, spent about the same amount--$63,094 in 1999
vs. $63,299 in 2000.
Travel by staffers rose from $69,392 to $76,219.
"Other Pubs,"
Professional Dev. Make $$
With the exception of "other publications" (including directories
of PR firms and suppliers) and professional development, the
other PRSA programs and categories lost money.
The accreditation program cost $591,541 but took in $150,074
for a loss of $441,467. This loss was exceeded only by the
loss on Tactics and Strategist, which took in
$802,047 in ads and subscriptions but cost $1,368,549 for
a loss of $566,502.
The national conference grossed $1,122,545 but cost $1,318,367
for a loss of $195,822.
The Student Society continued to cost PRSA about $200K a
year as costs climbed 21.7% to $729,545 and income totaled
$528,887.
Also losing were the Counselors Academy with $497,029 in
income vs. $538,695 in expenses, and the awards program, $457,295
in income but $529,293 in expenses.
Cash Improves
in First Quarter
Cash and investments totaled $1,274,697 as of Dec. 31, 2000
but this had climbed to $1,729,346 as of March 31.
Payables, which ballooned to $1,034,507 as of Dec. 31, had
been cut to $598,793 as of March 31.
Receivables were $539,756 at the end of 2000 and $256,945
as of March 31.
Total fund balance, which was $1,912,843 at the end of 1998,
$1,486,555 at the end of 1999, and $807,662 at the end of
2000, climbed back to $1,120,445 as of March 31.
The Deferred Dues account, which PRSA had brought down from
$904,767 in 1991 to as low as $169,530 in 1995 when John Beardsley
was president, has been boosted back up to $1,077,210 as of
March 31.
Deferred dues represents the Society's acknowledgment that
it owes services to its members in the future.
Many associations, including the American Society of Assn.
Executives, American Medical Assn. and International Assn.
of Business Communicators, keep about six months' dues in
a deferred dues account. One association with no such account
is the National Investor Relations Institute.
Colletti Joins
as CFO
John Colletti, who has been working on a project basis at
PRSA on its finances since the resignation of Joseph Cussick
last June, has been named chief financial officer.
John Colletti has been tapped as CFO for PRSA. |
He was most recently with Resources Connection, a spin-off
of Deloitte & Touche which provides management services on
a project basis.
From 1995-99, he was VP of finance and administration for
Emery Worldwide Airlines, Dayton, Ohio. From 1992-95, he was
director of purchasing and materials management for Montefiore
Medical Center, New York.
He holds a BA in accounting from Queens College and an MBA
from St. John's University.
Colletti is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified
Financial Planner. The CMA is from the Institute of Management
Accountants.
Burnett
is Administrative Officer
Linda Burnett, most recently VP and director
of member services of Virtual, Inc., an association management
firm specializing in non-profit consortia, was named chief
administrative and member services officer. She will supervise
a staff of 10.
Before Virtual, she was a manager and a director
at the College Board, New York, and from 1996-98 was COO of
Krajewski & Assocs., Rockville, Md. S
he has a degree in business administration from
Bryant College and is a member of the ASAE.
EDITORIAL:
Editorial, May 9 Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter:
PRSA's spending habits tell a clear story of insiders feasting
on the treasury and dominance by educators and non-profits.
The travel bill of $717K is obscene when compared
to travel spending of $120K each at IABC and NIRI. The loss
of $441K on the accreditation program (including $207K on
outside "professional fees"!) and loss of $200K on PR Student
Society of America shows the influence of the educators.
Almost none of these subsidized students ever
joins PRSA. Our basic experience of the students is that about
1,000 of them have four days of non-stop parties at national
conferences.
Because of this, the students were put in a
separate hotel from the main body of conference attendees
many years ago. We would also lay at the educators' doorstep
the $528K loss on Tactics and Strategist. PRSA
cannot afford two publications.
The loss of $195K on the national conference
(while NIRI netted $1.4M on its) is the reward for PRSA closing
its exhibit hall for five years. The spending of $1M on computer
hardware and software (for about 35 staffers, or $35K each)
is mind-boggling.
We also don't know what happened to the five-year
$1.25M contract with Ray Gaulke.
We asked chair Kathy Lewton when the 250 Assembly
delegates would be reachable by members with one e-mail. She
said no one else has asked for this and therefore saw no need
for it.
It is the educators, of course, who are leading
the goal-line stand against removal of APR as a qualification
for Assembly membership and national office.
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