Developing Financial Policies

All heads of school need to understand and facilitate the development of sound financial policies for the school. Paul Ibsen, retired independent school CFO, shares his suggestions for getting the important procedures in writing and developing a trusting relationship between head and CFO. Paul will present a webinar on this topic to discuss details and answer questions on Monday, January 10, at 12PM Eastern.

• Do you know the corporate status of your school?
• Have you reviewed the school’s documentation on file with the Secretary of State?
• Are the appropriate IRS forms on file?
• When were your bylaws last reviewed?
• Does the board have a basic understanding of the school’s financials?
• Have you developed and communicated key financial indicators?
• Is there a regular schedule for board approval of the budget?
• Do you have written policies in place? While not an exhaustive list, this should include: conflict of interest, whistleblower protection, document retention and destruction, cash handling, deposit procedures, financial aid, and tuition remission.
• Have you built a trusting relationship with the CFO and does this extend to the treasurer of the board?

Samples

Accounting Procedures Manual
Sample Trustee Manual
Sample Conflict of Interest Policy

Paul Ibsen retired in 2015 after 19 years as assistant head of school for finance management at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. He came out of retirement for the 2016-17 school year to serve as interim head of school at Greensboro Montessori School. Prior to PDS, he was the CFO at Pace Academy in Atlanta for four years. Paul was a founding member of NBOA where he served on the board and as treasurer and on two strategic planning committees. He served as chair of the Association of Business Officers of Independent Schools (ABOIS). He serves as secretary on the MISBO board and treasurer on the NCAIS board. Paul was the 2011 recipient of the NBOA Distinguished Business Officer Award.