President's Update, April 2016

Antonio C. Bianco, MD, PhD ATA President

Dear Colleagues,

One of the privileges of serving as the ATA president is to have an in-depth view and understanding of the offstage work that makes this organization a global leader. With 93 years of experience, the ATA is today a highly functional organization with a logical and reliable operational and financial infrastructure.

The standing committees and taskforces on thyroid research, education, clinical activities and annual meeting provide the basis for how the work is broken down and progress is achieved. The Board of Directors meets regularly, on the phone or on the road, charges these groups, monitors their work and considers their reports, eventually approving for public consumption. This is permeated by a gigantic effort on the preparation for our annual meeting, with program development, travel and on-site logistics.

Like any other highly functional organization, all of this depends on skilled staff and has a cost. We are lucky that our members graciously volunteer so much work for the advancement of the ATA and global knowledge about thyroid diseases; but tons of bills and other financial commitments still have to be dealt with. How is this accomplished? The development of this financial framework that allows us to be successful and grow did not happen overnight. It was carefully planned and executed over time by a series of highly capable individuals occupying critical positions as secretary, treasurer and executive director working closely with the Board of Directors. We passed different stress tests and today our budget not only pays for our housekeeping activities but the ATA also proudly offers research grants, scholarships and supports smaller organizations such as the Association of Program Directors in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism (APDEM) and the bi-annual International Workshop on Resistance to Thyroid Hormone & Thyroid Hormone Action.

The ATA receives income from basically five sources: (a) membership dues, (b) donations and gifts, (c) ATA publications, (d) annual meeting registration fees and booth rentals, (e) pharmaceutical and/or medical devices industry: (e-1) restricted to CME activities and (e-2) unrestricted.

This information is now formalized in a document, the Institutional Conflict of Interest Disclosure, that is posted online and updated yearly. Even though in fiscal year 2014 only 2% of our budget was made up by unrestricted funds from pharmaceutical or medical industry, we felt it is important that we acknowledge that the ATA has such external financial and business relationships, which are important for its mission. This document not only makes these relationships transparent to its members and general public, but it clarifies where and how that money is used to support our mission.

Sincerely,

Antonio C. Bianco, MD, PhD
President, American Thyroid Association