--- title: "Better Budget Smarts for Boards" id: "61501" type: "post" slug: "better-budget-smarts-for-boards" published_at: "2022-01-11T21:00:08+00:00" modified_at: "2026-07-11T18:09:55+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2022/01/11/better-budget-smarts-for-boards/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2022/01/11/better-budget-smarts-for-boards.md" excerpt: "Most volunteer leaders aren’t CPAs. But when you present your association’s finances clearly—and with just enough detail—you can help them make budget-savvy decisions." taxonomy_category: - "Governance" taxonomy_post_tag: - "Associations Now" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Better Budget Smarts for Boards Part of the Deep Dive[Forward](https://associationsnow.com/deep-dives/all-aboard-the-ceos-board-management-toolkit/) As chief financial officer of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, Gordon Smith knows he’ll be interacting with board members who understand numbers. But he still approaches sharing budget information with the board carefully. “Their finance and accounting knowledge is second to none,” Smith said, “but they may not be too knowledgeable about association finance.” Smith, like a lot of association finance pros, addresses that issue by taking a multilayered approach to preparing budget presentations. NJCPA’s finance committee—and the treasurer in particular—works with him to develop a complete budget. From there, the full board gets an executive summary with “the really high-level points that, from a leadership perspective, indicate what’s really driving the budget.” Associations can differ, though, on what those high-level presentations look like. Kristen Merrifield, CAE, CEO of the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits (AAN), presents her board with a two-page “budget narrative” to accompany annual budgets. This helps board members who aren’t necessarily finance professionals and want more than the numbers. But it also provides context regarding trends across multiple years, as well as orientation for new board members. “The notes explain why we ended up where we’re at in 2021, why it looks different, and what we’re thinking about for 2022,” she said. “That’s helpful because moving quickly between late-stage growth and maturity in terms of life-cycle stage.” Providing that kind of context is crucial, says A. Michael Gellman, CPA, founding principal partner of Fiscal Strategies 4 Nonprofits. “Looking at just one budget year, you can’t tell if an organization is healthy or not,” he said. ### Getting Oriented Solid orientation in financial terms and recent budget trends is essential—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as boards have been asked to make consequential decisions about budgets, staffing, and office space. Linda Caradine-Poinsett, CEO of the American College of Prosthodontists, says she makes sure all board members are well-schooled on financial terms and the elements of a balance sheet. “A number of board members thought that you should change the budget whenever the finances changed, so we had to help them understand that the budget doesn’t change—it’s what the board approved,” she said. That understanding made it easier for her to raise a discussion in the past year about moving ACP to a smaller office space as more employees shifted to remote work. [Mark Athitakis](https://associationsnow.com/author/mark-athitakis/) Mark Athitakis, a contributing editor for Associations Now, has written on nonprofits, the arts, and leadership for a variety of publications. He is a coauthor of The Dumbest Moments in Business History and hopes you never qualify for the sequel. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/mark-athitakis/) Tags: [#Associations Now](https://associationsnow.com/tag/associations-now/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## More in this Deep Dive - [Build a Board DEI Strategy to Strengthen Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/2022/01/11/build-a-board-dei-strategy-to-strengthen-leadership/) - [What It Takes to Run a Great Hybrid Board Meeting](https://associationsnow.com/2022/01/11/what-it-takes-to-run-a-great-hybrid-board-meeting/) - [The Advantages—and Realities—of a Board Election Overhaul](https://associationsnow.com/2022/01/11/the-advantages-and-realities-of-a-board-election-overhaul/) - [Should You Change Your Strategic Plan?](https://associationsnow.com/2022/01/11/should-you-change-your-strategic-plan/) - [The 5 Ps of Onboarding New Board Members](https://associationsnow.com/2022/01/11/onboarding-new-board-members/) - [Maintain a Healthy Board Culture in Divisive Times](https://associationsnow.com/2022/01/11/maintain-a-healthy-board-culture-in-divisive-times/) [View the full Deep Dive →](https://associationsnow.com/deep-dives/all-aboard-the-ceos-board-management-toolkit/) ## You Might Like - [VideoSmarter Board Management for Associations: An OnBoard ShowcaseJuly 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/24/smarter-board-management-for-associations-an-onboard-showcase/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: Leading Together-Strengthening the Board-CSO PartnershipDecember 18, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/18/associations-now-presents-leading-together-strengthening-the-board-cso-partnership/) - [Video2026 Summit Awards DinnerOctober 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/02/2026-summit-awards-dinner/) - [VideoAmerican Geophysical Union: Standing Up for Science: AGU’s Year of Action for Scientists and SocietySeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/american-geophysical-union-standing-up-for-science-agus-year-of-action-for-scientists-and-society/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2022%2F01%2F11%2Fbetter-budget-smarts-for-boards%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !