As a not-for-profit finance leader, Amy West, CPA, CGMA, is all too familiar with common not-for-profit challenges — shifting regulations, tight funding streams, increasing expectations from the board of directors and donors, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
For finance leaders like West, the challenges they face are not isolated issues but symptoms of a system that demands agility without offering much margin for error. It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of responding to problems as they arise rather than forecasting to anticipate trends and potential issues.
“It’s really about being a strategic partner within a not-for-profit organization,” said West, executive vice president and CFO at AHRC New York City. “I need to be at the table as a CFO when important decisions are being made. I’m not there just to say, ‘No, it’s too expensive. We can’t do this.’ But I am there to say, ‘Okay, let’s see and figure out how we can do it.’”
Progress is dependent on breaking out of reactive cycles, creative problem-solving, and adopting tools and perspectives built on not-for-profit realities.
The AICPA® Not-for-Profit Industry conference offers solutions and strategies to get accounting and finance professionals out of reaction mode. The conference, at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, MD, June 15–17, and broadcast live online, blends leadership perspective with technical updates to give you the knowledge, perspective, and confidence to solve complex problems.
Planning with data and “what-if” thinking
“[Compliance] is rapidly evolving. All these regulations are coming at you. They’re never written in clear language. So, you need to interpret them, and there’s a lot of gray area in the regulations,” said West.
It’s often not a straight line from regulation to implementation to compliance. “What we’re being asked to do doesn’t make a lot of sense. It often requires a system of modifications,” said West, who will be co-leading two conference sessions — “4.75 Things That Get Financial Leadershipers Up Early in the Morning” and “Financial Leadership Game Show: The Ultimate Challenge.”
West, who is the conference chair and on the NFP Advisory Council, cited an example in which, under a new regulation, staff overtime had to be shown on a pay stub — but compliance was tricky.
“It wasn’t just about the fact we needed to figure out how to break out that information if it wasn’t broken out, but we needed to figure out how to show it on staff’s paychecks or direct deposit advices. It leads to this kind of system of implementation and modification. It’s often quite time-consuming and onerous.”
But what is more time-consuming, said West, is noncompliance. “Our board is committed to doing the right thing and showing their commitment to compliance. … I think that builds trust,” said West.
West has learned to keep looking forward and being proactive — especially when conducting financial analysis. Analyzing the trends of historical data helps West forecast better. Asking the “what if” questions prepares her for all kinds of scenarios, including what happens if a funding source goes dry. “Contingency and scenario planning have become common practice.”
“Funding uncertainty is clearly certain,” joked West.
AI as a strategic tool for NFP teams
The proliferation of AI has brought both opportunity and uncertainty. AI, said West, is making accounting jobs more interesting. “It gets [professionals] away from reconciliations and compiling information, but more [into] analyzing information.”
At AHRC, West is looking at AI functionality within the organization’s new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. AI can compile the information and reconcile two sets of data points.
“AI is really affording people the opportunity to analyze what the data is telling [us] and how is that going to support decision-making in the organization.”
There’s a fear that AI could render accounting jobs obsolete. But AI can’t replace the professional skepticism and integrity of accountants, CPAs, and auditors — human intervention will always be needed.
Several sessions at the Not-for-Profit Industry Conference discuss the practical mission impact of AI and how it can streamline work for lean teams and turn AI into an ally, not a replacement.
“We need to understand what this tool is, how do we really implement it, and what are practical ways AI can improve efficiency and effectiveness?” questioned West.
NFP Industry Conference: Bringing clarity to the gray areas
“I understand how important technology is,” said West. “I’ve seen leaders who wouldn’t invest in technology, thinking it would take programmatic dollars away. We now understand that almost every important decision that is made by an organization in some way relates to technology.”
How professionals apply emerging technology within not-for-profit realities adds more clarity to the gray areas. With proactive tools tailored to constraints, leaders risk staying stuck in an endless loop of reacting instead of leading.
The agenda for the three-day conference was built around those gray areas where not-for-profit leaders get stuck. Session topics include updates on compliance and audit changes, strategies for managing funding pressures, using AI responsibly, and perspectives to strengthen their organizations.
“I really love to present at the conference because it’s not an academic exercise,” explained West. “It’s really a way to share my professional experiences and a forum for others to share their professional experiences. To me, a session at a conference is not successful unless someone has a key takeaway that they can bring back to their [organization].”
Reserve your spot today at the Not-for-Profit Industry Conference to gain fresh insights to lead your organization into the future.