Advocis vice chairman Roger McMillian reported that the association saw an almost $1 million turnaround in its balance sheet for 2005 at its annual conference on Thursday, currently being held in Victoria.

“This year has seen a remarkable turnaround in our books. There was a problem and we fixed it,” McMillan told those gathered to hear the association’s report on its business. “Through determined and tough fiscal management the association has turned its finances around … And for the first time in 15 years, we have working capital.”

In 2005, the excess revenue over expenses was $460,000, a $789,000 increase from 2004 when the association lost $329,000. As a result, McMillan said, the association is now on solid fiscal footing.

“Our balance sheet is strong,” he added. “And when we spend money now, it is when we can afford to and where it makes good business sense.”

Most notably, the organization saw an increase in revenue of $510,000, which came mostly from membership fees. In 2005, Advocis brought in almost $7.4 million in membership fees in comparison to 2004 when its membership revenue was almost $6.5 million.

In terms of expenses, the association spent about $269,000 less in 2005 than it did in 2004. The bulk of that came from $62,000 less spent in 2005 for membership recruitment, which fell to $234,000 from $296,000 in 2004, and a whopping $722,000 less on programs, to almost $4.2 from $4.9 million in 2004. The organization also gained an extra $10 million on sale of investments.

However, Advocis is not resting on its laurels. The organization reported that it has about 12,000 members and would like to expand that much further in the coming years. As a result, it has engaged in a significant membership drive.

“Membership is, after all, job one,” said McMillan. “Right now, the entire organization − everyone − from myself to the summer intern, is involved in this effort. We are winning back old members. And we are earning new ones, in groups and one at a time, the old fashioned way − by rolling up the sleeves and hitting the phones, and by getting out on the road.”

McMillan also announced that Advocis is currently in the midst of an exhaustive search for a vice president of marketing and sales to take the membership drive to the next level. He added that the association would be making an announcement on that soon.

The association is also actively involved in the fight to prevent banks from selling insurance products at its branches. Advocis’s Century Initiative, which was introduced last year to ensure funding for such initiatives, currently has about $2.5 million bankrolled, it also reported.

Advocis will be holding its annual general meeting here in Victoria on Friday afternoon. About 1,000 delegates are gathered here to network, learn, and participate in the association’s various meetings. The conference, which commenced on Thursday morning with a keynote speech from former Reform party leader and former leader of the Opposition Preston Manning, ends on Saturday.