National Office Update August 7, 2017
Housekeeping We will be recording this meeting and will post these slides to our website at the conclusion of this meeting.
Mission of the AWSCPA AWSCPA is a national network connecting and supporting today s women CPAs through career and personal transitions by innovative training, customized mentorship, and focused relationships.
Pleased to announce! A formal relationship with the AICPA The AWSCPA National Board is pleased to announce that we have unanimously agreed to support a memorandum of understanding (MOU) from the AICPA.
We will have a stronger voice and be able to continue our mission on a larger scale AWSCPA has an 84 year old history. We have changed with the times and adapted our goals and mission often to truly represent the needs of women. We have successfully fought through walls and climbed ladders. As we have reinvented ourselves, we have looked for new resources, partnerships, and opportunities to support women as they transitioned through life and careers. AWSCPA is being given the opportunity to showcase its strengths on a larger platform. The AICPA will be able to provide the women of our organization with the resources, knowledge and skills that our organization could not, while continuing to recognize what makes us unique. Our members will have access to a expanded community of professional women as mentors and role models.
We know you may not fully share our feelings or have questions about why: So, we would like to explain why the National Board has unanimously voted to support the MOU with the AICPA. So, for some additional historical context
Membership Trends At our peak in the late 1980 s we were a membership organization of over 5,200 members. Today, we are approximately 10% of that size. 1987 1970 2000
Management Fee Background Fiscal year 2015 was a very scary year for the AWSCPA. Membership was down and the cash position was very poor due to the inability to scale management fees. Effective for the FY 2016, the National Office was taken over by a previous National Board member. Services were provided at a discounted rate--- less than half of what the market rate would be. The cash position has improved since 2015, but our dues are not sufficient to sustain paying a market management fee long-term. Further, even at our peak in the late 1980 s the AWSCPA was relying upon an association management company rather than being able to support its own staff.
Membership & Management Fees 1987 2015 1970 2000
Membership & Management Fees What we have been doing is working, but it will not scale 1987 Below market management fee 2015 1970 2000
Membership & Management Fees Even with below market management fee rates, we are at the management fees as a percent of total dues in the same range as when at our largest size 1987 Below market management fee 2015 1970 2000
Membership & Management Fees And we have even had management fees in excess of annual dues 1987 Management fees in excess of dues (>100%) Below market management fee 2015 1970 2000
Cash Position Due to below market management fees, cash position has improved Below market management fee
What are the terms of the MOU?
Memorandum of Understanding with the AICPA Terms In exchange for assignment of the AWSCPA Intellectual Property (logo, name, etc.) AICPA will Create a new task force for AWSCPA under WIEC Provide a discounted initial AICPA membership rate for AWSCPA members that are not currently AICPA members Develop communities and programming for women members of the AICPA, including former AWSCPA members, as the WIEC deems appropriate AWSCPA will also, Dissolve legal entity in accordance with bylaws and relevant laws, and Encourage members of AWSCPA to join AICPA National Board Unanimously Voted to Support AICPA MOU.
Board Recommendation Legally dissolve AWSCPA, a 501(c)(6) entity in order to enter into an agreement with the AICPA Assign all intellectual property of the AWSCPA (logo, name, etc.) to the AICPA Distribute funds according to the following priority: Settle and reserve sufficient cash to pay operating costs to close the entity Provide a pro-rata National membership dues reimbursement to all current paid members as of the effective date of the dissolution or donated to the AWSCPA Foundation. For example, if the effective date of the dissolution is October 31, 2017, and member is paid through June 30, 2018 at the $145 rate, that member would receive 8/12 th of their dues refunded to them (i.e., $96.67) The National Office will request contact information to confirm remittance information for members. If we do not receive a response from a member by XX(Date TBD)XX, their refunded dues will be remitted to the AWSCPA Foundation. A donor acknowledgement letter will be sent to the last known contact information for that member. A member may elect to have their dues refund donated to the AWSCPA Foundation. Such members will be provided a donor acknowledgement letter. Refund Wiley sponsorship pro-rata Provide a stipend of $500 to Affiliates* that specifically request it to assist in paying for filing fees, etc. to legally change their name Donate remaining funds to the AWSPCA Foundation *Austin Regional Cluster will be treated as an Affiliate to this purpose Unamiously Passed at 7/21/17 Board Meeting
AICPA Task Force The Task Force will be made up of the current national board and representatives from key AWSCPA local or regional groups that are either current or past board members or key organizers. Each group that has a designated slot will be allowed to select their own representative to the AICPA Task Force. The designated slots are: Austin Regional Cluster Georgia Affiliate Houston Affiliate Los Angeles Affiliate New Jersey Affiliate New York Affiliate South Florida Affiliate Tampa Bay Affiliate Utah Affiliate Danielle Supkis Cheek will only be on the Task Force if the other selected members of the Task Force vote with a super-majority (2/3rds) to ask her to be on the Task Force.
