USFA Financials

[oso97]

I recently was copied on the receipt of this report, and was told that it is publicly distributable.

Enjoy. Commentary by the masses would probably be appreciated by the relevant persons.

[KD5MDK]

I find it very encouraging that we see such quick action by the Budget and Finance committees.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by oso97

I recently was copied on the receipt of this report, and was told that it is publicly distributable.

Enjoy. Commentary by the masses would probably be appreciated by the relevant persons.

And you beat me by 10 minutes!

[ViewtifulMisho]

Heh, at least the USFA has moved out of the USSR and are instituting some level of transparency, but I guess old habits die hard.

"We didn't mess up... this now-fired person did!"

You're an organization and you're responsible for every individual within it. Just say "we screwed up" without all the defensive mumbo-jumbo and then move on with it. We're perfectly capable of understanding that a mistake is not made by every single person in the USFA.

That's a very minor point to nitpick, but the healthier the attitude in the association is, the healthier the association will be. And it's healthy to take responsibility.

[oso97]

Originally Posted by ViewtifulMisho

Heh, at least the USFA has moved out of the USSR and are instituting some level of transparency, but I guess old habits die hard.

"We didn't mess up... this now-fired person did!"

You're an organization and you're responsible for every individual within it. Just say "we screwed up" without all the defensive mumbo-jumbo and then move on with it. We're perfectly capable of understanding that a mistake is not made by every single person in the USFA.

That's a very minor point to nitpick, but the healthier the attitude in the association is, the healthier the association will be. And it's healthy to take responsibility.

With all due respect, its worthwhile to point out who the report was written by, namely the Budget and Audit Committees. THEY were not the ones who were responsible. They were the one's who were tasked with finding out the status of things. If they are going to report that we are able to positively move forward, they also need to give some indication as to why the mistakes of the past will not be repeated. And mentioning that a staff person who was not up to the challenges of their job is no longer with the organization, in accompaniment to additional structural changes to provide further checks and balances, is entirely relevant information.

[Craig]

I find it refreshing to see such a quick response to an issue of great concern to the general membership.

Craig

[ViewtifulMisho]

Agreed on both points, but I still feel that the general attitude of defensiveness in the USFA needs to be avoided by the new guard.

[fluidfencer]

The CPA/MBA/auditor side of me believes that the corrective steps are fine. One of the biggest problems in non-profit organizations is the lack of financial oversight. Educated and informed people reviewing financial statements on a monthly basis, and asking questions, can address many issues before they become "problems". I had a few questions that might be of general interest so I'll post them here:

Can I assume that the auditor's "going concern" questions were related to the fiscal year ended 7/31/07 (and specifically did not consider improvements during the current year)?

Can I also assume that the auditors are not involved in anything during the year, and only complete the annual audit?

Does the auditor also prepare the federal form 990 (an informational return filed by tax-exempt organizations)?

Thanks for taking these steps. These are some of the things that should be expected an effective Board.

[Greg_D]

Originally Posted by fluidfencer

Can I assume that the auditor's "going concern" questions were related to the fiscal year ended 7/31/07 (and specifically did not consider improvements during the current year)?

Yes. More recent reports (i.e. after 7/31/07 and into 2008) received by the auditor assuaged concerns about our ability to continue as a "going concern."

Originally Posted by fluidfencer

Can I also assume that the auditors are not involved in anything during the year, and only complete the annual audit?

Generally, yes. I believe that they only looked at the more recent information in the context of the previous question.

Originally Posted by fluidfencer

Does the auditor also prepare the federal form 990 (an informational return filed by tax-exempt organizations)?

Yes. My understanding is that the filing is very close to being ready.

Greg

[arc]

Originally Posted by ViewtifulMisho

Heh, at least the USFA has moved out of the USSR and are instituting some level of transparency, but I guess old habits die hard.

"We didn't mess up... this now-fired person did!"

You're an organization and you're responsible for every individual within it. Just say "we screwed up" without all the defensive mumbo-jumbo and then move on with it. We're perfectly capable of understanding that a mistake is not made by every single person in the USFA.

That's a very minor point to nitpick, but the healthier the attitude in the association is, the healthier the association will be. And it's healthy to take responsibility.

I think you're putting a bit of spin on that tidbit that may not be there. I take the language regarding the now-departed member of the staff as an attempt, without naming names, to provide additional assurance to the membership that the conditions which produced this past year's surprises no longer exist ...

