AAEM Financial Update: Investing Your Money in You!
AAEM FINANCES
Robert A. Frolichstein, MD FAAEM
T
he Secretary-Treasurer of AAEM has the responsibility of periodically reviewing the financial statement of The Academy and presenting a report to the AAEM Board of Directors (BOD) at each meeting. Additionally, the SecretaryTreasurer participates in the annual budget development process and the annual audit. I have been your SecretaryTreasurer for the last 18 months and am struck by the integrity and judiciousness of your BOD as it applies to your money.
The financial report is presented monthly. We have made some changes to make it more informational to the BOD, but it really is just a bunch of financial statements that can be mind-numbing. There is the temptation to gloss over this information and move on to other business but I am consistently impressed that board members have questions and interest in the finances. It is obvious that they read and analyze the data each time it is presented.
MORE THAN 75% OF THE ANNUAL INCOME OF AAEM COMES FROM THE DUES YOU PAY TO MAINTAIN YOUR MEMBERSHIP.”
More than 75% of the annual income of AAEM comes from the dues you pay to maintain your membership. Most of the remainder comes from educational courses AAEM provides including the Scientific Assembly and Oral Boards Review. The associated costs of those courses means that, in practical sense, all the income to do the work of the Academy comes from the dues you pay.
The BOD understands this and is very careful about how we spend money. It is not uncommon to have discussions at board meetings about items that would have very little financial impact on AAEM. The question is always raised “is this a wise use of our members money?” There is no willingness to squander money or use it in ways we feel will not help our members or specialty.
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COMMON SENSE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
Early in 2021 I had the “privilege” of participating in our annual audit. Because of our tax status, best practice is that each year we have an external auditor pour over our finances and then present a summary of their findings to our accountant, Executive Director, and the Secretary-Treasurer. During the hour-long presentation it was clear that they traced nearly every dollar AAEM received and spent. They looked at bank statements, credit card statements, invoices, phone bills, etc., and I was impressed at their exhaustive review. I was delighted when we received a “clean audit” which
means we have processes and procedures in place that allow full transparency to the BOD. There is no way money can be used for purposes other than those approved by the BOD and cannot be “lost” or used in nefarious ways. Every dollar has been recorded. At the time of this writing I am preparing to present our annual budget to the BOD. The top five items in our expense column after what we pay to run the organization are: the Scientific Assembly, MEMC, Oral Boards Review Course, Legislative Advocacy (for individual physicians or groups) and JEM. Those items are certainly consistent with our Mission Statement. Our budget projects a small “profit” for 2022. This is consistent with many previous years and The Academy has some money in reserve. We are in a very good financial position. We have invested in some projects (check out the new advocacy page on our web site) and have a few in the works that are intended to meet your needs and the needs of our specialty. As I mentioned, your BOD is prudent with our member’s money but also anxious to hear how we can use those funds to serve you better. Get involved. Join a committee. Develop some proposals on how your dollars can make our specialty better and our physicians more satisfied.
