Vital Times 2014 - (Page 37)

Cautiously Optimistic: CSA Finances in our 2014-15 Fiscal Year By William Feaster, MD, MBA, CSA Treasurer T he "optimistic" part of the title refers to the fact that we're coming off several years of a strongly positive bottom line. This has enabled us to increase our cash on hand and reserves. Our operating cash and short and long-term reserves currently exceed $2 million. That's very good news and allows us to weather fluctuations in both revenue and expenses. For example, during our 2013-14 fiscal year (July 1 to June 30), while revenue fell from decreased membership, our expenses were also lower due to staff turnover in the office. That enabled us to post positive net revenue of $45,276 compared to a budgeted deficit of ($87,037). The two years before that led to even larger year-end net revenues. I have to give kudos to our prior treasurers and other CSA officers whose hard work led to this success! The word "cautiously" in the title reflects the fact that the CSA's revenue has become almost exclusively dependent on member dues, and CSA membership has recently suffered a slight decline. Declining membership seems to be a trend for other professional organizations as well, often attributed to younger professionals not seeing the value of membership and participation. Historically, our CME activities have also substantially contributed to our revenue. Like membership, conference attendance has also recently declined despite the increasing quality of our educational offerings. This appears to be related to other, less expensive ways I'm optimistic that we have plans in place to respond to these challenges. that professionals can now get CME credit, such as on-line courses. Unfortunately, this creates a "double whammy" on CSA revenues. I'm optimistic that we have plans in place to respond to these challenges. For example, potential and former CSA members may be unaware that CSA membership is required for ASA membership. Enforcing that link has been problematic due to membership cycles not being synchronized. We are working to change that in the future by potentially combining CSA and ASA membership billing, as other states are doing. We are working with our public relations consultants to find better ways to communicate the real value of CSA and ASA membership to your practice. For example, if you are a member and reading this, your hard-earned money that went to CSA dues helped defeat Proposition 46, one of the biggest threats to physicians in recent years. If you know colleagues who aren't members of the CSA, they should thank you for helping us succeed in this fight and they should follow your lead in joining the CSA. We'll need their help for the next battle, as new challenges arise almost daily. (continued) Annual Publication 2014 | 37

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vital Times 2014

AND NOW, A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
ON YOUR BEHALF: CSA Fights and Wins in 2014
ADAPT AND PROSPER: A Guide to Survival
POLITICS AND MEDICATION SAFETY: The CSA 2014 Annual Anesthesia Meeting
DR. CSA GOES TO WASHINGTON
CALIFORNIA ANESTHESIA RESIDENCY IN 2014
A NEW YEAR AND NEW LEADERSHIP IN THE CSA
CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC – CSA FINANCES IN OUR 2014-15 FISCAL YEAR
THE ASA ANNUAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING: Building for the Future
ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2014
CONSOLIDATION IN THE HEALTHCARE MARKETPLACE: What’s in your Future?
IF I COULD SPEAK
PEERING OVER THE ETHER SCREEN: Germs and the Pseudoscience of Quality Improvement
THE ETHICAL CONSULTANT: Perioperative ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Orders
THE VALUE OF CSA MEMBERSHIP
UPCOMING MEETINGS
MY WEEK ON HAWAII'S BIG ISLAND

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