FAR PROGRAM YEAR PROMIsEs TO bE A GOOD ONE FAR … · ship services, marketing, Information Technology, and staff recruitment, compensation, benefits and compliance. As the Association’s

September-October 2008

Issue ThreeVolume Nine

MARK YOUR

CALENDAR(and read in advance)

November 19, 2008REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING at SunTrust Bank, 9th Floor, 1445 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC at 11:15 a.m. “What In The World Is Going On – Annual Review” Tom McManus, Chief Investment Advisor,

Wachovia Securities

December 10, 2008FAR’s Annual HOLIDAY PARTY

January 24, 2009 REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING,

“Exploring Trends in Retirement Planning”

Next up on November 19th is “What In The World Is Going On – Annual Review.”

The speaker is Tom McManus, Chief Investment Officer and Director of Advisory Services for Wachovia Securities. Century old financial institutions are crumbling in days. There are huge swings in the value of stocks, bonds and real estate. Government intervention and takeovers, at home and abroad. Global economies slowing quickly with likely reces-sions ahead. On top of it all: a new President and a new Congress. Indeed: “What in the World is Going On?” The program will explore what the current economic and political climate means for you and your orga-nization? As the firm’s Chief Investment Officer, Tom is responsible for overall

investment strategy, equity strat-egy, fixed income strategy, manager research and portfolio advisory services. Throughout his career, Tom has distinguished himself with his unbiased analysis of both macro and micro issues in the global economies as Managing Director and Chief In-vestment Strategist at Bank of Ameri-ca Securities. Since the mid ‘90s, Tom has been a well-known strate-gist, achieving All-American honors from Institutional Investor magazine. He is regularly seen on CNBC and Bloomberg and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the Economist and The New York Times. The annual Holiday Party will be held on Wednesday, December 10th. Watch the next issue for more information. “Exploring Trends in Retirement Planning” is scheduled for January, 28, 2009. This session will update participants on changes in pension

FAR PROGRAM YEAR PROMIsEs TO bE A GOOD ONE

law affecting non-profit retirement plans; ways to manage the fiduciary responsibility and risk inherent in offering a retirement plan (any plan); and resources available to help or-ganizations benchmark their plans’ service providers, fees, education programs and investment options. On February 25th, join your col-leagues for an enlightening session entitled “Current Technologies in Banking and Merchant Services” that will explore new developments in banking services. Learn about remote check capture, payment out-sourcing, ACHs, fraud control, online bill collector, positive pay and more! They have been developed to stream-line the day-to-day requirements of your financial operation. Come and experience the possibilities! “Controlling Health Care Cost-sThrough Wellness” will be held on March 25th. The speakers are Steven Heger of Raffa Financial Services,

(continued on page 7)

FAR PROGRAM DATEs FOR 2008-09

November 19, 2008 “What In the World Is Going On?” – Annual Review

December 10, 2008 Annual Holiday PartyJanuary 28, 2009 Exploring Trends in Retirement PlanningFebruary 25, 2009 Current Technologies in Banking

and Merchant ServicesMarch 25, 2009 Controlling Health Care Costs Through WellnessApril 22, 2009 60 Technology TipsMay 20, 2009 Tax and Legal UpdateJune 24, 2009 Hot Topic in the News

2

CHAIR’s COLUMN

LEFTOvERs...

“Try to see our side of it, Jim... If the company took the time to land and let each CFO off...”

2008 - 2009 Board of DirectorsFinance & Administration Roundtable Craig silverio, IOM, CAE, ChairPackaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute 4350 N Fairfax Drive, Suite 600 Arlington, VA 22203-1619 Phone: 703-243-8555 Email: [email protected]

Lou Novick, Past Chair The Novick Group, Inc. One Church Street, Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20850 Phone: 301-917-6558Email: [email protected]

Thomas Nordby, CAE, vice Chair National Defense Industrial Association 2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400 Arlington, VA 22201-3061 Phone: 703-247-9461 Email: [email protected]

Wes Tomer, CPA, secretary Veris 11710 Plaza America Drive, Suite 300 Reston, VA 20190 Phone: 703-654-1450 x1457 Email: [email protected]

barbara studenmund, Treasurer Association of American Law Schools 1201 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-296-6474Email: [email protected]

Patricia Adkins, Director Home Safety Council 1250 I Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-330-4905 Email: [email protected]

Kristen L. Conte, Director Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 360 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-552-7450Email: [email protected]

Peter Frank, CPA, Director Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers 1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 402 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-872-5955 x312 Email: [email protected]

James N. May, CPA, Director National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-785-6941 Email: [email protected]

Robyn L. Morriss, CAE, Director Reinsurance Association of America 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20004-1701 Phone: 202-638-3690Email: [email protected]

susan staton, CPA, Director Association of American Universities 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 550 Washington, DC 20005-3928 Phone: 202-408-7500 Email: [email protected]

