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©2022 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

AMWAJournal.org     43

As Treasurer for the American Medical Writers Association 

(AMWA), I am providing a financial report for the 2020-2021 

fiscal year which ended June 30, 2021.

 AMWA continued to experience the impact of the  

pandemic during this year. Staff transitioned back to work-

ing in the office on a part-time basis; however, in-person 

meetings and travel did not resume. AMWA held its first-

ever virtual conference that was very successful and well- 

received. In addition, several staff positions were unfilled 

during this time. 

 AMWA also obtained a second round of funding from 

the Small Business Administration Payroll Protection Plan 

(PPP) loan to help retain staff and keep major programs 

running. AMWA successfully applied for and was granted 

forgiveness of the first and second rounds of PPP funding. 

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
AMWA’s net income for the 2020-2021 fiscal year was 

$837,466 with significant investment gains and grant 

income from the PPP loan forgiveness contributing to these 

positive results.

REVENUES
Overall, program revenues exceeded budget expectations 

by 16%. This was largely because of the conservative income 

budget estimates that were used due to the uncertainty 

surrounding the pandemic. Membership, annual confer-

ence, and education/certificate program income continue 

to be AMWA’s major sources of revenue, providing 86% of 

AMWA’s program revenue. Net investment income, shown 

in Figure 1 in all other revenue, of $115,074 accounted for 

5% of AMWA’s total revenue.

EXPENSES
AMWA invests in programs, products, and services that 

bring value to members and the medical writing commu-

nity. Overall, program expenses were under budget by 15% 

for the fiscal year. Total program expenses for the fiscal year 

were $1,373,546, with 31% of the expenses being used to 

fund membership benefits, 17% of expenses were used to 

produce the virtual annual conference, 21% of expenses 

funded educational programs including the Essential Skills 

Certificate Program and online education, and 8% was used 

to produce the journal (Figure 2).

RESERVES
Reserves are the accumulation of funds over time that 

enable an organization to withstand an emergency or to 

invest in new mission-related initiatives. Unrestricted 

reserves of 6 to 12 months of annual operating expenses 

represent a standard target for not-for-profit organizations. 

With budgeted annual operating expenses of $1,678,950 for 

the fiscal year from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, the target 

for AMWA’s reserves ranges from $800,000 to $1,600,000. 

AMWA’s unrestricted short- and long-term investment 

reserve level of $2,526,739 on June 30, 2021, exceeds this  

targeted range.

Julie Phelan, MD, MBA   /  2020-2021 AMWA Treasurer

AMWA Annual Financial Report, 2020-2021

AMWA NEWS

Figure 1. Sources of program revenue for the fiscal year that 
ended June 30, 2021.

Figure 2. Sources of major program expenses for the fiscal year 
that ended June 30, 2021.

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AMWAJournal.org     44AMWA Annual Financial Report, 2020-2021

 AMWA’s restricted Endowment and McGovern funds 

totaled $246,612 and $199,665, respectively.

FINANCIAL POSITION
An organization’s financial position is reflected in its asset 

and liability holdings. AMWA is well positioned to pay 

its obligations and plan for the future. Total assets were 

$4,137,522 as of June 30, 2021, and the organization’s liabili-

ties totaled $701,598.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT RESULTS
Abercrombie and Associates, AMWA’s independent audi-

tors, expressed an unqualified opinion regarding their audit 

of the financial statements for the fiscal year that ended 

June 30, 2021. An unqualified opinion states that the finan-

cial statements present fairly in all material respects, an 

entity's financial position, results of operations, and cash 

flows in conformity with generally accepted accounting 

principles. AMWA continues to be in a secure financial 

position as it continues expanding member benefits and 

resources into the next fiscal year. The full audit report is 

available to AMWA members upon request.

Acknowlegment 
I thank Calibre CPA Group, PLLC, for providing the finan-

cial data, and the members of the 2020-2021 Budget and 

Finance Committee for their review of reports and budgets: 

June Baldwin, Adriana Caballero, Alice Pappas, Leena 

Patel, Whitney Smalley-Freed, and Christine Wogan (as 

well as ex officio members Gail V. Flores [2020-2021 AMWA 

President], Katrina R. Burton [AMWA President-Elect], and 

Susan Krug [AMWA Executive Director]).

Author declaration and disclosures: The author notes no  
commercial associations that may pose a conflict of interest in 
relation to this article.

Author contact: Julie@biomedisysinc.com

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