CMAA Evolves Data and Research Initiatives
Data-driven financial and operational insight is critical for successful club management.
Alexandria, VA — February 10, 2020 — To maximize the effectiveness and availability of industry data and research, the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) plans to continue the development and enhancement of its Club Finance & Operations database and further its annual research efforts in a manner that will:
- Provide greater accessibility to clubs, consultants and other industry professionals;
- Create a common language for analyzing and discussing finance and operational performance;
- Ultimately enable automated data connections to an open club data utility; and,
- Continue the expansion of available research and insights for CMAA members.
The process to continue the development and enhancement of CMAA’s research and data analytics efforts involves multiple components, including:
- Formation of a Task Force to establish standardized industry metrics to provide common language for use by club managers and board members when discussing finance and operational performance information.
- Creation of an additional Task Force charged with developing a standard mapping structure for club software vendors as well as a process to maintain mapping year-over-year that will enable automated data transfer for participating clubs.
- Streamlining of the time required from participating members to provide their financial data in support of CMAA finance and operations research by engaging GGA Partners and its experienced analytics team to help map club Chart of Accounts to CMAA’s standard account structure.
- The introduction of annual commentary on CMAA’s Finance & Operations Report, produced in collaboration with GGA Partners and RSM to provide more depth and perspective to the data presented.
- Development of an annual Industry Trend Survey produced by GGA Partners in collaboration with CMAA to provide more background on the less financial and operational aspects of this evolving industry.
By establishing standardized industry metrics, club managers and board members will speak a common language when discussing club financials. The results of the task force efforts will feed into CMAA’s continuing education program to assist club managers in having more productive conversations in the board room. This Task Force will be modeled after association best practices for standard setting groups (like CMAA’s Uniform System of Financial Reporting for Clubs (USFRC) effort) with an expected time horizon of one year to complete the industry metrics.
The second Task Force will feed into CMAA’s data mapping initiative by creating automated data connections with club software platforms and club analytics software. The Task Force will also develop a standard mapping structure for club software vendors and a process for club mapping maintenance year-over-year, to enable automated data transfer for participating clubs. This portion of the project will also be modeled after CMAA’s USFRC effort and have a time horizon of 2023 for full implementation.
Engaging GGA Partners and its analytics team, in collaboration with Industry Insights, will leverage the company’s expertise to map club Chart of Accounts to CMAA’s standard account structure, without accessing individual club financial data. These efforts will reduce the time requirement for members participating in the CMAA finance and operations research while maintaining the confidentiality of each club’s financial information.
In line with evolving CMAA’s research initiatives, CMAA’s relationship with GGA Partners as a primary research partner will also evolve. The two organizations will continue to provide education to members on the importance of data analytics. Additionally, GGA Partners will work with RSM will produce annual comments on CMAA’s finance and operations report to provide more depth and perspective to the data presented. Additionally, GGA Partners will collaborate with CMAA to develop an annual industry trend survey to be distributed to the membership each fall to provide more background on the less financial and operational aspects of this evolving industry.
Together these initiatives will enhance the availability of data, research and insights for CMAA members and create a club data utility that will allow for equal input from all club systems and use by any industry partner while maintaining the anonymity of a club’s information to the benefit of all clubs. The data will continue to be owned by the Association, its members, and participating clubs, solely for the benefit of its membership, the clubs they operate and the industry. These efforts will utilize association best practices to evolve CMAA’s research initiatives.
About CMAA
Founded in 1927, the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) is the largest professional association for managers of membership clubs with 6,800 members throughout the US and internationally. Our members contribute to the success of more than 2,500 country, golf, athletic, city, faculty, military, town, and yacht clubs. The objectives of the Association are to promote relationships between club management professionals and other similar professions; to encourage the education and advancement of members; and to provide the resources needed for efficient and successful club operations. Under the covenants of professionalism, education, leadership, and community, CMAA continues to extend its reach as the leader in the club management practice. CMAA is headquartered in Alexandria, VA, with 42 professional chapters and more than 40 student chapters and colonies. Learn more at cmaa.org.
About GGA Partners
GGA PartnersTM is an international consulting firm and trusted advisor to many of the world’s most successful golf courses, private clubs, resorts and residential communities. We are dedicated to helping owners, asset managers, club and community leaders, investors and real estate developers tackle challenges, achieve objectives and maximize asset performance.
Established in 1992 as the KPMG Golf Industry Practice, our global team of experienced professionals leverage in-depth business intelligence and proprietary global data to deliver impactful strategic solutions and lasting success.
GGA Partners is unique in its ability to effectively combine club management and operational expertise with highly capable professional strategists and experienced business analysts. GGA personnel include former club managers with experience leading exceptional clubs, along with alumni of Deloitte, Fairmont, KPMG, Marriott, Pulte Homes, PwC, and Scotia Capital.
Learn more at ggapartners.com.
Media Contact:
Melissa Low
melissa.low@cmaa.org
