Operations and Finance Cohort

Raised by Jennifer Larson (League)

Oct 14 Ops & Finance Meeting Recap and Resources

As I was prepping for our November meeting, I realized I hadn’t yet shared the recap from our October Operations & Finance Cohort session - apologize for the delay!

Thanks to those who joined our October Operations & Finance Cohort meeting on Best Practices for Finance Committees. I know many of you were out enjoying a well-deserved fall break. Here’s a quick recap of the key takeaways and resources we covered.

Key Takeaways:

We revisited how active, structured Finance Committees are essential for board oversight - meeting monthly, reviewing financials ahead of board meetings, and ensuring schools stay compliant and mission-aligned.

We discussed the hallmarks of strong financial health: consistent positive net asset trend, liquidity to cover short-term obligations, budget discipline and accurate staffing projections, ongoing regulatory compliance, and efficient use of resources.

Several patterns often weaken financial oversight such as overreliance on one “finance expert,” lack of an engaged committee, or boards being too reactive instead of proactive.

Members were encouraged to ensure their schools have clear financial policies in place including budgeting, procurement, debt, and cash management policies to reinforce accountability and transparency.

Resources:

October Slides: posted in Documents tab

Finance Committee Annual Action Plan (sample): posted in Documents tab

Leadership Summit Slides

Reminders:

Our next cohort session on Facility Grants has been rescheduled to Nov 20 at 10:30am (via Zoom). Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84080371694.

Lots of great questions have been coming in from schools lately! I’ve posted a few of them in the Discussions forum - take a look and share your insights. If you have a question of your own, feel free to post it directly or send it my way, and I can share it anonymously on your behalf.