Sample CFO questions

Sample questions to be address to CFO at the beginning of an academic year.

1) What aspects of the College finances should the faculty be concerned with?

2) What new initiatives are being contemplated or are in process that the faculty should be aware of

Additional/Detailed questions

1) I would like to know if the budget (and the total revenue) of the college has gone up or down over the last 10 or 12 years – has the budget grown and how much. How have salaries grown relative to the growth of the budget?

2) Many colleges are running deficits – are we? How many? How long? We used to brag about running in the black for X years in a row. I do not hear that talk anymore – I assume we are not running a surplus (we are taking money out of the endowment to pay the bills).

3) I would like to know about cash flow. I read that other colleges have to borrow money to make payroll. Do we? How often do we borrow money to pay the bills and make payroll. Never, sometimes, often?

4) I would like to know more about the debt. How big is the debt? How is it structured – type, length, interest? How does it compare to the past? How does it compare to other colleges?

5) Information about net fee revenue per student and its changes over time.

6) What are the plans for H-T.

7) We have a falling enrollment. Other colleges have had to cut staff. Is there any danger of that here?