Financial Management

The Challenge
Shortly after AMR began working with a new healthcare client, AMR staff had questions about the accounting principles that had been applied to one of its programs that was separate from the association and co-owned with another organization.

After presenting concerns to the Board of Directors, an audit of this program was conducted and it was discovered that, unknown to leadership, funds had been mistakenly co-mingled in past years and the association had less than $30,000 in the bank, with the remainder of the reserves belonging to this separate and co-owned program.

The Action
AMR’s accounting team and the executive director immediately sprang into action and informed both the client board and the program board and provided them with detailed cash flows and result of the audit. Not having the cash on hand to meet impending liabilities, AMR’s leadership decided to deferred its management fee to assist the client through this difficult time.

Additionally, the AMR executive team and executive director worked on a detailed plan to lower the client-partner’s management fee temporarily until they were on more solid financial footing by rearranging staff allocations and cutting back, temporarily, on some of the services provided.
Finally, the association had a development fund that members had donated to over the years for specific program use. The client president reached out to all donors, explained the situation in which the association found themselves, and asked for permission to redirect donations into the general fund, with a promise to pay back the development fund within two years.

These measures kept the client financially viable while the AMR team expedited a newly developed revenue-generating training program. While the program was new and had shown success, the AMR team dedicated a majority of their time to fast-tracking this program and expanding its reach to generate revenue at a faster pace. They also worked to increase conference attendance for the coming year through expanded marketing.

The Result
Through the expansion of that program, the hard work of the AMR team to control costs, a year of very realistic and careful budgeting and the partnership of AMR in working with the client, the association came through this difficult time stronger and poised for growth. Not only were their reserves back to normal after one year, they had also repaid AMR the deferred revenue, repaid their development funds that were redirected and, in less than 18 months, were hiring new staff and expanding their scope of work with AMR.

Through this experience, the client learned what a true AMC partner can do to assist a client and see them through a difficult time. AMR’s expert financial management and team of CPAs helped guide the organization through this issue and the company’s willingness to invest in the client and their partnership proved fruitful for all.

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