Blog Viewer

Happy New Year SRAI Friends and Colleagues!

Have you created your budget for 2018? Are your finances ready for 2018 and future? Tax season is upon us, at least in the United States, are you ready?

Just as you review, live, and prepare; so, does SRAI. Thanks to our members SRAI is alive and well. As you know, the Board oversees the entire organization and often must deal with competing priorities. Additionally, to moving the organization forward, it is responsible for ensuring that SRAI maintains its 501(c)(3) designation and is solvent. As with life, most things require money and planning; in turn, here is a mid-year financial update. SRAI’s finances are healthy and kicking. There are three major areas I would like to update since October’s financial report.

First, our fiscal year ends in September, in turn, SRAI’s Audit Committee is nearing completion of overseeing the annual audit. Should the committee approve the report, the report will be presented during the February Board meeting for approval. Additionally, the auditors complete our taxes for 2016. Yes, that year is correct, corporation taxes are delayed due to various complexities; these too will require the Board’s approval for submission. SRAI’s Board is hopeful that we will have another clean audit without comments. Also during this time, I provide guidance for distributing the Board approved budgets for the new fiscal year (2018).

Second, SRAI is nearly a third of the way through the current fiscal year. This means that all the parts of SRAI are developing and executing our educational programming. Known to the Treasurer and staff, as intense spending. When one looks at a specific unit of SRAI, the processing of income and expenses is relatively nominal; however, SRAI has webinars, themed meetings, section meetings and chapter meeting that takes the nominal and multiplies it 15+ fold. After our ‘spring meetings’ decline, our headquarters’ staff go into high gear for the annual meeting income and expenses. There is a constant flow of expenditures monthly.

Finally, it is my job to keep the Board informed of SRAI’s financial status, as well as, provide historical data, ratios, and assessments for their consideration. This work is done after the new budgets are distributed, but before SRAI begins the budgeting process for next year. Our Investment committee reviews the monthly investment reports and holds at least quarterly conference calls. The Development and Finance Committee reviews policies and procedures, determines if changes are required, and provides recommendations to the Board regarding policy changes. Additionally, the DFC assists with researching topics and preparation of Board reports.

As each of us need to prepare for various beginnings and endings, understand that your professional organization is doing the same. SRAI is alive, kicking, reviewing, executing, assessing, and planning in order to continue to provide best practices, knowledge transfer, and growth of the research administration profession.

Respectfully,

Rene Hearns

Treasurer, Society of Research Administrators International