The Institute for Advanced Financial Management was held October 28-30, 2007 in New York City. IAFM is a conference for experienced Business Officers with
ten or more years in the profession. The program is designed to be interactive, with Business Officers working in small groups to generate ideas and address issues of importance to independent schools. The topic for this year's conference was
Financial Sustainability. This conference was open to
NBOA Members only and cost
$695 to register.
IAFM began with a featured speaker and dinner on Sunday night. On Monday and Tuesday, the group gathered at
TIAA-CREF's 3rd Avenue headquarters. We were joined by various experts who assisted participants as they discussed the issues that schools face in their quest for financial sustainability. The whole group brainstormed approaches and solutions to these issues. Accommodations were provided at the Millennium United Nations Plaza Hotel.
We were pleased to have
Jim Honan, senior lecturer at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, who served as the facilitator for IAFM. In addition to his teaching duties, Jim is the educational co-chair of the Institute for Educational Management (IEM) at Harvard. He has served as a consultant on strategic planning, resource allocation, and performance measurement and management to numerous colleges, universities, schools, and nonprofit organizations.
Some of the questions we addressed were:
How are independent schools different, and how are the alike? Are there common themes that might lead to common solutions? How will demographics affect staffing, enrollment potential, families' ability to pay? Can we use past trends to project future performance? What can we learn from our colleagues in higher education? What does financial sustainability look like? What does it NOT look like?
IAFM Registration
NBOA Members only: $695
