Business Law Blog

With summer upon us and while we are all enjoying the best weather of the year, it is time for the Budget and Audit Committee to get to work and prepare the 2023 fiscal year (FY 23) budget for the full Board of Governors to review and approve. The budget for FY 23 starts with the WSBA staff doing the heavy lift and preparing it for review by the Budget and Audit Committee. The Budget and Audit Committee will use its July and August meetings to review and comment on the FY 23 budget. Once the Budget and Audit Committee and WSBA staff have finalized the FY 23 budget, the Board of Governors will first consider said budget in late summer and will approve the final version of the FY 23 budget at the September Board of Governors meeting.

This time of year is always very busy for the Budget and Audit Committee and gives us the opportunity and pleasure to work with WSBA staff to prepare the FY 23 budget for the Board of Governors’ review and approval. While this process is very interesting, it is also challenging, because the WSBA, much like a retired person, is on a fixed budget and the consumer price index (CPI) continues to increase along with the cost of doing business. The need to meet the mission of the WSBA is balanced with the challenge of keeping member license fees flat. The WSBA mission states:

“The mission of the Washington State Bar Association is to serve the public and the members of the Bar, to ensure the integrity of the legal profession, and to champion justice.”

So how do we take our limited and fixed income and serve the public, the members, ensure the integrity of the legal profession, champion justice, deal with an increased CPI and the cost to do business, while keeping the members’ license fees flat? For the last few years, we have been able to pull off this daunting feat and I believe that we can pull it off again this year.

I am also happy to report that we have made amazing progress on revising and updating all of our fiscal policies through the diligent effort of Governor Francis Adewale and Advancement Department Director Kevin Plachy. This is a thankless and a time-consuming project and Governor Adewale and Director Plachy have done a tremendous job. It has been a while since the WSBA has comprehensively revised its fiscal policies and we are overdue to have this revision completed. It is very important to keep our fiscal policies up to date. This current iteration was done with an eye toward making our policies more workable for volunteers who contribute their valuable time to the furtherance of the WSBA mission.

We have closed the books through April—more than halfway through the fiscal year, which runs October through September—with a net increase to the unrestricted General Fund of $1,700,586. Our original FY 22 budget called for $89,563 in reserve spending by year’s end, which means we are actually at a $1,790,149 YTD positive variance from that projection. We will have several expenses in the remaining months, which we anticipate will lower the overall ending fund balance for FY 22, but we will continue to monitor this and update you accordingly.

I hope that you are all able to enjoy the wonderful weather here in the Pacific Northwest as we enter into the summer season! It has been and continues to be a pleasure to be your treasurer for this fiscal year. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding the WSBA budget.

If you would like more information about the meeting times and materials for the WSBA Budget and Audit Committee, please visit http://www.wsba.org/connect-serve/committees-boards-other-groups/budget-audit. In addition, you can find our annual report and the monthly financial information for the WSBA at www.wsba.org/connect-serve/committees-boards-other-groups/budget-audit.

It feels good to now have the final numbers for FY 21 and to be able to start looking forward to FY 22. Before moving forward to discuss FY 22, let’s look back at FY 21.

For FY 21, WSBA revenue was $23,691,045 and FY 21 WSBA expenses were $22,106,482. The ending fund balances for FY 21 (Oct. 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021) are as follows:

• General Fund. For FY 21, the WSBA General Fund balance ended at $7,076,440, or $1,548,206 over the FY 20 ending balance of $5,528,234.
• Client Protection Fund. For FY 21, the Client Protection Fund balance ended at $4,046,283, or $146,847 below the FY 20 ending balance of $4,193,130.
• CLE Fund. For FY 21, the CLE Fund balance ended at $635,784, or $166,500 above the FY 20 ending balance of $469,241.
• Section Fund. For FY 21, the Section Fund balance ended at $1,406,760, or $196,551 above the FY 20 ending balance of $1,210,209.

LOOKING FORWARD TO FY 22
In October we had our first Budget and Audit Committee meeting to look forward to the FY 23 budget process. Our Budget and Audit Committee meeting started with a discussion of what went well as to the FY 22 budget and what can potentially be done better as to the FY 23 budget. This is my third year on the Budget and Audit Committee, and I can assure you that we are always looking for ways to improve the WSBA budget process. The Budget and Audit Committee is committed to continuous improvement for the benefit of WSBA members.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, we had several governors volunteer their time on several exciting Budget and Audit Committee projects. I would like to thank Governor Francis Adewale for volunteering his time to work with WSBA CFO Jorge Perez to review and revise the WSBA fiscal policies. While our WSBA fiscal policies are currently in a good place, this project will further improve them for the benefit of the WSBA and its members.

