Harvard Case - Come As You Are: The Role of Internal Financial Reporting after a Change of Leadership
"Come As You Are: The Role of Internal Financial Reporting after a Change of Leadership" Harvard business case study is written by Shane Dikolli, Jaila Ingram-Johnson. It deals with the challenges in the field of Accounting. The case study is 10 page(s) long and it was first published on : Jan 14, 2021
At Fern Fort University, we recommend a comprehensive overhaul of the internal financial reporting system, focusing on enhancing transparency, accuracy, and relevance to support the new leadership's strategic vision. This involves a multi-pronged approach, including:
- Implementation of Activity-Based Costing (ABC): To provide a more accurate understanding of the true cost of delivering educational programs and services.
- Development of a robust performance measurement system: To track progress towards strategic goals and identify areas for improvement.
- Enhancement of communication and collaboration: To ensure that financial information is readily available and understood by all stakeholders.
- Alignment of financial reporting with the university's strategic priorities: To ensure that the reporting system is providing the right information to support decision-making.
2. Background
This case study revolves around Fern Fort University, a private institution facing a transition in leadership. The new president, Dr. Linda Jones, seeks to revitalize the university's financial performance and strategic direction. The existing internal financial reporting system, however, is outdated and lacks the necessary detail to support informed decision-making.
The main protagonists are Dr. Linda Jones, the new president, and the university's finance team, led by Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mark Johnson. Dr. Jones is committed to improving the university's financial performance and implementing a more strategic approach to decision-making. Mark Johnson, however, is hesitant to embrace change and prefers the status quo.
3. Analysis of the Case Study
The case study highlights several critical issues impacting Fern Fort University's financial performance and strategic direction. These include:
- Outdated Financial Reporting System: The current system relies on traditional cost accounting methods, failing to provide a detailed understanding of the true cost of delivering educational programs and services. This lack of transparency hinders effective resource allocation and decision-making.
- Lack of Performance Measurement: The absence of a robust performance measurement system makes it difficult to track progress towards strategic goals and identify areas for improvement. This limits the ability to assess the effectiveness of various initiatives and make data-driven decisions.
- Poor Communication and Collaboration: The finance team operates in silos, failing to effectively communicate financial information to other departments and stakeholders. This hinders collaborative decision-making and creates a lack of alignment across the university.
- Misalignment with Strategic Priorities: The current financial reporting system does not align with the new president's strategic vision for the university. This disconnect hampers the ability to track progress towards strategic goals and make informed decisions.
4. Recommendations
1. Implement Activity-Based Costing (ABC):
- Objective: To provide a more accurate understanding of the true cost of delivering educational programs and services.
- Implementation: Conduct a comprehensive cost analysis of all university activities, identifying key cost drivers and allocating costs accordingly. This will provide a more accurate picture of the cost of each program and department, enabling informed decision-making regarding resource allocation and pricing strategies.
- Timeline: Phase 1: Conduct cost analysis within 6 months. Phase 2: Implement ABC system within 12 months.
2. Develop a Robust Performance Measurement System:
- Objective: To track progress towards strategic goals and identify areas for improvement.
- Implementation: Define key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with the university's strategic objectives. Develop a system to track these KPIs and report on progress regularly. This will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of various initiatives and allow for course correction as needed.
- Timeline: Develop KPIs within 3 months. Implement performance measurement system within 6 months.
3. Enhance Communication and Collaboration:
- Objective: To ensure that financial information is readily available and understood by all stakeholders.
- Implementation: Establish regular communication channels between the finance team and other departments. Develop clear and concise financial reports that are easily understood by non-financial stakeholders. Implement training programs to enhance financial literacy across the university.
- Timeline: Establish communication channels within 1 month. Develop clear financial reports within 3 months. Implement training programs within 6 months.
4. Align Financial Reporting with Strategic Priorities:
- Objective: To ensure that the reporting system is providing the right information to support decision-making.
- Implementation: Develop a strategic financial reporting framework that aligns with the university's strategic objectives. This framework should include key performance indicators, financial ratios, and other relevant metrics to track progress towards strategic goals.
- Timeline: Develop strategic financial reporting framework within 3 months. Implement framework within 6 months.
5. Basis of Recommendations
These recommendations are based on the following considerations:
- Core competencies and consistency with mission: The recommendations focus on improving the accuracy and relevance of financial information to support the university's mission of providing high-quality education and research.
- External customers and internal clients: The recommendations aim to provide stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, and donors, with a clearer understanding of the university's financial performance and how it is being used to support their needs.
- Competitors: The recommendations will help Fern Fort University to benchmark its performance against competitors and identify areas for improvement.
- Attractiveness ' quantitative measures: The recommendations are expected to lead to improved financial performance, increased efficiency, and better decision-making, ultimately enhancing the university's attractiveness to students, faculty, and donors.
6. Conclusion
By implementing these recommendations, Fern Fort University can transform its internal financial reporting system into a powerful tool for strategic decision-making and improved financial performance. This will enable the university to achieve its strategic goals, enhance its reputation, and secure its long-term sustainability.
7. Discussion
Alternative options include:
- Maintaining the status quo: This would result in continued inefficiency and a lack of transparency, hindering the university's ability to achieve its strategic goals.
- Hiring an external consultant: While this option could provide valuable expertise, it could also be expensive and time-consuming.
Key risks and assumptions:
- Resistance to change: Some stakeholders may resist the proposed changes, requiring effective communication and change management strategies.
- Cost of implementation: The implementation of these recommendations will require significant investment in time and resources.
- Data availability: The university may need to invest in data management systems to ensure the availability of accurate and timely data for reporting.
8. Next Steps
- Form a task force: Establish a task force comprised of key stakeholders to oversee the implementation of the recommendations.
- Develop a detailed implementation plan: Outline specific tasks, timelines, and resource requirements for each recommendation.
- Communicate with stakeholders: Regularly communicate the progress of the implementation process to all stakeholders.
By taking these steps, Fern Fort University can ensure a smooth and successful transition to a more effective and strategic internal financial reporting system.
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Case Description
As You Are Seventh-Day Adventist Church (AYA) is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, in a low-income community, where it offers a wide range of primarily religious services. AYA is part of the River Seventh-Day Adventist Conference-East (RCE), which finds and pays for the pastors at each of its churches. In return, the RCE receives the weekly tithes as conference dues, and AYA keeps the offerings given by its members. This partnership has allowed AYA to expand its programming, serving community members facing homelessness, hunger, and financial difficulties. But over the years, AYA has had its own financial struggles, seeing a decline in tithes and offerings as its membership numbers have declined. It has been forced to end many of its community services in order to preserve church resources. And in 2015, the church's leader, Pastor Robert Haskins, announced his intention to leave his position early. The RCE decided to replace Haskins with Pastor Alexander Dean, who had a proven track record of turning troubled churches around. Dean begins his duties at AYA confident that he can correct the church's course. He quickly becomes a controversial figure, however, due to the changes he decides to make. AYA's volunteer treasurer wrestles with a conflict between her desire to support Dean in his effective efforts to welcome new members and higher cash donations and her misgivings about his aggressive insistence on increasing his budget as pastor and unilaterally signing off on expensive projects without church committee approval. The treasurer is deeply concerned about how AYA will survive financially under these new pressures, both from the new leader and from sources beyond the church's control.
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