Reports To:
Finance Committee
Reports Due:
Progress report due November 1, 2018
Final report due December 31, 2018
Term:
August 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018
Background
Sections remain the lifeblood of the CBA, and a primary delivery mechanism for community, professional development, and advocacy. However, as the Sections have evolved over time, the mechanisms that support them have become administratively complex. For many years, much of the work involved with National Sections administration and budgeting was undertaken by the National Sections Council and, in particular, its Budget Subcommittee. Both of these entities ceased to exist once the new CBA governance structure was implemented. This Task Force is therefore being struck to examine National Section administration as a whole, with a specific focus on deferred revenues, the pricing/policy structure for PD offerings, and the annual budgeting process.
National Sections/PD revenue sharing formula (deferred revenues):
Net revenue from in-person Section conferences over the course of a year for which registration fees are charged is retained administratively in a National Sections Council (NSC), and individual deferred revenue accounts, which relevant Sections can access, within certain guidelines, for future activities. NSC no longer exists, and with all former Forums now being Sections, the current policy is not standardized. Managing Section deferred revenue accounts, which can include revenue from other sources, is also time consuming for several National Office staff.
Pricing/policies for in-person Professional Development:
Currently, the in-person Section PD conferences are budgeted and priced to break-even. Maintaining a reasonable price point for members should remain a primary goal. Would a different pricing model be better aligned with member and Section needs? Should CBA financial policies related to Section conferences be reviewed in that context?
Section budgeting:
Section Executives have historically been heavily involved in the detailed budgeting process, which is undertaken each year. For 2018-19, this was minimized to some extent with the creation of a “Section Community” budget that allowed National Office staff to create a common budget for standard annual activities, for consideration by the Finance Committee. The Task Force should consider whether this approach should be expanded so that Sections and Section Executives can focus on generating their priorities and work plan, which staff can then incorporate into a single annual Sections budget request.
Deliverables:
- Recommend an alternative to the current deferred revenues system.
- Recommend a pricing approach and financial policies for in-person Section PD conferences.
- Recommend a budget development process.
- Recommend any other identified opportunities for efficiencies in Sections administration.
Process:
Task Force members will:
- Review the current policies and practices
- Develop a work plan
- Consult extensively with Sections as alternatives are developed
- Report to the Finance Committee, which will in turn report to the Board of Directors on the progress of the Task Force.
Required staff support:
The staff members who are part of the Task Force will provide the necessary administrative support in terms of booking meetings, taking meeting notes, and distributing resources as required. Typically staff would not be the primary report writers, so the Task Force should determine the respective roles and responsibilities of each member as part of the work plan development.
Document references:
Current policies with respect to deferred revenues, PD and Sections budgeting
Membership:
- A member of the National Board who is also on the Finance Committee
- A representative of National Section Executives
- A member of the Sections Subcommittee
- A Finance staff member
- A Sections staff member
