At the epicentre
Caron Bradshaw reflects on the evolving role of charity finance professionals in a rapidly changing external environment
If you asked the average person on the street to describe a ‘finance director’ you wouldn’t be surprised to hear them describe a character akin to Monty Python’s grey suited accountant. Too long have those with the responsibility for finance been associated with the term ‘bean counter’. The nature, impact and image of charity finance professionals has changed immensely since CFDG first started in 1987.
Pivotal role
Not only has the demographic of the average finance director changed both in terms of age and gender but the role they play has also transformed at a pace. In our 20th anniversary book, The role of the Charity Finance Director1, Keith Hickey, the then CEO of CFDG, set out the pivotal role that charity finance directors now play in an organisation’s strategy, resource allocation and performance monitoring.
Ten years ago we may have prioritised technical qualities in a finance director, now a wider range of competencies are required. Stewardship of and reporting on the financial performance of an organisation is just one element of the role. Reporting on impact and outcomes, leadership, managing relationships, IT, strategic planning and a whole host of other skills are significant and desirable in today’s finance directors.
In the current economic environment it has become essential that the financial sustainability of a charity is considered and secured. More organisations will be fishing in the same pool for the same funds. Those in receipt of government funding and grants will be experiencing a squeeze on their finances. Investment returns are adversely impacted and the disposable funds of donors are depleted. And all at the very time that demand for services intensifies.
Strategic role
The strategic role of a finance director; improving efficiency, finding innovative ways of funding through investment and enterprise, focusing on the profitability of funding streams, managing risk, avoiding mission creep and contributing to the delivery of objectives, is more important now than ever before.
As the role of the finance director has changed and evolved so has the nature of the services and support that CFDG has been required to offer. Never before has there been such a need for a strong voice with policy and decision makers. We have responded by stepping up our policy interventions and strengthening our engagement with other key groups that are doing the same; for example our work on gift aid with the Charity Tax Group, Institute of Fundraising and other partners. As well as new initiatives such as our new banking forum which joins together charities with the banking industry to bring about a constructive dialogue.
Collaboration
In the same way that many of our members will need to consider collaboration and joint working, we are reaching out to our fellow umbrella organisations and supporters across the private and public sector to ensure we can deliver indispensible services to finance professionals (whatever their stage of career), influence debate and shape policy in a constructive, collaborative and efficient manner.
New initiatives which assemble unlikely suspects can help us to think in different ways. We won’t all want to branch out into new areas but we will all have to think creatively about how we can retain existing, and attract new, sources of funding. Few in the sector are immune from the pressures. How we respond to the challenges facing us and recognise the opportunities that exist will set apart those organisations that survive and those that fail. Building relationships with other organisations and finding new ways of working together is one important aspect of this. Many finance directors have taken on innovative strategic projects in order to place their organisations in stable positions, often having to make difficult decisions.
Innovation
Organisations across the sector have been admirably embracing new technologies and exploring new ways of delivering services, information and support to maximise value and minimise cost. But it’s not always the biggest charities with the most qualified support who lead the way; just look at the efforts of the largely non financial Mexborough and Swinton Astronomical Society who took first prize in the recent ICAEW charity online accounts and financial reporting awards.
Beyond the bean counter
I am optimistic and genuinely excited by the future. The sector needs to be involved more and earlier with policy makers, engaging with finance professionals in order to articulate the problems and possible practical solutions to the issues before, during and after they emerge. We need to paint a more accurate picture of finance professionals as the key strategic players they are – and not the ‘bean counters’ they may once have been stereotyped as.
Are you ready for the challenges facing the sector and your organisation? The attitudes towards finance professionals and the priorities of both the role and sector are changing. CFDG has been immersed in that evolution and we intend to carry on driving forward; supporting the finance professionals of the present and the future, to secure a transparent, efficient and effective charity sector which engenders public confidence.
1. The Role of a Charity Finance Director, Keith Hickey, CFDG 2007
Author: Caron Bradshaw
Caron Bradshaw joined CFDG in June 2010 from the ICAEW, where she was head of the charity and voluntary sector and was responsible for shaping the ICAEW's engagement with the sector and delivery of technical and member support.
She originally trained as a barrister and has been involved with a number of small charity and community organisations.
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