On the road to financial health: for the second year in a row, revenues exceeded expenses, helping IABC move toward reducing its deficit

Communication World, July-August, 2005 by Julie Freeman

ABC made significant progress toward achieving financial health during the 2004 fiscal year.

The Consolidated Statement of Activities for IABC and the Research Foundation, issued by Deloitte & Touche in its 2005 Independent Audit Report, shows a US$213,316 increase in net assets for the year ended 31 December 2004. The increase reduces IABC's accumulated deficit from US$715,693 to US$502,377.

For the second year in a row, total revenues exceeded expenses by more than US$200,000, meeting the budgeted yearend net and reducing the deficit.

While it may not seem important for a nonprofit association to be concerned about year-end nets and reducing the deficit, these two measures of financial health are, in fact, very important. A financially healthy association has the capacity to improve its member service programs and invest in new initiatives that can benefit members.

Revenues from membership were a major contributor to the 2004 financial results. The growth in membership revenue was the result of several factors, including the first dues adjustment since 1999, a slight increase in the total number of members and sales of corporate membership packages.

In its report to the Audit Committee, Deloitte & Touche auditors stated that they were giving IABC a clean, unqualified audit opinion, and praised the association's progress in decreasing the deficit and using procedures that conform to accounting practices generally accepted in the United States of America.

The financial statements on the following pages reflect the consolidated audit of IABC and the IABC Research Foundation for the 2004 fiscal year. It should be noted that this report does not compare FY04 financial results with those of FY03, due to the fact that FY04 was a 12-month year and FY03 was a 15-month year.

In addition to positive financial results, 2004 program highlights include:

* At the end of 2004, IABC had 12,576 members. The number of professional members grew by 150. More than 60 companies took advantage of IABC's corporate package program.

* Sixty-five members earned their Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) designation in 2004, bringing the total number of ABCs to just under 700.

* Expert judges reviewed 928 Gold Quill Award entries from 21 countries, honoring 38 individuals with Excellence awards and 76 with Merit awards. Mercer continued to support communication excellence as the lead sponsor of the 2004 program.

* The need for distance learning increased due to economic and travel concerns. IABC staff registered 1,803 sites, with average attendance of four per site, for 14 web seminars and 13 teleseminars in 2004. Web seminar leader Jim Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, continued to draw the largest crowds and highest ratings.

* While distance learning participation increased, economic and travel concerns had the reverse effect on the 2004 International Conference, where attendance grew just slightly over the previous year's, with 1,130 communication professionals attending in Los Angeles, California. The conference highlight was author Sahnan Rushdie, who received acclaim as one of IABC's best-rated keynote speakers.

* Headquarters staff collaborated with the European Regional Board in planning and conducting Eurocomm 2004 in Brussels, Belgium; nearly 100 attended.

* IABC introduced its popular Communication Templates series and the Speakers Bureau. The templates provide free or low-cost tactical, practical help to communicators. The Speakers Bureau is a resource for members who need speakers for chapter meetings and training programs at their organizations.

* Communication World won a Maggie award for Most Improved Publication from the Western Publications Association.

* In an effort to broaden its international reach, Communication World developed a highly regarded supplement for the Asia/Pacific region. Sponsored by GolinHarris and Weber Shandwick, the supplement focused on issues of interest to the Asia/Pacific region, and was sent to organizations in that region as well as to IABC members all over the world in companies with global outreach.

* The IABC Knowledge Centre released two successful manuals: Face to Face: Creating an Engaged Workforce, by Roger D'Aprix, ABC, and Building Your Organization's Brand, from Towers Perrin.

* The IABC Research Foundation formed some important partnerships in 2004. Hewlett-Packard and ROI Communications signed on as sponsors of the Ethics in Communication study, to be published in 2005. Gevity, a provider of human capital management solutions, is sponsoring the launch of a comprehensive study on employee communication best practices in small businesses. In addition, the Research Foundation collaborated with Mercer to conduct a member research study to gain a better understanding of the needs of IABC members.

* Headquarters staff continued to support leadership training at its highly rated Leadership Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, which had a 25 percent increase in attendance, and at the first-ever Leadership Institute in South Africa.