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Last week I helped roll out a fiscal training program for managers in a university's development organization. This effort reminded me that finance and budgeting emanates to every corner of an institution, and that when departmental managers are informed about their fiscal responsibilities, they provide the best possible information for the institution as a whole.
This issue of In the Know explores elements of a successful fiscal training program for managers who have financial responsibilities, but do not specialize in accounting or budgeting.
Sincerely,
Tracy
Filosa
Get to the point
Departmental managers are busy and many find financial and budgetary responsibilities more of a headache than a professional growth opportunity. Show them you value their time by keeping the program brief and getting right to the point. They do not need a seminar in debits and credits, financial statements and ratio analysis. They do need to know about their monthly, quarterly and annual obligations and why those responsibilities are critical to departmental and institutional goals.
Relevance
Managers whose primary responsibilities involve student life, or academics or fundraising are not predisposed to object codes, budget techniques or accounting. They have ascended to their positions because they excel at their areas of expertise. Frame financial and budget management in the context of their goals. For example:
We can raise more money if we clearly account for fundraising expenses and target our development investments in the areas that have the most potential.
Residence life will provide better service if we know how much it costs to house each student.
We must review financial reports, so we can protect against fraud and misuse of institutional resources.
We need accurate accounting to assess our progress; when we adhere to sound financial and budget practices we can evaluate our programs and investments.
We need accurate accounting to plan ahead; accounting informs budgeting. Reliable information enables realistic planning and investment in the areas that need and maximize limited resources.
Demystify
Finance, accounting and budgeting are technical areas that have their own languages and jargon. Some of us specialize in these technicalities, but most managers do not need to. To engage them in their fiscal responsibilities, eliminate the jargon and demystify the fiscal processes they participate in.
Departmental managers don't need to debate the pros and cons of zero-based budgeting vs. incremental budgeting. They need to know if they are going to start from scratch or tweak the prior year's plan.
Most managers don't care that their expenses may roll up to natural classifications on the budget report and functional classifications on the financial statements. But they do care about the resources they have to run their operations. They need to know that they accurately report their expenses (travel as travel, office supplies as office supplies, etc.) they are helping the institution secure discount prices with vendors and develop a budget that corresponds with actual activity and goals.
Encourage Dialogue
There are times when face-to-face training is the most effective way to disburse information. People can ask questions and get immediate answers. They can interact with financial administrators and better understand policies and why those policies are in place.
A by-product of group training is getting people together and sharing ideas, lessons and successful practices. Participants get to hear their peers' questions and learn from their experiences. Some of the most interesting exchanges happen among the attendees, even if they are just sharing war stories. Seasoned professionals have much to share with newcomers, and newcomers can lend a fresh perspective to the old guard. If you are making the effort to bring people together, make sure you encourage dialogue, questions and injections of real-life experiences.
A couple of hours of targeted financial and budget training cannot possibly be an end in itself. Make it a beginning. Augment the program with documentation, web resources and contact information, and empower people to find answers themselves back at their desks. Use this opportunity to initiate ongoing communications about accounting and budgeting via a newsletter or a monthly email with news, tips and policy updates. Let them know that this is not the last they will hear from you about these topics. Offer ongoing support and resources, so you can all build upon the energy in the room.
TAF CONSULTING provides financial training, analysis and documentation to colleges, universities and independent schools. TAF works with school leaders, so they can provide exceptional business information to institutional stakeholders. Informed business enables the REAL business of higher education: teaching, learning, research and service.
TAF participates in a range of business projects at schools including: financial modeling and planning, management reporting, policy and procedure documentation and faculty and staff training.
Contact TAF or visit our website to learn more about our work and to read previous editions of In the Know.
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