Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2008 - 69

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e d i t o r William J. Byrnes

The USITT 2006/2007 Budget
By Travis DeCastro, Interim USITT Treasurer

The two documents included in this report show that USITT
is having another year of good earnings, and that it continues to do good deeds with its money. One document is a
financial balance sheet. The other document is a budget
summary report (budget to actual) of the 06/07 budget
cycle with a comparison to the approved 07/08 budget. For
those not familiar with reading these financial reports like
these, please remember that numbers are just numbers.
They neither lie nor inflate. They merely report. The interpretation of these numbers is determined by history, actions, reporting, and predictions. In some cases where you
see large percentages increases or decreases it is merely
because an action was taken to more accurately report an
expense by moving it to a more appropriate budget line. In
other cases, predictions have been historically conservative by our Institute. A good year of earnings skews our
conservative predictions but insulate us from overreaching
impacts on the markets that we have no control over.
USITT's financial statements are professionally and independently audited every year and submitted to the Board
of Directors. In addition, monthly reports are prepared by
the USITT Office and Finance Manager and reviewed by the
Treasurer, Finance Committee, and Board of Directors. Any
questions should be submitted to Interim Treasurer Travis
DeCastro (tdecastro@usitt.org)

NOTES FOR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT:
* The drop in cash from 2005/2006 to 2006/2007 was a
move of cash to short term investments as reﬂected in the
next line of the ﬁnancial statement.
* Our investment package earned $314,843 as is distributed between unrestricted, temporarily restricted, and
restricted funds.
* Prepaid expenses increased dramatically and is a result
of several initiatives covered later in this document.
* A drop in board designated expenses is the result of the
release of funds as Prague 2007 began preparations for
their eventual tour in 07.

THEATRE

DESIGN

TECHNOLOGY

W I N T E R

2008

NOTES FOR THE BUDGET SUMMARY:
* General Income showed an increase in the 06-07 cycle of
122%. There was modest growth in membership. There
was a substantial increase in publication sales.
* Reporting of our investment package which you can see
here substantially skews predictions of income has been
addressed in the 07/08 budget as you can see in the
third column. A substantially larger estimate of earnings
income has been budgeted into the 07/08 budget and assigned to speciﬁc budget areas. This budget is published
in the 08 Membership Directory and was mailed to members in November of 07. Please refer to this budget for a
more detailed explanation.
* Professional Development income was up. This is inline
with USITT member initiatives that are covered later in
this document.
* Expenses areas were, for the most part, within accepted
parameters.
* Conference income to expenses was around 127%. Historically this is low.
* Food events ran slightly higher than anticipated. This will
ﬂuctuate widely as we move from city to city and venue to
venue.
In conclusion, USITT remains on firm financial footing.
This could be interpreted as miraculous during today's
difficult financial times for many non-profit organizations.
However, USITT should remain focused on investment
growth and managed spending. Several initiatives are underway which will no doubt have long term effects on the
Institute and its finances.
The move of the National Office from a warehouse
district surrounded by low-cost hotels to a more centralized location in Syracuse provided a much needed upgrade
not only for the staff's working conditions but also a much
more useful area of interaction to the many volunteers who
may need to travel to Syracuse on Institute business.
The assessment begun in 2006 will continue into

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