A Question Worth Asking

If you're a board member or executive leader, ask yourself this:

Does your organization treat the budget as a decision-making tool or as a report card after the fact?

The answer reveals everything about your organization's budget culture.

What Good Looks Like

So what does good look like?

The budget starts with revenue, not expenses, so you know what you have to work with

It's built from clear strategic priorities, not just rolled forward from last year

Leaders own their numbers and explain variances, rather than blaming finance staff who are simply reporting (and usually improvisatorily sugar-coating) what actually happened

Spending authority is intentional, not assumed or enabled

Monthly discussions focus on forward-looking decisions, not backward-looking excuses

When these conditions are in place, the budget becomes a management tool, and finance stops being the messenger that gets shot.

Join the SIG in an open round table discussion of the unique role the budget plays in a Not-for-profit organization and its impact on strategic management.