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Treasurer’s Report – David Carpenter
from Yoga Samachar FW2014
by IYNAUS
Year-End Financial News
By David Carpenter
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In this issue’s financial report, I present both good news and not so good news. First, the good news: IYNAUS is in better financial condition today than it was a year ago. That is clear from our balance sheet. Balance sheets provide a financial snapshot of an enterprise at a particular point in time and give an estimate of the association’s net worth at that time. The following chart shows IYNAUS’ current balance sheet (as of Oct. 1, 2013) and its balance sheet as of Oct. 31, 2012. IYNAUS BALANCE SHEETS
CURRENT ASSETS Unrestricted Assets
IYNAUS bank accounts and cash equivalents
Accounts Receivable
San Diego Conference/Convention loan IYASE loan on Maitri Conference loss Store accounts receivable IYNAUS store inventory Prepaid expenses Computers and equipment
Restricted Assets
Certification mark bank accounts
TOTAL ASSETS
Accounts payable Long-term notes (international archives)
TOTAL LIABILITIES EQUITY (Net Worth) TOTAL CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENTS UNRESTRICTED CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENTS Non employee insurance and taxes
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Oct. 2012
73,484
18,750 6,000 2,456 83,272 2,414 5,585
70,041 262,002
1,634 9,250
10,844 251,158 143,525 73,484 7,054 Oct. 2013
105,485
0 6,000 2,061 79,219 864 3,452
84,915 281,996
2,110 9,250
11,360 270,636 190,400 105,485 5,612
There are several reasons we are in a stronger position today than we were a year ago. As treasurer, I focus on the cash that we have unconditionally available to us, which is the “unrestricted cash or cash equivalents” on the balance sheet. We now have about $105,000 in unrestricted cash— over $30,000 more than a year ago. This is a good cash cushion for an enterprise like ours. In addition, there also has been about a $15,000 increase in our “restricted” cash— which are monies jointly controlled by IYNAUS and Guruji (through Gloria Goldberg, Guruji’s attorney in fact in the U.S.) that can only be spent for special projects. For the sake of completeness, I should note that collectively, the other “noncash” items on our balance sheet are a little less than they were a year ago. But even when these are taken into account, our net worth has increased. So by any measure, our balance sheet—and IYNAUS—has been strengthened financially in the past year.
The other type of IYNAUS financial statement is its “Profit and Loss“ statement, which shows the association’s revenues and expenses during a particular period of time. Because a statement for the first nine months of the year would not be terribly meaningful, I will not provide a P&L statement now. But I can report that, between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2013, we received new revenues that slightly exceed our year-to-date expenses. This is primarily due to two facts: 1) We have reduced our expenses by eliminating certain legal fees and declining to fill some part-time clerical
positions, and 2) our store revenues have increased because of the strong demand for some exciting new books from India. While this is a favorable state of affairs, history teaches that our store revenues will likely return to historic levels once demand for the new books is met. Also, we cannot postpone filling the clerical positions indefinitely. So some of the expense reductions will not be sustainable for the long term.
Also contributing to our results this year is the fact that the May 2013 San Diego Conference and Convention was profitable. IYNAUS received half of the profits from the regional conference portion of the event and all proceeds from the convention. It now appears that the two events together netted about $16,000 for IYNAUS. In today’s economy, it was a real achievement that the San Diego events made money. The Spring 2012 Maitri conference in Washington, D.C., lost $48,000, and I personally had feared that the San Diego Conference and Convention would lose money as well. But because of the great job done by Gloria Goldberg, Cyndie Cordle, and their team, the events were not only magnificent experiences for all who attended but also turned a profit.
Now for the not so good news lurking in the background. While the San Diego events were profitable, past conventions have generated greater profits, and I understand that, as a historical matter, IYNAUS has relied upon large profits from the triennial conventions to subsidize its operations in nonconvention years. For example, the 2010 Portland convention generated about $85,000 (and an additional $70,000 in sales for the IYNAUS store). Also, the 2011 Chicago regional conference generated $35,000 for IYNAUS (and another $35,000 for IYAMW).
Because the San Diego event did not generate comparable profits, IYNAUS faces a substantial challenge in the near future. While we earned new revenues in the first nine months of 2013 that exceeded our expenses, this appears largely to have been unique to this calendar year. Absent significant changes in our financial operations, we will have shortfalls in 2014, 2015, and 2016. While the cash that we have on hand will give us some flexibility in the future, elementary prudence requires that we maintain a significant cash cushion. This means we do not have sufficient funds to provide the level of future subsidies that our programs received in the recent past. Accordingly, the board has determined that it will be incumbent on IYNAUS to establish a new business model for its operations. We need to reassess the financial model for regional conferences and other events—which we will have plenty of time to do because there are no such events currently planned for the next two years. We will need to implement a new business model in which IYNAUS ends its reliance on triennial events and, rather, focus on earning new revenues each year that are sufficient to cover that year’s expenses. Meeting this goal would present a significant challenge even if the board’s objective were only to continue to perform its historic functions. But because the board has been striving to do additional activities to benefit IYNAUS members and promote Iyengar Yoga, achieving this goal will be even more difficult.
The board is already vigilant about reducing expenses, so our main focus will have to be increasing revenues. Historically, other than events, we have derived significant revenues only from member dues, sales from the IYNAUS store, and assessment fees. Because assessment fees are used exclusively to cover the cost of the assessment system and because we have limited ability to increase store revenues in future years, it appears that we will have to either increase our dues or develop other significant sources of income.
The board will address these issues at its forthcoming in-person meeting. I can announce one initiative now: IYNAUS is a Section 501(c)(3) corporation, and while I cannot give tax advice, I have been assured that chartable contributions to IYNAUS are generally deductible in computing income taxes. For those of you who are able to do so, we urge you to consider making charitable contributions to IYNAUS, ideally prior to the end of this year. The contributions that provide us the greatest benefit are those that are unrestricted. To make such a contribution, all you need do is make out a check payable to IYNAUS and mail it to the address below. We will provide you with a tax receipt.
We also have another option that may be of special interest to some of you. If you attended the San Diego events, you likely saw the wonderful exhibit that Eric Small and his archives committee prepared. This exhibit was composed of some of the archival materials that IYNAUS has preserved. However, we possess a larger body of archival materials that has not yet been preserved and cannot be easily displayed or even readily accessed. Significant investments will be required to image, catalogue, and otherwise preserve these
valuable materials to ensure that they will be available to students in the future. We have received one $2,500 donation toward this effort, and we need to raise at least another $2,500 before the necessary steps can begin. To make a contribution that is restricted to this purpose, please make out a check payable to IYNAUS and note “Archive Project” in the memo portion of the check. Again, we will provide you with a tax receipt.
We hope many of you will consider making charitable contributions to IYNAUS—either a general unrestricted gift or a gift for the archives project. Please send checks to:
IYNAUS P.O. Box 538 Seattle WA 98111
Finally, there is one thing that all of us can do to help improve IYANUS’ financial performance. Each year, we have several hundred teachers who do not pay their annual dues on time, and while the payments are eventually made, the association incurs expenses in communicating with teachers about them and collecting them. So please try to pay your dues on time when you receive the annual statements.
In sum, IYNAUS is now financially stronger than it was a year ago, but we face some significant challenges in the future. With the support of our members, I am confident that we can meet these challenges.
David Carpenter IYNAUS Treasurer