The event was held June 19-23 at La Jolla Country Day School in San Diego. Attendees included 69 chief financial officers, heads of school, controllers, and directors of human resources, facilities and other operational departments in independent schools around the U.S. and Canada. Since the program’s start in 2010, NBOA has held the Business Officer Institute early each summer at a different independent school.
In classroom settings, current and former business officers learned about a wide range of topics germane to their work. The program covered independent school culture, long-range financial planning, technology management, accounting best practices, board governance, financial communications, enrollment management, financial aid, endowment management, leadership development, and legal issues involving human resources, risk management and IT.
“The BOI sessions have given me great resources to frame a start-up approach that will help me quickly orient to my new role and colleagues,” said Sam Steinhouse, who attended weeks before beginning his position as CFO at Hawken School. “I have been attending seminars for a long time and normally find that most of the individual sessions will score in the mildly useful range with a few keepers with great takeaways. The BOI sessions were fantastic both in on-target content and presentation quality.”
Attendee: “The staff was beyond knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. They were truly fun! The food and accommodations were beyond expectation and I felt like I was on a very nice cruise.”
Many meals and receptions took advantage of San Diego’s famous climate and the La Jolla Country Day campus. Sponsors of the 2017 Business Officer Institute were Bolton & Company, George K. Baum & Company, SchoolDude, Smart Tuition, Suntrust and TIAA.
Faculty included (left to right) Palmer Ball of Palmer Ball Consulting, David Sigal of La Jolla Country Day, Susan Lansverk of University Prep, and James Cooper of Sequoyah School.
Attendee: “It's a comprehensive program that highlights the major areas a business officer is involved with. It's also a great networking opportunity for others in the independent world, and makes you realize you are not alone.”
Attendee: “It was worth every penny and you will receive a wealth of information that either validates what you are already doing or what you can start implementing. You will also form a network of business officers that you can lean on when you have questions."
Attendees of the 2017 Business Officer Institute can download all materials from NBOA.org. Learn more about NBOA’s programs and events at nboa.org/events.
