More Obfuscation from the Getty

No, I'm not talking about antiquities. For that, you can read today's NY Times update, wherein Hugh Eakin (the "Mens Vogue" coverboy) and Elisabetta Povoledo provide more details on the parlous state of the Getty's negotiations with Italy (which CultureGrrl readers first learned about more than two weeks ago).

What I'm zeroing in on is a lack of figures---not statues of Greek athletes, but the kind of figures that are usually published in museums' annual reports, including past reports of the J. Paul Getty Trust itself. The "transparency" to which that the Getty now nominally subscribes is almost completely lacking in the latest (if belated) financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. You can find the Getty's 112-page annual report here, and if you skip to page 107, you'll see a lot of white space and a modicum of "Financial Information."

On this single page devoted to the money, you will find the total amount of net assets for five years ($7.5 billion in 2005, equaling the 2001 amount, after a dip during the intervening years); the total endowment value ($5.1 billion, compared to $4.9 billion in 2001); and the percentage distribution of investments among five different categories. (Investments in limited partnerships soared from 1 percent in 2001 to 31 percent in 2005---no explanation). And that's it.

Let's not even compare this to the Metropolitan Museum's 17 pages of detailed financial data in its fiscal 2005 report. Let's compare it to the Getty's own report for fiscal 2001, the last one that I happen to have handy on my office shelves.

There, in addition to asset allocation and total endowment, avid number crunchers can find the customary "Consolidated Statements of Financial Position" for two fiscal years, a breakdown of capital expenditures, and the "Statements of Activities" for two years, including such tasty morsels as "total support and revenue," "total expenses," and the difference between the two (i.e., operating surplus or deficit).

Sure, you can cull through the Getty's 199-page tax return, also posted online, and try to ferret out more detailed information. But public transparency means providing such information in a form that is readily accessible, clearly presented and easily understood.

There IS one bit of good news, though: The Getty says the publication of its fiscal 2006 report will occur just months from now, at the beginning of 2007. Let's hope it's not only faster but fuller.