ASC continues to accumulate a surplus

The Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) took in $2,311,175 in fees from appraisers in 2003, and spent $2,030,382, including $791,317 in grant payments to the Appraisal Foundation. The information was released as part of the ASC's 2003 Annual Report, made available at the ASC's website March 31.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) noted in its comprehensive May 2003 report on the state of the federal appraiser regulatory scheme that the ASC's surplus was in the millions. "The Appraisal Subcommittee told us it did not have the current-year funds to fully meet the ASB's and AQB's grant requests over the past three years. However, the Appraisal Subcommittee had a $3.7 million surplus as of December, 2001," the report said. "According to Appraisal Subcommittee officials, the surplus was built up in its early years of operation when its revenues exceeded its expenses and grants to the ASB and AQB. Subcommittee officials stated that in recent years its expenses have increased - primarily due to inflation and expenses associated with its monitoring activities - and that this in turn has limited the amount of funds available for grants."

According to the financial statements included in the annual report, the ASC's surplus stood at just over $3.9 million at the end of 2003.