Monthly Board Article: Finance
By Stephanie Kimball, PHR, GMA SHRM Secretary/Treasurer

The GMA SHRM financial year ended on June 30, 2004. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me, as Treasurer, to provide a brief overview of our 2003/2004 financial results. Overall, we had a successful year and made some positive changes that allowed us to deliver good financial results. We did have one unbudgeted expense of $6,800 which dropped our year end net income figure to a negative $3,917. We did not hit our revenue goal but held on expenses and came in almost $7,000 under budget for total expenses - which we should all be very proud of! The committees did a great job of controlling expenses and only spending when it was needed - not just because they had the money in their budget. Another program change to help us meet our budgeted needs was our increase to the cost structure of our monthly meetings. As we looked closer at the costs vs. income for these meetings, we found out we were losing money on the majority of our monthly meetings. In order for us to be able to fund programs, such as the new scholarship program, we need an income stream to cover these costs. Our monthly meetings are one small source of this income. Our largest sources of income come from the surveys, advertising, the job line and our partnership program.

The 2003/2004 budget process was a learning experience for all of us involved with the process. Tim Seifriz was a new President, I was a new Treasurer, and MDS was our new administrative team. Needless to say, we feel the 2004/2005 budget process went much more smooth. Our total budget for this plan year is $121,910 and the link to the budget is attached. I look forward to continuing in my role as secretary/treasurer and hope I can help the chapter continue to achieve financial success!

View Budget

SHRM members can explore practical strategies for creating caregiver-friendly work environments at a half-day forum, "The Quiet Problem at Work: Solutions to Support Employed Caregivers and Keep Them on Board," on November 4, 2004, at the Promega campus between Madison and Fitchburg.

The Area Agency on Aging's Caregiver Alliance is sponsoring the forum, which is endorsed by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. The forum runs from 7:30 a.m. to noon and includes a continental breakfast and program materials.

Keynote speaker Leah Dobkin, with the National Council on Aging, will shed light on the issues and challenges of the nearly 22 million American workers who are caregivers for their parents or loved ones. Dobkin also will examine the impact on employers and how they can partner with aging service providers to address caregiver needs and provide support beyond compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Attendees also will hear from employed caregivers and human resource representatives from Kimberly-Clark, Elder Care of Wisconsin and the Department of Transportation.

Nearly 70 percent of employers report that they have seen caregiving-related staffing problems increase over the last 10 years, according to the Human Resources Institute. As a result, employers can lose an estimated $11.4 to $29 billion annually in lost productivity.

The fee for the forum is $45 per person. A certificate of attendance will be provided for professionals wishing to use the forum for re/certification hours. For more information and to register, contact Claire Culbertson, Caregiver Alliance coordinator, at (608) 224-3668 or culbertson@co.dane.wi.us. The forum is being held at the Promega Biopharmaceutical Technology Center, 5445 E. Cheryl Parkway.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 children and young adults in the United States. CF causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus which clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections.

The treatment of CF depends upon the stage of the disease and the organs involved. However, presently there is no cure for CF.

On Thursday, October 7, 2004 the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be sponsoring their annual Wine Tasting Event. We are looking for volunteers for this event. If would be interested in helping out or would like further information, please contact Laurel Bronk at (608) 882-5200, ext. 1132 or lbronk@ub-t.com.

GMA SHRM will host an orientation meeting about the PHR/SPHR certification meeting on Tuesday, August 17th, at Capital Newspapers, 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison. The orientation will run from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m..

The UW-Madison Small Business Development Center will be hosting a SHRM Learning System Course starting September 1, 2004. This program is designed to help human resource professionals prepare for the PHR/SPHR certification exams.

The UW-Madison course has a pass rate for the PHR exam of 94% and SPHR of 77% for the last two exams. These are well above the national averages.

The SHRM Learning System Course is not required to take the PHR/SPHR exam, but we believe that it is the best preparation strategy available and it will greatly increase your chance to pass the exam the first time.
Start date: September 1, 2004, End date: November 17, 2004. Twelve Wednesday evenings 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Grainger Hall, UW-Madison, 975 University Avenue.

Call (608) 262-3909 to register or (608) 263-7680 for more information or visit the SBDC web site at: http://www.uwsbdc.org/shrm.htm.

In addition to an exciting and flexible new format to our chapter newsletter, we have some additional functionality to provide our members via the GMASHRM.org website. The members only portion of the website is now available!

An e-mail notice with login information and instructions will be sent in coordination with the September Chapter Meeting information.

Some of the features of the members only section include:

• Register and pay for chapter events in a secure setting
  
• View a roster for an upcoming meeting
  
• Update your membership record with contact information changes
  
• Look up chapter members by company or name
• Participate in online discussion groups for committees and resource groups.

Keep an eye out for instructions on how to access this great tool.

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