[keith]

Originally Posted by arc

I think you're putting a bit of spin on that tidbit that may not be there. I take the language regarding the now-departed member of the staff as an attempt, without naming names, to provide additional assurance to the membership that the conditions which produced this past year's surprises no longer exist ...

So we have a document from the people responsible for maintaining oversight telling us that having realised that the system was insufficient and they have now changed it so it is sufficient.

Horse, door, bolted

How can the weapon programs (which presumably are aware of their budget) have just kept on sending in invoices?

The departed member may not have been up to the job but it looks like plenty of other individuals did their bit as well.

[epeemike81]

Originally Posted by keith

So we have a document from the people responsible for maintaining oversight telling us that having realised that the system was insufficient and they have now changed it so it is sufficient.

Horse, door, bolted

How can the weapon programs (which presumably are aware of their budget) have just kept on sending in invoices?

The departed member may not have been up to the job but it looks like plenty of other individuals did their bit as well.

I think the key part you're missing is that this document is from the people who are NOW responsible for the oversight. one of the MAJOR problems was that prior to Greg driving the creation of these committees, there was nobody responsible for financial oversight.

-m

[keith]

Originally Posted by epeemike81

I think the key part you're missing is that this document is from the people who are NOW responsible for the oversight. one of the MAJOR problems was that prior to Greg driving the creation of these committees, there was nobody responsible for financial oversight.

-m

Kind of my point - if the process only works in a crisis it isn't much use.

[epeemike81]

Originally Posted by keith

Kind of my point - if the process only works in a crisis it isn't much use.

which process? the old one didn't work in a crisis (didn't work any other time either, but it was only noticed in crisis). the new one provides for constant oversight and I anticipate it working significantly better in preventing crisis situations.

-m

[Mr Epee]

Um... Transparency? No.

Yes, it's nice to have some communication on the matter, but there is certainly quite a bit of spin and framing going on, as well.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but spreadsheets, my friend, are priceless.

[keith]

Originally Posted by epeemike81

which process? the old one didn't work in a crisis (didn't work any other time either, but it was only noticed in crisis). the new one provides for constant oversight and I anticipate it working significantly better in preventing crisis situations.

-m

As the document says there was no fraud or embezzlement. So lots of people where engaging in activities with total disregard to budgets. After all, if they keep taking the receipts why not keep handing them in.

Now if that was the culture of the USFA why on earth should anyone believe them when they move around the chairs?

[arc]

Originally Posted by keith

As the document says there was no fraud or embezzlement. So lots of people where engaging in activities with total disregard to budgets. After all, if they keep taking the receipts why not keep handing them in.

Now if that was the culture of the USFA why on earth should anyone believe them when they move around the chairs?

"The culture of the USFA?" This sounds like a comparison with NASA, post-Columbia. While ignoring the obvious differences between the USFA (with its roughly dozen overworked, underpaid professional staff and its moderately larger, overworked, and unpaid volunteers) versus an organization like a major government agency (working in concert with a number of contractors and subcontractors with hundreds of managers and thousands of engineers, with inherent tensions between the goals of safety versus providing results on-time and on-budget), when problems arise, I expect the relevant governing body to do *something* to deal with the problem and help ensure that it doesn't happen again. With respect to the USFA's financial issues, this is *exactly* what has happened, with the Board of Directors exercising its authority to create *new* processes (the Budget and Audit Committees along with professional staff monthly reporting requirements) to ensure that there is greater volunteer oversight of the management of the Association's money.

[Mr Epee]

Arc, buddy.... take a breath once in while. Gee wilikers.

Our friend, keith, didn't compare the USFA to NASA. You made that jump.

What you can't deny is the lack of information in the report issued by the USFA.... wouldn't some real figures have been nice?

[oso97]

Originally Posted by Mr Epee

Arc, buddy.... take a breath once in while. Gee wilikers.

Our friend, keith, didn't compare the USFA to NASA. You made that jump.

What you can't deny is the lack of information in the report issued by the USFA.... wouldn't some real figures have been nice?

They're available. I've got copies going back several years. And I'm not on the BOD or an officer.

[Philistine]

I think on a going-forward basis, the new oversight is a good thing (and overdue).

I'm still a little puzzled about the magnitude of the problem.

Also--what is supposed to happen in the ordinary course when budgets are expended relatively early in the season.

The example given as to problems in administration was:

Take our weapon squads, for example – they submit receipts for activities; those receipts should have been quickly enter