Insight on INA’s Financial Processes
I thought it would be insightful to discuss the financial processes related to the International Nanny Association as well as the flow of the year and how the organization plans. As Board Members, we sometimes forget that our Members don’t understand the ins and outs of how and when the budget is created, reviewed, and how overall financial choices are made for the INA.
Each January I spend time going through our budget, what we actually ending up spending or creating in revenue for the year before. I like to see and present the successes and shortcomings to the Board at the Executive Board meeting and make sure we are prepared to implement what is necessary for the following year. The past few years have been pretty rewarding because of the success associated with adhering to our budget. I love going to the Executive Board meeting and reporting to our team where we could have done better, where we did excellent, and where I think we’re going.
We don’t really discuss new budget items at that time because I am a stickler for keeping to the plan we committed to in the fall. At Conference, we do a first quarter review, typically for the current year. It is a great snapshot of how we are doing year to date and if we have any areas to work on and to see our successes thus far. Board Members come to conference with spending needs or ideas to cut costs (not too often wanting to raise prices or cut costs), and the beginning of the following year’s budget starts to take shape.
In July, once we have paid all the bills for conference (this is a time consuming and intense process that most people don’t even know about), we have a pretty good assessment of the first six months of the year. We have a Summer Board meeting by telephone and typically any major budget requests for the following year are put into place along with whatever was discussed at a conference. I spend a ton of time evaluating the numbers, seeing where we can give and take from different categories to make the vision that the Board and Membership have for the INA happen.
The budget process is in full swing for me by mid-July and I like to be done with it by early August. Incoming requests are always happening and adjustments are made until I finalize and propose the budget for the following year at the October Board meeting. By this time of year we again are looking at the first three quarters of the year seeing how we have progressed in all areas of the budget. The Board then votes to approve the budget for the following year.
Conference is embedded in the entire budget and we do not run a separate budget for it, however, the costs and revenue are very easy to split out. We know that we are no longer losing money on conference as we have in the past some years. We also can easily pull the Conference budget out of the main budget and break down total costs, revenue and the spending percentage wise.
We have perfected the process as much as possible on making educated decisions on how the organization spends money. Whenever we show a gain for the year, we have invested back into our staff and other initiatives for the INA.
For a more detailed review of the financial performance of the INA and the future of our finances, I will be sharing more about the efficacy of our recent year’s processes and breaking down the costs associated to Conference so our Members have a better understanding of our numbers.
I look forward to seeing you at Conference.
Stacie Steelman
INA Treasurer