TREASURER’S REPORT ANDY EBONA Douglas Village
I t is my honor and privilege to serve as your Treasurer for the National Indian Gaming Association. The Treasurer’s primary duty is to ensure the long-term fiscal health of the Association. The Association By-Laws specifically state that the Treasurer is responsible for the funds and security of all monies received by the Association. For 2021 fiscal year, we worked with Wisconsin based WIPFLi (formerly Joseph Eve LLC) to conduct the audit. WIPFLi conducted their audit of the National Indian Gaming Association’s 2021 financials during the week of March 21st, and I am pleased to report that we received a “non-qualified” opinion from the auditors. This is a strong comeback from the negative impacts the Covid-19 pandemic had on all of Indian Country’s budgets. Due to the postponement of the 2020 Tradeshow scheduled for San Diego, the Association faced enormous budgetary constraints heading into FY 2021. However, Association leadership responded and worked collaboratively to implement cost savings and budget cuts that ensured strong revenues for FY 2021. Working with the Board of Directors, Executive Director, and our dedicated staff, we aggressively addressed the Pandemic induced budget challenges by instituting operational cuts and trimming our budget. As you will read in this year’s 2021 Audit Report, the Association not only met these challenges but will be in a strong financial position for the remainder of FY 2022. Working through the pandemic was truly a cooperative effort and I would be remiss in not acknowledging our long-time sponsors and Tribal partners. Through their continued support during the worst of the pandemic, they helped us maintain operations on behalf of Tribal Governments and Indian Gaming. Just as important, the Association was able to avoid layoffs and retain our loyal staff who continued to keep the Association active through new forms of communication and lobbying.
10 INDIAN GAMING - ANNUAL REPORT 2022
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