By: Cherry Wright, MS, CCC-SLP, Financial Advisory Committee Chair
Members of the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) for 2025 included Hayden Grahm (Public Member), Melinda Corwin, Dalan Gore, Brittany Hall, Donise Pearson, Judy Rich, and Jennifer Watson. Ex-officio members included Lisa Milliken (President), Jessica Carter (President-Elect), and Katie Strang (Executive Director/Advisory).
Two meetings of the Committee were held via Zoom in 2025. The Committee reviewed the 2024 financial review, conferred with the TSHA Financial Advisor regarding the investment portfolio, reviewed and monitored the 2025 budget, reviewed the proposed budget for 2026, reviewed the investment policy, and made recommendations to the Executive Board for consideration.
There were no identified discrepancies in the review of 2024 financials. Net assets at the end of 2023 were $2,256,494. Net assets at the end of 2024 were $2,184,446.
The Association’s major sources of income include membership, Convention registration, and continuing education offerings. Major expenses are related to association management, Convention, and advocacy efforts. Membership has continued to decline annually, and costs related to Convention have increased. The 2025 budget was approved anticipating revenue of $1,411, 652 and expenses of $1,622,939, reflecting an anticipated deficit of $211,287. At the end of the year, revenue was approximately $200,000 less than anticipated and expenses were $60,000 more. Thus, the year ended with an approximate deficit of $250,000.
The goal of the Association is to maintain a minimum of $1,500,000 in reserves, which is the approximate amount needed to operate the Association for one year. As of the end of October 2025, the investment portfolio totaled $1,794,540, which reflected an increase of 12.37% year-to-date as compared to 14.5% for the S&P 500. $250,000 was transferred from the investment fund to the general operating fund during the year to address the projected deficit. Due to the deficit, no deposits were made to the investment fund.
The Board’s goal is to develop and operate on a balanced budget. However, this has not been the trend for the past five years. They continue to work, upon recommendations of the FAC and in cooperation with Smithbucklin (the management company), to generate revenue and control expenses. This has required rethinking how the Association operates and making necessary changes while maintaining the integrity of the mission to meet the needs of the membership. Although operational modifications have been made, the changes thus far have not yet been sufficiently substantial to address the discrepancy between revenue and expenses.