Iowa Optometric Association

“The association is made up of dues paying members.”

“The members elect the organization's board of directors.”

“The organization's board of directors will have members vote on certain issues.”

“An independent accounting firm prepares and reviews the 990. The 990 is then reviewed by the organization's accounting services provider. Any changes or clarifications that need to be incorporated into the return are made. A final copy of the 990 is provided to the board prior to filing.”

“The board of directors are required to sign a form regarding the conflict of interest policy on an annual basis. The executive director and the rest of the executive committee oversee the monitoring process. If a potential conflict of interest exists, a board member is excused from the meeting and not allowed to participate in discussion.”

“Executive director is given a five year contract, based on salaries of other similar organizations in the area. The finance committee determines the amount, and the board reviews and approves the compensation.”

“Iowa optometric association makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“The association provides educational seminars to members. These seminars are used to meet continuing education requirements for license renewal by approximately 656 members. The association promotes healthy vision for children by annually distributing 220,000 student vision cards to every school district in iowa. The association attempts to influence legislation which impacts members by hiring a professional lobbyist and by providing dinner meetings for members to meet legislators. This benefits all members. The association hires staff to assist members in maximizing income from third party payers for optometric services. Approximately 250 members use this service.”