2024-08-09 Meeting notes

Public Page

Date

Aug 9, 2024

Agenda

• Financials (July 2024 YTD)

• 2022 Financial Review Audit

• Accounting Firm Considerations

• Credit Card Processor

• Connex Update

Meeting Minutes

• Financials: Paul reviewed July 2024 YTD results. All results are in line with budget and expectations. We are ahead of revenue in most areas and expenses are in line with budget.

• 2022 Financial Review Audit: There is one outstanding item from the 2022 audit. Despite multiple requests to our accountant to address the auditors question, they have not been responsive.

  • Our accountant feels they have answered the question and have not responded to requests for clarification.

  • Everyone understands what the issue is (contractor payments made on December 31st rolling into the next calendar year.)

    • There are no unaccounted-for monies when one looks at the financials into the next calendar year.

    • Our accountants have identified the specific payments that caused the issue

    • The auditors don’t agree with the way our accountants responded

  • I have instructed the auditors to complete their report. I will provide a response to the outstanding issue once it is received and share it with the Finance Committee when complete.

• Accounting Firm Considerations: Paul shared his concerns with our accounting firms failure to respond as well as a number of minor errors over the last couple years.

  • The committee discussed alternatives to addressing this issue with our accounting firm and discussed the pro’s, con’s and risks of switching accounting firms. The group agreed that for the time being, it is premature to consider switching firms, but it may be an option if issues continue in the future.

  • Paul will compile a list of issues and request a meeting with a principle of the accounting firm to discuss.

• Credit Card Processor: We use Zoho to manage our membership management, conference, accounting and many other functions. They now offer credit card processing for a slightly reduced rate over Stripe. The real value is not the cost but the simplified integration and reduced complexity of a single integrated platform.

  • Will test Zoho Credit Card Processing with CONNEX ticket sales.

• CONNEX Update

  • Sponsorship sales are ahead of budget and with good sales of Platinum and Gold, we are well ahead of previous years.

  • Ticket sales are on track with 105 sold so far.

    • We have a hard limit on tickets of 165 due to room size constraints at the hotel

  • Hotel costs are a concern as is room block flexibility

    • Based on attendee feedback from previous years, we decided to try a downtown hotel. It is a more difficult environment to work in and costs are much higher.

    • The MGM Grand is part of a casino and for that reason, their attitudes are very different from more standard meeting hotels.

  • While sponsorship and ticket sales are strong, we are concerned about our ability to put on quality conference and make a profit.

    • We will cut back on the food offerings to save money, but costs are still higher.

  • Ashley Denison pointed out that we have plenty of money in the bank and have been making strong revenue for several years. If by some chance we lose a little money on the conference, it is not a serious concern.

    • We will make every effort to keep costs in check, but there are some headwinds we may find challenging.

Action items

Decisions

Participants

• @Paul Barry @Ashley.Denison @Greg Best @Brady Bonner Jeff Dietrich

Participants in the meetings are noted for your information.  If you have questions on the committee’s activities, please contact a recent attendee.