What happens to Affiliates?
Affiliates & Regional Clusters As separate legal entities, affiliates are able to continue as a stand-alone entity. However, the clause in the AWSCPA National Bylaws that allows the National Board to terminate the rights of the Affiliates to use the AWSCPA name and logo will be exercised. As part of the dissolution plan, we have allocated up to $500 per Affiliate* that request funds to assist with any filing or legal costs of a name change. Affiliates will be required to change their names and terminate use of the AWSCPA name. Assuming names are available in the state s jurisdiction, the current affiliates could rename to something like Georgia Women s Society of CPAs, Houston Women s Society of CPAs, etc. * Austin Regional Cluster will be treated as an Affiliate to this purpose
Affiliates & Regional Clusters What if my affiliate doesn t want to dissolve? Each Affiliate is its own legal entity and can choose how it would like to proceed. For Affiliates that would like to continue with a name change, we are providing up to $500 per Affiliate in the plan of dissolution to assist with filing or legal fees related to a legal name change.
Affiliates & Regional Clusters What if my affiliate wants to dissolve as well? Each Affiliate is its own legal entity and can choose how it would like to proceed. For Affiliates that would like to dissolve, our National Office and other representatives can provide some insights into the dissolution process. You may need to contact an attorney if there are complicated laws in your state regarding entity dissolution. Of course, Affiliates will need to follow their bylaws for the dissolution process as well. We ask that dissolving affiliates donate any remaining funds to the AWSCPA Foundation (a 501(c)(3)) or what will be the AWSCPA Scholarship Fund at the AICPA Foundation (a 501(c)(3)). If that entity is not in accordance with your bylaws, we request that you amend bylaws prior to dissolution to allow such a final distribution. We believe that increasing our scholarship fund with any remaining funds is an important step toward investing in women coming into our profession and would like to pay it forward.
Affiliates & Regional Clusters National Office Support Transition Events administration assistance will continue for currently scheduled events. We will not accept new event requests. We are happy to provide a list of tools that we have used or are aware of to any Affiliate or Regional Cluster that needs tools to host their own events. CPE Sponsorship for events will discontinue effective August 31, 2017 (so events hosted after 8/31 will not qualify for CPE under the AWSCPA sponsorship number). We are happy to put any Affiliate that needs to in contact with NASBA or other contacts as needed to obtain your own NASBA or State Board CPE Sponsor ID.
What will our voting options be? 1. Ratify the MOU with the AICPA which called for transferring AWSCPA s intellectual property and dissolving the entity 2. Dissolve the entity outright 3. Abstain Under either dissolution option, the Board will exercise the right to terminate the rights of the Affiliates to use the AWSCPA name and logo as we will either be assigning this intellectual property to the AICPA or will no longer be a national membership organization. Of course, as noted before, Affiliates are their own legal entity and will be able to choose their best path. For those that request it, AWSCPA National will provide $500 to assist with legal or other fees related to a name change.
Next Steps An email has gone out to all members informing them of what we have just told you about We have also prepared an FAQ document to cover some more technical questions and provide some sample AICPA ToolKits that are usually only available to AICPA members We will be hosting 2 Member FAQ meetings We will be calling for a virtual membership meeting per our bylaws to vote as an association on the board recommendation. There will be between 20-60 days of notice of the meeting that will be sent to all voting members. Our target is to complete this process prior to the AICPA Women s Global Leadership Summit in order to be able to have a strong brand presence at that event. Further, it will be nice to come full circle, as AWSCPA was founded in 1933 in Chicago 84 years ago! This year s summit will be in Chicago on November 8-10, 2017 Use promo code TVK to get a $100 discount as an AWSCPA member Visit awscpa.org/mou for more info