As we are two years into a COVID-19 impacted world, I’m pleased to say that CFMA’s finances remain strong and we entered FYE 2023 with nearly $5.7 million in working capital. This level is one that can enable us to weather economic downturns as well as invest in CFMA’s future.
Financial Results
During FYE 2022, we had the disappointment of not being able to have our Annual Conference as typically planned, but we attempted a Hybrid Conference with four in-person viewing locations. Unfortunately, this did not attract the number of attendees we had hoped for and led to a positive $67,000 to our income, but an overall miss to our budget of $226,000.
Fortunately, our strong membership numbers (renewals at over 86.7% and new member growth) completely offset this miss by exceeding our budget by $228,000. We should also note that due to the stock market swings, we experienced a $184,000 loss in our portfolio (somewhat offset by over $81,000 in investment income). All in all, we experienced a year where our net assets decreased by $102,000.
Improving Infrastructure
For a few years, we have struggled to provide members, chapters, and other volunteer leaders and CFMA’s staff with the technology that they need. Like many businesses, CFMA has databases that do not talk with each other, excessive manual processes, and systems that need too much maintenance to continue to use.
As a result, CFMA’s capital budget calls for a substantial investment of $654,000 in technology improvements, which is centered on using the powerful technology of Salesforce as the hub for our IT. Fortunately, our strong financial base allows for this.
Investing in Member Value
Our Association can remain strong as long as we continue to focus on delivering value to our members. To that end, our budget projects a net loss of $379,000. Some of these expenses are the result of our investment in technology and the expectation that these new systems will be implemented in the third quarter of FYE 2023.
CFMA continues to focus on improvements in our educational content with new programs and updating existing materials. Support for our chapters is also an important consideration with additional funds being allocated to support initiatives at the chapter level regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion; the Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) designation; and suicide prevention.
Appreciation
I would like to thank CFMA’s sponsors and particularly our Principal Partners, FORVIS and Viewpoint, for helping us in our numerous initiatives. Additionally, I would like to thank the members of the Finance Committee and the Audit and Investment Subcommittees for providing their time and input.
I would also like to thank my predecessor as Treasurer, Tom Borgia, for his support and valued input throughout the year. Stacey Scholl, CFMA’s Director of Finance, has worked very hard to keep information flowing and provide the needed information for our Association’s leadership to make decisions. Lastly, I look forward to the upcoming year and working with CFMA’s FYE 2023 Treasurer, Caryl Coronis.
Copyright © 2022 by the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). All rights reserved. This article first appeared in July/August 2022 CFMA Building Profits magazine.