How schools can benefit from the skills of a good Finance Director
Your workload is growing, your school is growing, and the pressure you’re under is growing.
For any school, there comes a time where short-term planning no longer gets the best out of your school.
Your monthly financial reporting is consistent, but do you know how the school would cope with an unexpected bill, or significant change in funding?
Your bursar is great at getting the bank reconciled and providing you with a monthly report, but are they giving you the guidance and insight into the ‘what if’ scenarios or how to help you afford your next strategic plans for school improvement.
What can a Finance Director provide?
- The tools to clearly understand your current performance
- The know-how to identify underlying financial concerns and opportunities
- Navigation and support with your ambitions
- The ability to accurately forecast the finances
- Help to define the roles and reporting of your finance team
- A method of taking back control from outsourced services
But Finance Directors are just glorified accountants, aren’t they?
It’s a common, but understandable misconception. A Finance Director’s role is more than just number crunching. They offer strategic planning as well as protecting the school’s financial security. Taking your school’s success to the next level often requires a completely different set of skills to those that brought initial development. This is where an FD can be invaluable.
Professional financial advice is something no school can afford to pass up, but apart from this invaluable service, an FD can also offer a wealth of objective insight into education funding, income and expenditure.
To find out how an FD might benefit you and your school, email Nigel Newman at nigel.newman@charactereducationtrust.org
