Round Table Budget Info

Round Tables are membership units and are authorized to charge membership dues. Round Tables incur expenses in carrying out their programs. These expenses are paid for from Round Table revenues which include membership dues, subscriptions, sales of publications and other materials, preconferences, meal functions at conference and donations. ALA charges a small amount of overhead (5-10% of dues revenue) to recover a portion of its indirect costs.

Developing the RT Budget

Round Tables budget both revenue and expenses: Round Tables may retain net revenues (fund balance), which may be budgeted to support programs. Round Tables may not budget expenses greater than revenue; if annual expenses exceed annual revenues, accumulated net revenues from previous years (fund balance) are budgeted ("drawn down") to make up the difference. Round Tables may not maintain a negative fund balance. (Note: On rare ions, an individual Round Table develops a negative fund balance; in this case, budget adjustments are madeto return the fund balance to positive as quickly as possible.)

Calendar (ALA Fiscal Year Begins on September 1)

Midwinter Meeting: Review, the year-end previous year budget, comparing the budget to actual revenues and expenses. Review the current year budget, comparing budget to actual revenues and expenses. Create a preliminary budget for the year to begin on the following September 1. The staff liaison will act as a resource during this process; the preliminary budget should be given to the staff Mason at the end of the Midwinter Meeting.

Between Midwinter and Annual Conference: Immediately following the Midwinter Meeting, the staff liaison prepares the budget for submission to ALA Planning and Budgeting, the ALA Executive Board and the ALA Budget Analysis and Review Committee (a standing committee of Council). The deadline for the initial submission to ALA Planning and Budgeting is typically between mid-February and March 1. Preliminary budgets, including Round Table budgets, are presented to the ALA Executive Board at their spring meeting (approximately May 1), and are then considered by the Budget Analysis and Review Committee, (BARC).

• BARC assigns one of its members as a liaison to each Round Table. While the ALA Executive Board and BARC receive summary information m each Round Table's preliminary budget proposal the BARC liaison will receive detail information.
• The BARC liaison may contact the Round Table chair or treasurer if there are questions regarding the preliminary budget proposal.

Annual Conference: Make any final changes to the proposed budget. (Note: Changes should be communicated to the staff liaison and BARC liaison as soon as possible.) BARC typically recommends approval to the ALA Executive Board at the Annual Conference. [Note: While the BARC liaison will review a Round Table's detailed budget document, BARC recommends to the ALA Executive Board approval of a "budgetary ceiling" the combined total budget for all Round Tables.)

Between Annual Conference and Midwinter: BARC meets prior to the fall meeting of the ALA Executive Board. Any necessary budget actions not completed at Annual Conference will be considered at this time. Budget instructions for the following fiscal year are received by the staff liaison (December) and communicated to the Round Table for consideration at the Midwinter Meeting.

Budget Structure

A Round Table is considered an ALA unit. Each unit may be further divided, for budgetary purposes, into "projects." The unit always includes an "administrative" project; this is where dues revenue is budgeted and where basic support expenses (expenses that are not clearly incurred for another individual project) are budgeted. The unit may define other projects as appropriate to the unit. For instance, a Round Table which publishes a journal may define a project for that newsletter, to enable member leaders to track both revenues and expenses attributable to the journal. A Round Table planning a preconference may define a project to capture those revenues and expenses. Or, a Round Table may define a project for a subgroup (e.g. a task force).

• Every Round Table has an administrative (0000) budget.
• Each Round Table, working with the staff liaison, defines other unit-appropriate projects. Projects may continue indefinitely or for a limited number of years (e.g. a project for a specific, one-time institute).
• All projects are summed under a beading called "All Projects" ( i.e. the total Round Table budget).

Round Table budgets include both revenue and expenses. Both revenues and expenses are divided into various "accounts" - specific types of revenues or expenses.

ALA prudently follows the standard principles of accrual accounting:

• Expenses are "recognized" when they are incurred.
• Revenues are "recognized" when they are received and when the service/product for which they are being received can reasonably be assumed to have been delivered. Thus, membership dues represent an advance payment for services to be received. These services are delivered, typically, over a 12-month period; thus, one twelfth of a member's dues are "recognized" each month. A registration payment may be received prior to a preconference, but mill not be recognized until the month that the preconference is actually given.

The annual budget is divided into monthly increments to facilitate monitoring:

• Once the preliminary annual budget is developed, it is necessary to specify where in the 12-mmth fiscal year revenues can be expected or expenses incurred. In some cases, revenue (e.g. dues) or expenses (e.g. telephone) will be divided into 12 equal increments. In other cases, that will not be appropriate. For instance revenue from a quarterly joumal subscription will be projected only for the four times a year when a new issue is actually supplied. Revenues or expenses related to the ALA Annual Conference or Midwinter Meeting will be projected for those months when expenses will be 'incurred or revenues recognized. Once the Round Table executive committee has developed a preliminary annual budget, the staff liaison can provide assistance 'in "spreading" the budget.
• ALA Budget and Finance provides a monthly "performance repose." This report is distributed to staff liaisons for review. Staff liaisons will distribute summary information to the Round Table executive committee prior to the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference. The staff liaison will communicate any significant budget variances to the Round Table treasurer m receipt of the monthly report.

Monitoring the Round Table Budget (Staff Liaison)

The monthly [budget] performance reports currently issued by ALA Budget & Finance are in the following sequence:

• Unit administrative project (0000).
• Other projects (in numerical sequence).
• All projects (total Round Table).

Within each project, the report is sequenced as follows:

• Revenue, by account (in ascending numerical sequence).
• Expenses, by account (in ascending numerical sequence).

Reading the monthlv [budget] performance report, from left to right.

• Monthly Budget: actual for the month, budgeted for the month, actual for the same month last year.
• Account number/description in ascending numerical order beginning with revenue.
• Total annual budget, for that account.
• Actual year-to-date, for that account.
• Budgeted year to date, for that account.
• Variance - the difference (positive or negative) between the budgeted and actual year-to-date.
• Prior Year Actual - prior year actual year-to-date for the same period.
• Remaining current budget - amount of the total annual budet for that account, still to be earned or expended.

Monthly [budget] Performance Report is accompanied by the Monthly, General Ledger Report:

• This details individual revenue/expense transactions typically with description. The Monthly General Ledger Report will also be forward to the staff liaison.
• Monthly reports are distributed at the end of the following month (e.g. the April monthly report goes out around the 21st of May).

What To Look For

• Apparent errors, (e.g. income or expenses that "belong" to one project are assigned to a different project.) Notify the staff liaison so that the error can be corrected.
• Major variances (+/- 5%) on a revenue/expense line. Note that variances may be "temporary" (e.g. the result of a delayed journal issue.) Monitor succeeding performance reports.
• Strategic planning/budgeting indicators. The monthly performance reports, cumulatively, provide information useful in strategic planning and budgeting (e.g. upward/downward trends in dues or subscription revenues.)