Treasurer Report

CPMT financial reserves continue to be depleted to help cover IEEE Institute-Level operating deficits. For many years investment returns were high and these came to be relied upon to fund operations as well as initiatives. Then investment return were not high but the spending level was. Institute-level reserves quickly depleted and the only available source of deficit recovery was those IEEE entities that had financial reserves, including Technical Societies like CPMT.
As shown by the figure below, 2001 charges to CPMT for IEEE Infrastructure charges and Institute-level deficit were $951K. That is $263 per CPMT member! A number of policy changes, cost reductions, and budgeting guidelines have been put in place to address the problem. Progress is being made. But there is still expected to be a significant Institute-level deficit for some years to come. Transfers from CPMT reserves for Institute deficit recovery is projected to be almost $500K in 2002 and $300K in 2003. This is of major concern to your CPMT officers.
We try to be judicious and prudent in the fiscal stewardship with which we have been entrusted. We would hope that all IEEE officers and staff feel similarly responsible. In the upcoming elections for IEEE officers we encourage CPMT members to know the position and plans of the candidates with respect to IEEE fiscal management and to consider this in your vote(s).

Table Caption: Your CPMT Society dragged itself from near bankruptcy in 1990 by working hard so most meetings and public-ations gave a small surplus that went into our reserves (left). Now IEEE Headquarters is near bankruptcy and uses surpluses from all Societies to pay their bills. The budgets are very linked so a cure must involve all incomes and expenses.

--Merrill Palmer, CPMT Treasurer