Over the past several years, the INS Financial Report has described the transformational changes that are affecting both the health care and association landscapes. We continue to navigate those changes and focus our energies on how best to meet the needs of our members and constituents in a very volatile financial landscape. For many years, the standard association model was driven by membership and face-to-face meetings. That model has shifted. It is now critical that associations adjust to ensure they can generate the necessary revenues to carry out their mission and provide the necessary resources required by their members and constituents. INS is one of those associations.
We set out with a very aggressive financial goal in 2019; reduce total expenses by $350k. While aggressive, we felt the goal was achievable by focusing our collective energies on reducing both operational and administrative expenses. The INS staff was committed to making this happen, and the results bear that out. We were able to reduce expenses in the amount of $367k. With that reduction, however, also came a decrease in revenues of $328k.
While INS experienced an operational loss of $563k, our gains on securities and investment income led to an overall increase in fixed assets of $142k. An overall snapshot of revenues and expenses is outlined below and in Figure 1.
REVENUES
Our biggest revenue shortfall came from our face-to-face meetings. Annual Meeting revenue was down $145k, while National Academy revenue had a shortfall of $119k compared with 2019. As we explained in 2019, we decided to sunset the National Academy moving forward and focus on the Annual Meeting and our virtual meeting offerings. Membership revenue was down $63k, with a bulk of that shortfall the result of retirements and a move out of the infusion specialty for a good part of our membership base. Revenues from Infusion Education Services (IES,) which include revenue earned from our popular LEARNING CENTER, increased by $54k in 2019. Lastly, the Fundamentals of Infusion Therapy (FIT) program rolled out in November 2019. We are extremely encouraged by the early reviews and purchases of the program and anticipate a significant financial gain in 2020.
EXPENSES
As previously mentioned, we were able to significantly reduce both direct (operational) and indirect expenses in 2019. Our biggest savings was in rent, in which a move to a smaller, more collaborative office space helped to reduce our square footage footprint, our per-square-foot rental fee, and allowed for an update in technology, which included remote capabilities for the INS staff.
We also completed our transition to a new and robust association management software system that will not only improve our operations but will also enable us to better communicate with our members and constituents and provide much needed information.
OBSERVATIONS
Over the past several years we have focused our energies on creating a more robust and flexible organization. During that time, we have experienced change coming from many different directions. We understand that our success is the direct result of our ability to adapt to that change. Change is the catalyst to move forward and reach new heights. It isn't always easy, and it isn't always quick, but it is continuous and critical to INS' success. We embrace the change, we embrace the challenge, and we continue to set the standard for infusion care.
An independent accounting firm audited INS' financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2019, in accordance with auditing standards. In its opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of INS.