Knowledge and Insights

It’s hard to believe that over a year has gone by since many of us have changed the way we do business. I have only been in the office a handful of times over the last year; I am fortunate and can work from just about anywhere. Of course, for many of you, this is not the case. The pandemic may have forever changed the way we do business and therefore it’s likely time to revisit your organization’s strategy, policies, and processes.

When was the last time you had a strategic planning session with your Board of Trustees? Is it one of the tasks that the Board takes on every 3-5 years? Maybe that was a great timeframe 2 years ago, but given the pandemic, would it make sense to have a mini planning session to at least make sure the strategy still works in our new world?

If your strategic direction did not have a significant technology component to it, you likely switched gears mid-2020 to accommodate this. Or maybe you had remote capability but upon expanding your remote workforce, you found that there are several holes in your plan. Those holes, aka risks, seem to show themselves at the least opportune times.

I would like to suggest that while 2020 was the year of the “pivot”, 2021 should be the year of the “plan”. It’s time to reflect, assess the good, bad, and ugly, and come up with a new and all-encompassing plan of action. If you did not have a formal risk assessment process, I implore you to establish one now. Change is happening so quickly that we often don’t have time, or take the time, to really think things through. Rather we just try to keep up and worry about the rest later.

Today is certainly “later”; it’s over a year later and no better time to start taking stock of your current business model, risk inventory, technology needs and ultimate vision. In thinking about your plan to thrive keep in mind:

• Funding stability
• Technology use, investment, and budget
• Operating reserves
• New government and funder regulation and compliance
• Attracting and retaining quality senior leadership and Board members
• Political landscape and the economy
• Liquidity
• Efficient operations
• Ability to meet your programmatic demand, or do you need to eliminate or revamp to align with post-COVID landscape?

These are just a few issues that should be top of mind with a well-thought-out plan for moving your organization forward.

If you think it’s time to tweak your strategy or update your risk inventory, and you either don’t know where to start or don’t have staff capacity and resources to work on these projects, reach out to me at [email protected] or 609-689-2325 to start a discussion on how to adjust your plan to help your organization prosper. Sometimes an independent sounding board is all you need to move the needle.

DISCLAIMER: This advisory resource is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute business or tax advice and may not be used and relied upon as a substitute for business or tax advice regarding a specific issue or problem. Advice should be obtained from a qualified accountant, tax practitioner or attorney licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where that advice is sought.