Michael Tryon, Director Tate & Tryon 805 15th St., NW, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-293-2200 x 305 Email: [email protected]

FAR Roundtablec/o JMP Productions

6277 Franconia RoadAlexandria, VA 22310-2510Phone: 703-971-1116Fax: 703-971-7772E-mail: [email protected]: www.FAR-Roundtable.org

Editor—Jack Pitzer/Assoc. Editor—Dixie Kennett

I wanted to start off my first chair column by telling you how honored I am to serve as Chairman of FAR for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. I take the trust that the membership has placed in me very seriously. I promise to work hard to make sure that your experience with FAR during the next 12 months and beyond is a positive one, and that you get sufficient value from your active participation.

I approach the coming year with great excitement. I am blessed to work with a talented board and committees, and they have been active over the summer, making plans to strengthen existing programs and create new opportunities for education and networking.

At the summer board retreat we were able to discuss and identify opportunities to increase value to the membership. We also plan to take pursue opportunities to improve governance.

Some of FAR’s summer initiatives include…..

The membership committee, under the leadership of Mike Tryon, developed a new membership structure for patron members. This is in response to patron member wishes to be presented with one request for financial participation for the year, vs. having to write multiple checks for events throughout the year. This new structure will also provide more oppor-tunities for patron members to commu-nicate the value that they bring to FAR. And the committee will continue to be active in engaging new members who add value, bring new perspectives, provide op-

portunities for new friendships, etc.The program committee, under the

leadership of Robyn Morriss, has planned a great slate of luncheon topics and is proactively engaging both regular and patron members to lend their expertise to the education content. The program committee is also developing thoughts on new formats for education and learning that will be presented to the board at the September Board Meeting. More on these initiatives as they are being devel-oped.

And all members have benefitted from the work of the communications com-mittee, under the leadership of Thomas Nordby. The recent enhancements to the FAR website, as well as the launch of the FAR listserv, have provided members with greater access to FAR programs and to the collective expertise of the membership.

On behalf of all members, I want to acknowledge and offer a much-deserved thank you to Lou Novick, your chair over the past 12 months. None of the many achievements of the past year would have been possible without Lou’s passion and member-focused leadership. Lou’s posi-tive impact and influence on FAR, and us members, will last years beyond his term.

I look forward to seeing you at up-coming FAR events, and please let me know how FAR can improve to better to enhance your membership experience.

Regards!

FAR Chair

Craig Silvero

3

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Robyn Morriss, CAE

Robyn Morriss, CAE is Senior Vice President of Membership and Business Operations with the Reinsurance Association of America in Washington,

D.C. She is responsible for the oversight of RAA member-ship services, marketing, Information Technology, and staff recruitment, compensation, benefits and compliance. As the Association’s financial officer, Ms. Morriss directs all financial affairs, including financial management policies, the annual budget, financial statements and reports. She has been with the association for 17 years. Prior to joining the RAA in 1991, Robyn was the Cor-porate Administration Manager for a systems integration firm in Maryland for 5 years, and while living abroad she was the Administrative Services Manager for Motorola’s federal government markets in Europe and Africa for 8 years. She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE), a Fellow of ASAE and The Center for Association Leadership, and a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Robyn will serve as FAR’s program committee chair for 2008-2009.

MEET YOUR NEW bOARD MEMbERs

At the elections held last spring, Robyn Morriss and Susan Staton were newly elected to the board of directors, join-ing those who continuing their terms of service.

susan staton, CPA

Susan is Director of Finance & Benefits at the Associa-tion of American Universities and has been a member of FAR for many years, joining when FAR was known

as WAFMR. She has worked on FAR’s annual financial review for the past two years performing a review of the accounts payable and has greeted/mentored new members to FAR as a member of the membership committee. Susan has worked in the not-for-profit arena for more than twenty-five years with a couple of stints in the for-profit arena. The organizations she has worked for range in budget size from $3 million to $45 million, with staffs of 12 to over 250. Her experience includes trade, profes-sional, and education associations, as well as charitable foundations. A small town girl originally from Maine, she has a B.A. in Biology from Oklahoma City University and a B.S. in Ac-counting from The University College of The University of Maryland/College Park and is a licensed C.P.A.

The ClearChoicefor the Not-for-ProfitCommunityFor close to 100 years, BDO Seidman has served thenot-for-profit community. Our team of professionals offers

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a resource, studying and disseminating information

pertaining to not-for-profit accounting and business

management.

Joyce Underwood, CPABDO Seidman, LLP7101 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 800Bethesda, MD 20814-4827(301) 654-4900www.bdo.com

Bethesda-FAR-10-08 10/22/08 11:16 AM Page 1

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6

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ANNUAL FIsCAL REPORT

The FAR board approved a budgeted loss of $14,910 for FY 07-08, which included major investments in improving our

website, creating a listserv, and offering online registration and member renewals. Through a correlated reduction in expenses for postage and printing, and thanks to strong support of our members, actual results for FY 07-08, actual results for FY 07-08 show a small gain of approximately $1,600. Net assets at the end of the fiscal year were 60 percent of the annual expenses. For FY08-09 the board approved a bud-get with the net gain of $1,600. The budget includes expenses for the nine monthly lun-cheons, the December party, the listserv, and the website.

8 —bringing Not-for-Profi t Professionals Together—


(Programs, continued from page 1)

Inc., and Stuart Sutley of Innova-tive Wellness Solutions. As health benefit costs continue to spiral out of control, organizations are looking for ways to cut medical expenses. In-creasingly, they are turning to wellness programs. Why? Health and well-ness programs can not only help keep employees healthier, but also can help combat increasing health care costs, lower absenteeism, boost productivity and improve morale. Join us as our presenters discuss effective wellness programs that can change employees’ behaviors and ultimately improve their individual well-being, reduce health care costs, and improve areas such as absentee-ism, turnover and presenteeism to name a few. On April 22nd, “60 Technology Tips,” a fast paced, information filled session will leave attendees with prac-tical tips and handy tricks on every

day technologies and related topics. From Excel to remote access, from Word to IT staffing, the presenters will offer varied tid-bits of informa-tion that will generally apply to all audience levels and titles – geeks and non-geeks alike are bound to learn something useful. “An Update on Tax and Legal Is-sues” is quickly becoming an annual event – to be held this year on May 20, 2009. Deborah Kosnett, CPA, Tax Principal, Tate & Tryon, will speak on the tax issues. She will be joined by an attorney who will handle legal issues. The new presidential administra-tion will outline a host of tax and legal initiatives for both the private and public sectors. The tax and legal issues surrounding these initiatives will directly impact all non-profit or-ganizations. During this information-packed session, you’ll get a window into the proposed legislative agenda and the related tax and legal issues

facing nonprofits from two leading experts. You’ll also receive practical guid-ance, updates and tips on a spectrum of issues ranging from copyright and trademark infringement, employment practices, corporate governance, tax exemption and UBIT, the new Form 990, the laws regulating email and faxes (including the FTC’s new CAN-SPAM rules), antitrust liability, defa-mation, contracts, and lobbying and political activity compliance. In this highly interactive program, you will have opportunity to pick the brains of two leading experts in the association community. The final program of the year, to be held on June 24th, will be a Hot Topic in the News. Watch for more information after the first of the year.

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TAbLE TALK

FAR welcomes new members:

beth A. berk, CPA Independent Recruiter Connecting You To Your Next Hire 7501 Democracy Blvd., Suite 215 Bethesda, MD 20817 Phone: [email protected]

Cheryl bleakley Chief Financial Officer Community Connections, Inc. 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003 Phone: 202-608-4758 [email protected]

brian Ford Chief Operating Officer Association of Community College Trustees 1233 20th Street, NW, Suite 301 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-775-4472 [email protected]

Julie Nicholson Senior Director, Finance Mental Health America 2000 N Beauregard Street, 6th FloorAlexandria, VA 22311 Phone: 703-837-4796 [email protected]

Rand Price Chief Operating Officer Security Industry Association 635 Slaters Lane, Suite 110 Alexandria, VA 22314-1108 Phone: 703-647-8490 [email protected]

Larry slesinger Chief Executive Officer *Slesinger Management Services 5016 Westpath Terrace Bethesda, MD 20816 Phone: 301-320-0680 [email protected]

Patricia Taylor Controller Interstate Natural Gas Association of America 10 G Street, NE Washington DC 20002 Phone: 202-216-5954 [email protected]

Joseph Zillo, sr. VP of Finance & Admin/CFO Defenders of Wildlife 1130 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-682-9400 [email protected]

* Denotes patron member

Note that there is an online direc-tory available on our website at www.far-roundtable.org. It is now located AFTER the member log-in so that it is now only available to members.

Last summer FAR unveiled a new patron member package with differ-ent levels of benefits at each tier of membership. For those who you who may have noticed the pre-luncheon PowerPoint presentation naming a sponsor (or co-sponsors) and having slides thanking patron members for their support (with their logos), this is one of the new benefits. Please see the chart on the following page for an “at-a-glance” look. . . .



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Documents

FAR PROGRAM YEAR PROMIsEs TO bE A GOOD ONE FAR … · ship services, marketing, Information Technology, and staff recruitment, compensation, benefits and compliance. As the Association’s