The thorniest dilemma in a board member's life is how to find a balanced approach to financial oversight. On the one hand, board members want to let staff run the organization without micromanagement from the board. On the other hand, no board should be satisfied with brief and rote recitation of financial numbers. The board wants to press the staff without seeming distrustful. The board wants to feel it has a command of what is going on without making a board seat a second job. A board member wants to find a middle ground, yet even the staff can make that middle ground difficult to find. Some staffs, in order to demonstrate their mastery, want to talk the board through excruciating detail that drags the presentation from the forest down to the twigs. Other staffs, in order to assert their independence, give the board the briefest of tables and assert that everything is "on target."

How we help
Effective financial oversight is more than a regular review of financial statements, rather it is an approach that determines the success of your board in ensuring the success of a strategic direction. Allen Proctor Consulting can help you set up the right structure for your oversight and then work with you to identity an easily-digested set of reports that are focused on the achievement of goals and objectives. The ideal set of financial reports is one that is routine but focused on providing early warning signs and verifying that business activities are occurring as intended and expected.

Every board exists in a unique environment that requires unique solutions and approaches to financial oversight. Allen can help you to find the approaches that are best suited for you. As a result of his years of experience, Allen knows the support and information needed by effective boards, who are continually challenged by dilemmas such as these:

  • "We know we need to move ahead on this project, but in our push to get approval are we underestimating some important risks?"
  • "Our financial staff is very good and we get lots of reports and more data than we have time to digest. Are we missing the forest for the trees?"
  • "We get tons of information but we still seem to learn of problems at the last minute."
  • "The budget process takes so much time and demands so many decisions but are we using the board's time in the most productive way?"
  • "We spend all this time on planning yet it seems to be forgotten when our staff prepare their budgets."
  • "We like our investment managers and their returns seem okay, but is the portfolio the right one for our needs?"


We provide a range of services that are committed to bringing best practices into the board room and making finances understandable. Click on this link to see our clients describe how we have helped.

For other ideas on how to effectively utilize your board, please click on the links above for Seminars & Workshops and Resources & Publications.

The Role of Allen Proctor Consulting
As Allen Proctor Consulting works with organizations to evaluate financial condition, identify options and strategies, and build reporting and decision-making structures, it cannot and should not take the place of an engaged board or full-time financial staff. Rather, Allen Proctor Consulting provides the strategy for a sustainable financial future, readies the board and management to undertake the strategy, and "coaches" those responsible for implementing the strategy. The ultimate success of any financial strategy will depend upon effective communication of the goals and justification for your strategy with donors, staff, clients and patrons, and especially the media.