Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2012 - 67

inside
william j.
byrnes

editor

USITT Treasurer's Report, December 2011
Travis DeCastro, uSiTT Treasurer

s I begin winding up my tenure as USITT's Treasurer, it is my privilege and responsibility to report
to you once again on the financial state of the Institute and point out highlights of the 2011 audit as reported and
accepted by the Board of Directors in November of 2011.
The decrease in cash holdings was primarily due to funding the 2011 Prague Quadrennial in the amount of
$150,000 and transferring $39,000 to the investment portfolio. This dip in cash was anticipated and planned. Currently
cash holdings are again increasing as we record the membership and conference income for the 2012 Conference &
Stage Expo in Long Beach, California.
Investment income in 2011 showed a nice bounce back from the previous year of some $350,000. The financial
markets continue to prove inconsistent so I anticipate this line in our financial statement will show continued volatility
in the future. Other factors like the Euro crisis will continue to play out and will no doubt have an impact on our investment portfolio. In addition, instabilities in U.S. economic growth will continue to make market news and therefore
I believe we will continue to see fluctuation in our investment income over the next year or two. For these reasons,
USITT's overall investment strategy remains conservative.
This year the Board of Directors approved allocating a portion of our investment income to support activities in
Publications, Grants & Fellowships, and International programs. This allows a small portion of our unearned income
to enhance member activities. A total of $19,000 will be transferred from USITT's investment portfolio in support of
those activities. Overall, total assets increased some $250,000 from one year to the next.
The budget report still shows weakness in our membership growth. This, added to lower than expected income
from fees, symposiums, bank interest, etc., kept income below our budget projections. However, increases in investment income, which is not included in the planned budget, boosted overall income by around eighteen percent.
Conference income was up eight percent.
On the brighter side, many expense line items were below budget resulting in income over expenses by $150,000.
This budget discipline continues to be a testament to members protecting members by finding ways to bring their expenses in under budget.
The Institute's overall finances are in excellent shape. Most recently, several members of the Board of Directors
met with our investment advisor to discuss the distributions within our investment portfolio to insure the funds were
balanced and that the Institute is still prepared for financial uncertainty. Some minor tweaking has been suggested by
the Board members, but overall the balance between bonds and equities is good and the companies that hold those
investments are sound.
The majority of our investments are diversified throughout the American Fund family and in Pimco Bond funds.
As usual, projections are a floating target thus, long term benefits to the organization are still tied largely to market
conditions. The Institute will continue the transfer of cash assets into our investment portfolio whenever prudent and
possible allowing us to continue our commitment to the future. In addition, USITT will continue to seek outside funds
for specific activities and find additional paths in which our investment portfolio can be used to ease the increasing
demand for member services on our operating budget.
I hope these holidays find you well and look forward to seeing all of you in Long Beach. Should you have any
questions you may send them to the finance committee directly or through the Treasurer at wtd2@psu.edu.

theatre design

& technology

winter

2012

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