Vice Financial Affairs

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The vice president of financial affairs is a senior-level position at universities and colleges overseeing the finances, facilities, and forecast planning of their institution. The role encompasses numerous responsibilities, various challenges, and quality character traits. A strong financial leader is essential to the health and vitality of a higher education institution.
General Overview
The role of vice president of financial affairs goes by many titles depending on the institution including chief financial officer (CFO), chief business officer (CBO), and vice chancellor of finance. According to a 2016 survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the typical CBO is a married, white male about …show more content…

A top-down approach empowers the leaders, including the president, CFO, board members, and other administrators, to make the budget decisions. This approach allows for expediency and works well in cultures that trust their leadership. In a collaborative approach, a variety of campus constitutes, including faculty, staff, and students, are involved in the budget process. Blezien and Graham suggested that it is best when the representatives are elected rather than appointed. This collaborative approach may provide increased understanding and acceptance of the budget process by the campus community; however, it could take more time to come to decisions due to scheduling meetings and navigating a variety of private …show more content…

"Business officers wear many hats. The most important is that of the guardian of the institution's assets. Risk management in all forms - identifying, reducing, controlling, and transferring risk - is an invaluable tool for safeguarding those assets" (Abraham, 1999, p. 89). In order to effectively address risk management, a CBO must identify risk, develop a plan to reduce risk, transfer risk, and report on the cost of risk management. Abraham (1999) identifies five categories of risk: physical, casualty, fiscal, business, and reputational. For physical risk, a CBO must ensure the preservation of physical assets, such as buildings, vehicles, and art collections, from harm including fire, earthquakes, floods, or vandalism. Abraham defines casualty risk as “the risk that someone will accuse the institution of doing something wrong either by its actions or management decisions” (1999, p. 84). CBOs must protect their schools against administrative negligence, tragic accidents, general liability, and legal liability. Clearly, fiscal risk is an essential responsibility of the CBO. This includes not only effectively managing investments, such as endowment, trusts, and deferred gifts, but also safeguarding against employee theft and dishonesty. Weisbrod and Asch (2010) warned

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