The CFO’s Role in Shaping Sustainable Growth Strategies
In our industry, it’s so important to make smart financial decisions while remaining compassionate and letting mission drive our choices. When every decision impacts care and people’s everyday lives, CFOs have to go beyond basic reports and reactive decisions. We need to look ahead and begin charting a course for a future full of sustainable, mission-based growth.
Especially when working for non-profit senior living organizations, CFOs have to go above and beyond. We aren’t just making decisions for today’s seniors – we’re setting up the industry for generations to come. Here are just a few of the ways that our CFOs at KSH Consulting go the extra mile.
Listen to the Numbers
Every senior living organization generates massive amounts of financial data every day. The role of CFOs in the past has been to simply report the data as facts about what has already happened. Today, we’re moving past that mindset into a more forward-thinking role.
We’re using that data to anticipate the future, not just explain the past. It’s the same data that’s always been there; it’s just about looking at it a different way and asking questions that will help inform future decisions about growth instead of current decisions about trying to keep up.
Focus on Mission
CFOs at senior living organizations have a unique responsibility to balance compassionate, high-quality care with financial sustainability. That means building financial models that prove it’s not either/or. We can support both.
A good senior living CFO understands that care quality, staffing, and resident experience are all drivers of financial performance, not excess costs that can be cut. We create financial plans that support the shared mission of quality care because when you focus on the mission, the decisions come easily.
From Reporting to Forecasting
The senior population is expected to grow drastically in the coming years, as baby boomers enter their retirement years. To keep up with growing demand, CFOs need to advocate for investments and changes now that will help their organizations remain a competitive option for seniors of the future.
Not only will there be more older adults seeking spots in senior living communities, but this next generation of seniors also has more experience with technology and is generally more health-conscious, as we’ve learned more about health and aging in more recent years. The decisions senior living CFOs make today will determine whether their organizations are ready for future residents.
More than One Path
Every financial leader knows that things don’t always go exactly as planned. Great CFOs have planned out multiple paths, not just one. Modeling out multiple different futures based on different decisions helps organizations make the best decisions that will support them both in the short and long run. These models turn abstract conversations into informed decisions that set organizations up for long-term success while balancing present-day realities.
This is such an exciting time for the senior living industry, filled with opportunities for future growth. The CFO plays a crucial role in building smart, sustainable growth strategies to set their organizations up for what’s to come. By taking the data that already exists and using it to create a clear, actionable plan, we’re helping organizations to further their mission and ensuring that the seniors of tomorrow will have care that meets and exceeds that of today’s residents.
