Western Finance Associationco Bryan Routledge

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
916060048
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2010
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
4122687588
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$496,272
Expenses
$349,888
Assets
$874,832
Liabilities
$18,608

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MANJU PURI (President)
  • STEFAN NAGEL (President Elect)
  • ALEX EDMANS (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRYAN ROUTLEDGE (Secy/Treasurer): $40,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Western Finance Association is a Society for Academics and Professionals with a scholarly interest in the development and application of theory in finance.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Association held the 60th Annual Conference on June 22-25, 2025 at Snowbird, Utah. Approximately 550 scholars from around the world attended and benefited from the conference.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90.7%; rating input score 91; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 29.5%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.5; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.2% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2273 of 2505 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $40K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.