Treasurer's Report (2009)
Econometrica, Vol. 78, No. 1 (January, 2010), 425–431
THE ECONOMETRIC SOCIETY REPORTS REPORT OF THE TREASURER
BARCELONA, SPAIN AUGUST 22–23, 2009
1. 2008 ACCOUNTS
THE 2008 ACCOUNTS of the Econometric Society show a deficit of $315,638 (Table III, Line G). The deficit is significantly larger than the estimate of
$250,000 at this time last year. This is due to the heavy losses in the Society’s investment portfolio during the second half of 2008, which were partly com- pensated by a higher than expected operational surplus. In fact, membership and subscriptions plus other revenues were $259,493 higher than expected (Ta- ble II, Lines A and B), while total expenses were $85,156 lower than expected (Table III, Line F).
The net worth of the Society on 12/31/2008 was down to $1,109,581 (Table I, Line C). Consequently, the ratio of net worth to total expenses on 12/31/2008 was 113 percent, a figure which is below the target range between 120 and 160 percent agreed by the Executive Committee in August 2007.
Table I shows the balance sheets of the Society for the years 2004–2008, dis- tinguishing between unrestricted assets and liabilities, whose difference gives the Society’s net worth, and five restricted accounts: The World Congress Fund, which is a purely bookkeeping entry that serves to smooth the expenses every five years on travel grants to the World Congress, the Jacob Marschak Fund, devoted to support the Marschak lectures at regional meetings outside Europe and North America, and the Far Eastern, Latin American, and Euro- pean Funds, which are held in custody for the convenience of the correspond- ing Regional Standing Committees. Tables IV and V show the movements in the World Congress Fund and the other restricted accounts for the years 2004– 2008.
