Senior finance leadership, built for schools.
Independent schools carry the financial complexity of a mid-size business: enrollment-driven revenue, tuition discounting, board reporting, restricted funds, and mission-driven decision-making, without always having senior financial leadership or oversight of the business office. We bring the financial leadership, experience, and capabilities a school needs to strengthen its business office, so it can do what it is meant to do: provide school leadership with reliable, timely information for making decisions.
Want to learn more?
Contact our School CFO Practice Leader, Jeffrey Barth, CPA. Jeff brings broad experience in independent school and nonprofit finance, reporting, governance, and financial operations. His collaborative approach to leading and developing people helps ensure that the policies, processes, and systems work for your school.
Contact Jeffrey Barth, CPA, (650) 715-1040Diagnose before you treat.
Most financial consulting engagements begin with a recommendation. Ours begins with establishing the facts. Because before a school changes systems, hires people, cuts costs, raises tuition, or asks more from its board, it needs to know what's actually true.
Diagnose & Assess
We trace the numbers and underlying data to their source: bank accounts, tuition and other business systems, master data, subledgers, and the general ledger. We determine what is reliable, what is not, and where the underlying risks and weaknesses exist.
Correct & Control
We address underlying problems and establish controls designed to prevent errors where possible and identify them quickly when they occur. We strengthen reconciliations, processes, reporting, and accountability across the financial operation.
Build & Sustain
We strengthen the policies, processes, systems, and people behind the financial operation. The result is a business office that can perform consistently, adapt to changing needs, and sustain improvements over time.
Inform & Lead
We turn the work of the business office into reliable, timely financial information that helps administrators manage effectively and gives the Head of School and Board the confidence to make informed, strategic decisions for the future.
The goal isn't to make the school dependent on us. The goal is to make the school stronger than when we arrived.
You may need The Audit Doc if...
- Your business manager, CFO, or finance director has recently left.
- The board is receiving reports that no one fully trusts.
- Cash flow is tight, but the reason isn't clear.
- The audit identified problems that haven't actually been resolved.
- The business office is working hard, but leadership isn't getting the timely, reliable information it needs to make decisions.
You don't have to wait for a crisis or know exactly what you need. We often begin with a conversation or focused assessment, then stay connected as a resource when the right need arises.
Four ways we work with a school.
Financial Diagnostics
We determine what the numbers are actually telling you. We trace financial information back through the general ledger, reconciliations, bank activity, tuition systems, and supporting records to identify what is reliable, what isn't, and what needs correcting before important decisions are made. It's also a natural step when a new Head of School wants an independent look at the finances, or when a board wants reassurance about numbers beyond what an auditor or tax preparer typically reviews.
Result: leadership and the board can make decisions based on a true picture of the school's financial condition.
Your SchoolCFO
A service of The Audit Doc. We step into day-to-day finance leadership during a transition or rebuild, managing close, financial reporting, cash visibility, and board packages, while the school avoids the pressure of a rushed permanent hire.
Result: leadership and the board have a reliable, ongoing view of the school's financial position.
Team Building & Coaching
We work alongside AP, AR, bookkeeping, and business office staff to improve processes, clarify responsibilities, and build confidence in reconciliations, reporting, and monthly close.
Result: leadership can trust the numbers coming out of the business office, with less dependence on any one person.
Sustainability Modeling
We model enrollment, tuition, financial aid, staffing, operating costs, and reserves together so leadership and the board can see the financial consequences of a decision before making it.
Result: better long-term decisions grounded in the school's actual financial capacity.