Financial Stewardship Program
The Financial Stewardship Program consists of three co-dependent projects aimed to achieve better fiscal awareness. In 2021-22, we focused on the Management Reporting project and will be continuing the project with the first university-wide report distribution in October. The first Financial Stewardship Seminar was developed last year with a small pilot and the project to develop and refine training opportunities will continue. The Recruitment and Position Control Process Improvement project kicked off in September and will continue through the year with tentative implementation in FY 2024.
Information about each of the projects, timelines, and associated materials are provided below.
If you have questions or would like more information about any of these projects, please contact Kim Ayre.
Management Reporting
The aim of this project is to provide financial information in an easy-to-read format to improve understanding and facilitate discussions of budget status. Better management reporting will make it easier for deans and directors to understand and act on their fiscal responsibility.
In 2021-2022, the project team reviewed Western's existing financial report before developing a new Management Report specific to providing timely financial information to deans, directors, and other area leaders. While the team worked on technical challenges, we met with division budget officers, deans and operations managers from Academic Affairs and directors from Business & Financial Affairs and Enrollment and Student Services.
A pilot group was assembled in January, 2022 that included the deans of two colleges, Paqui Paredes (College of Humanities & Social Sciences) and Brad Johnson (College of Science & Engineering), and two directors from ESS, Sara Wilson (Exec. Dir., Student Success Initiatives) and Anja Engledow (Asst. Dir., University Residence Business Systems). The group provide valuable insight and feedback on an early draft of the Management Report and participated in our pilot test of the process during Spring quarter, including completing the Management Report response.
The project continues in 2022-2023 as we expand the Management Report distribution in October 2022 to areas across the university. Two reports will be distributed per year, after the first and third quarters of the fiscal year, in October and April. The project work will continue with the initial university-wide launch as we gather feedback and make improvements to reports and the process by engaging groups at all levels.
FY 2023 Project Timeline
October 2022 - June 2023
October 2022: Fall Management Reports distributed to deans and directors
November: Deans and Directors return reports with forecasts to divisions following internal processes
November: Division share completed reports with BFP
December: BFP distributes follow up survey and initiates process review
April 2023: Spring Management Reports distributed to deans and directors
April: Deans and Directors return the reports with forecasts to divisions following internal processes
May: Division share completed reports with BFP
June: BFP staff review reports and follows up with units and divisions for feedback about the reports and process
Financial Stewardship Seminars
Budget and Financial Planning is developing seminars, workshops, and other resources focused on providing the information needed for strategic budget management, forecasting, and completing the new management reporting process.
Budget & Financial Planning launched the first "Introduction to Budgets & Forecasting" seminar in April, 2022 to coincide with the pilot test of the Management Reports. We offered two opportunities for deans, directors, and their support staff to participate and provide their feedback.
In 2022-2023, we will offer additional sessions of "Introduction to Budgets & Forecasting" while we continue to improve the content and experience for participants. BFP will also be developing training and workshops to support the Strategic Budgeting Process as we continue to develop financial stewardship resources for the university.
FY 2023 Project Timeline
October 2022 - April 2023
October - November: Fall sessions of Introduction to Budgeting & Forecasting
November: Development of seminars focused on the Strategic Budgeting process
January: Target period for Strategic Budgeting seminars
March - April: Spring sessions of Introduction to Budgeting & Forecasting
Recruitment & Position Control Process Improvement
The focus of this project is the development of process review and redesign of recruitment processes that includes position control that ensures all positions have identifiable and appropriate funding in place before hiring commitments are made.
In Spring 2022, the scope of the project was expanded to evaluate Western's hiring and recruitment processes which includes a business process analysis of our existing practices and an assessment of how position control can be incorporated. A team from Professional Growth Systems, an organizational consulting firm, will be leading the project beginning July, 2022. Western's position control project team and steering committee were assembled of individuals representing all divisions.
Project Steering Committee
Faye Gallant, Assistant Vice President for Strategy, Management and Budget (Project Sponsor)
Ichi Kwon, Dir. of Academic Budget and Administration
Linda Beckman, Dir. of Finance and Capital Resources, Enrollment and Student Services
Mark Brovak, Assoc. Vice President for Finance and Operations, University Advancement; Vice President and CFO of WWU Foundation
Elizabeth Parkes, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
Project Team
Tonya Alexander, College of Science and Engineering
Kim Ayre, Strategy, Management and Budget
Amy Cantlon, Enrollment and Student Services
Austin Cooper, Faculty Relations
Adam Lorio, Enrollment and Student Services
Stephanie Norsby, Human Resources
Karen Peila, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Lynae Rickman, Equal Opportunity Compliance
Katrina Schuster, University Relations and Marketing
Debora Short, Enrollment and Student Services
Carrie Thurman, Budget and Financial Planning
David Weiss, Business and Financial Systems
Subject Matter Experts
Carrie Thurman, Strategy, Management and Budget