I would also like to thank Governor Alec Stephens for volunteering his time to work with CFO Perez to look for ways to improve the budget process for FY 23. During the latter part of each year, the budgeting process becomes very time intensive for CFO Perez, his team, and the Budget and Audit Committee. While this is generally the way it works for organizations and businesses, it is great to be looking at this process with an eye for improvement. Governor Stephens and CFO Perez will review the budgeting process to determine if there is a way to tackle some of the budgeting processes earlier in the year to hopefully decrease the workload on CFO Perez, his team, and the Budget and Audit Committee later in the year.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Governor Dan Clark and Governor Brett Purtzer for volunteering their time to work with CFO Perez to examine our current investment strategy and determine if there is a better way to invest our cash reserve. Governors Clark and Purtzer will also monitor and keep the Budget and Audit Committee updated on the efforts to sublease part of the WSBA office space in an effort to decrease our per-month lease rent amount. These two projects are very exciting to me because they give us the opportunity to grow our investments and cut our expenses, which would be a win for WSBA members and the organization! The Budget and Audit Committee is already a huge time commitment for all of its members, so I am especially grateful to these governors for their willingness to spend even more of their time on these very important tasks.

In closing, please know that we continue to rigorously analyze how to operate as efficiently as possible while maintaining essential member supports and services, and also to look at all areas of the budget to increase revenue opportunities and improve overall efficient use of our license fee revenue and other revenue for the WSBA. It continues to be an honor to serve as WSBA treasurer. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions. Member feedback is always important to me and the Budget and Audit Committee.

As we leave the 2021 WSBA fiscal year behind us and look forward to the 2022 fiscal year (FY 22), I want to honor the hard work and dedication of the 2020-21 Budget and Audit Committee members: Governors Brett Purtzer, Tom McBride, Carla Higginson, Matthew Dresden, Lauren Boyd, and P.J. Grabicki. I would also like to give special thanks to past Treasurer Dan Clark, who has done a remarkable job over the past two years and has been very generous with his time over the last year to prepare me for this role as WSBA treasurer. It is also very important to honor the hard work and dedication of CFO Jorge Perez, Executive Director Terra Nevitt, and everyone who works at the WSBA. Over the last two years, the WSBA reserves have grown approximately $3.6 million, even in the face of the pandemic. It really does take everyone at the WSBA to achieve such an amazing result.

I would also like to thank all the governors willing to serve on the Budget and Audit Committee for FY 22. The Budget and Audit Committee is a huge time commitment and a challenge, but also very satisfying. During FY 22, we expect to face many challenges due to the uncertainty of the post-COVID-19 world. What will the coming year look like for the WSBA and how will it affect the financial future of our organization? How many of the WSBA’s staff will continue to work remotely, or at the office full-time, or in some combination of the two? Will the WSBA be able to sublet some of its office space to defray the cost of rent through the remainder of the current lease (which expires in 2026)? This and many other questions will be answered this year, and the answers to these questions will help to determine the financial future of the WSBA. Through out the year, we will work together to meet these challenges in a way that produces the best result for you, the WSBA members.

A LOOK FORWARD: COMPLETION OF THE 2022 BUDGET

The Board of Governors passed the final version of the FY 22 budget at its September meeting. Here is a quick snapshot: The general fund portion of the FY 22 WSBA budget (see chart on the next page) calls for $21,526,859 in expenditures and $21,437,297 in revenue. While this means there is an anticipated deficit of $89,562, we are confident that we have budgeted conservatively—especially considering the uncertainty created by the pandemic. The WSBA will closely monitor revenue and expenditures over the year and work hard to cap any deficit at the budgeted number or reduce it. It should be noted that over the last two fiscal years, the WSBA budgets have projected deficits but the actuals at year-end put it in the black.

2022 LICENSE FEES, KELLER DEDUCTION, AND PER-MEMBER SECTION CHARGE

The WSBA Board of Governors voted to keep member license fees flat for FY 22. Lawyer license fees have remained flat for the last four years, even though WSBA expenses have increased each and every year. If you think of the WSBA like a retired person on a fixed income, with expenses continuing to increase each and every year, it is truly remarkable that we have been able to keep license fees flat for the last four years. Once again, an amazing accomplishment that must be credited to the hard work of everyone at the WSBA. This does not happen by accident!

The WSBA Board of Governors set the 2022 Keller deduction1 at $9.02 for active lawyers, as compared to $3.85 for 2021 and $1.55 for 2020. Upon the recommendation of WSBA staff, the Board also voted to set the per-member section reimbursement charge2 at $18.75, as compared to $18.23 for 2021. The ability to set this per-mem ber section reimbursement charge at the $18.75 amount is in large part due to WSBA Advancement Department Director Kevin Plachy and his team’s hard work to reduce costs and make changes to increase the efficiency within this department.

In closing, it is very important to me that we continue to put members front and center, which means demonstrating value and responsibility in all that we do at the WSBA. I look forward to being your treasurer this next year and facing the many challenges that FY 22 will present.

Treasurer’s Report NOTES

1. In Keller v. State Bar of California, 496 U.S. 1 (1990), the Court ruled that a bar association may not use mandatory member fees to support political or ideological activities that are not reasonably related to the regulation of the legal profession or improving the quality of legal services.

2. This charge is the amount that sections reimburse the WSBA for the cost of supporting sections.

Happy fiscal new year! While we may be a few months early according to the traditional calendar, Oct. 1 marks the beginning of the WSBA’s fiscal year, so we want to give you a look at the year ahead. First, allow us to introduce ourselves. Here are our quick bios:

• Bryn A. Peterson, Treasurer. I am the owner of Peterson Law, PLLC, which specializes in corporate law. I have been representing District 9 on the WSBA’s Board of Governors since 2019. At the University of the Pacific, I
minored in business administration and at their law school I took several tax law courses. I obtained a Master of Law in taxation from the University of Washington School of Law and worked for Deloitte Tax in their state and local tax group. I have spent approximately 18 years practicing corporate law and I was a member of the Executive Committee at Tree Top, Inc. For the last two years, I have been a member of the WSBA Budget and Audit Committee. My approach and goal as treasurer will be to facilitate the WSBA Budget and Audit Committee in a manner that assists and provides the information needed for the committee to make the correct decisions for the WSBA and its members. As former V.P. of legal at Tree Top, Inc., and assistant general counsel of Darigold, Inc., I was involved in two coops that work hard for their members. While the WSBA is not a co-op, it is an organization that is by the members and for the members. I never want to forget that the members are the people that provide the money required for the WSBA to function and operate each and every year.

• Jorge A. Perez, Chief Financial Officer. I have more than 20 years of global finance and operational leadership experience in public, private, and private equity-sponsored companies (including Marriott International and Merck). My areas of expertise are internal controls, financial forecasting and planning, and program life-cycle analysis. My approach is as a servant leader with the overall goal of providing maximum value to the organization and its members.

Jointly, we are dedicated to keeping you informed about the WSBA’s finances. As an overall philosophy, we are putting members front and center, which means demonstrating value and responsibility in all that we do. We are extraordinarily sensitive to the need to be transparent and understandable in our financial reporting and to maximize efficiency and reduce expenditures, while maintaining robust programs to serve the public and members and to champion justice. Throughout the coming year, we commit to these goals: (1) to maintain transparency and communications to WSBA members regarding financial reporting; (2) to specifically examine various cost centers and explore the possibility of making some non-mandatory functions revenue neutral; and (3) to conduct a financial forecast for the fiscal year and a continued review of current WSBA cost centers and expenditures.

The WSBA Budget and Audit Committee will be working hard with the entire Board of Governors during this fiscal year to accomplish these important goals with the hope of benefitting WSBA members and continuing to improve the
financial processes of the WSBA as an organization.

Over the next year the WSBA Long- Range Strategic Planning Council and the
Member Engagement Work Group will be reaching out to you as members for your
input in the form of several surveys. While I know that you are all very busy, I would
encourage you to take the time to complete these surveys, so the WSBA Budget and Audit Committee, the WSBA Board of Governors, and the WSBA staff know what you want or do not want, allowing us to better serve you. The bottom line is that we are working hard for you, our members!