Our Association Is in Excellent Fiscal Health

Dana Sayre-Stanhope, EdD, PA-C
Secretary/Treasurer

For the past three years I have come to you around this time of year and used this space to give you good news about our financial health. The Association has been on a great roll, and I would not want to change that, so I will tell you yet again that PAEA is fiscally the healthiest it has ever been.

Over the past 12 months we have identified, renovated, furnished, and moved into beautiful new space, and purchased furniture, computers, servers, and phone systems. We have developed a new logo and brand, and enhanced our Web site, journal, and other communcations vehicles. We have added new positions: Steven Lane returned to the fold to direct our communications efforts and Jonna Holden was hired to serve as administrative assistant, bringing the number of staff to seven. And we have created and implemented an investment policy — including a first deposit of $250,000. We’ve drafted a financial policies and procedures manual to codify some of our business methods, all while watching our CASPA revenues continue to climb.

But what is most gratifying for me is that the Association has done all this and more without reaching deeply into its reserve accounts. When the PAEA Transition Task Force and the Board of Directors first met during Paul Lombardo’s presidency, a consultant helped to calculate the amount of money we would need in the bank to ensure a seamless transition. Initially we calculated that figure at approximately $1 million; being cautious, we subsequently increased it to $1.2 million. Conservative budgeting and CASPA revenue greater than had been projected allowed us to reach that goal earlier than anticipated. And in the end our one-time transition costs came in under $300,000.

The Finance Committee, which met for the second time this year in May, was the first group to use PAEA’s beautiful new conference room and interrupt staff in their offices. At that meeting, committee members revised the 2007 budget to reflect the increased costs of doing business as an independent entity, but were still able to present a surplus budget to the board for adoption at the May meeting in San Francisco. As a result of our fiscal health, the committee unanimously agreed to recommend a one-year freeze on member dues, with which the board concurred. However, the committee discussed the policy of increasing dues annually, based on the Consumer Price Index. We agreed that this policy has worked exceedingly well since its implementation in 2001, and will propose reinstitution of the policy when it expires in October, to be effective next year. Of course, we welcome the opportunity to discuss this with the membership at the Annual Education Forum in Quebec.

In addition, the committee focused on PAEA’s third quarter reports for 2006, provided by our accounting firm, Raffa. Revenue is on target to exceed projections by approximately $125,500, due to increased sales of PACKRAT, record attendance at the 2005 Education Forum in Puerto Rico, and CASPA royalties. While some expenditures also exceeded our expectations overall, we anticipate ending this year with a surplus of approximately $178,000.

The increased expenses reflected the increased work of the committees and institutes, which are generating prodigious amounts of work: the International Affairs Committee has created an excellent Web site with a great deal of important information for programs considering international clinical opportunities for students; the Research Institute hosted a very successful workshop in Puerto Rico and has proposed another for Quebec; and the Faculty Development Institute, in conjunction with the Education Committee, provided several very well-attended workshops in Puerto Rico. Faculty were offered the ever popular Basic Skills and workshops for program directors and clinical coordinators. In a few weeks, the report of the Graduate Education Commission will be rolled out for the membership’s consideration. And our new Governance Committee will meet over the summer and begin the important work of codifying and organizing our policies.

As my term as secretary/treasurer comes to an end in October, I have to publicly applaud the staff who have made this office as easy and as much fun as it has turned out to be. I need also to praise the support I have received from the Finance Committee, whose members have given so much to ensure a healthy association. And of course my thanks are extended to my colleagues on the board, who have been a joy to work with, and whose wisdom has guided us through an eventful few years.

A multitude of new challenges now face us, such as working with the Association of Postgraduate PA Programs, addressing specialty certification with the NCCPA, continuing to explore data management issues within the profession, and identifying new revenue streams to guarantee the Association’s long-term fiscal health. I am grateful for all the help that I have been given over the past two and a half years and look forward to finding new ways to support PAEA as it continues to grow.