National Autistic Society (NAS) Interim Director of Finance and IT
July 02 2010
NAS has had a long history of helping those affected by autism, mainly through the provision of schools and residential adult facilities under contract to local authorities’ education and social services departments. Contract income being about £40 million from each. The small surpluses generated from this contract work together with some modest fundraising has allowed a limited amount of support, awareness raising and campaigning to be provided alongside the services delivery.
In 2008 a new CEO was appointed to develop and implement a change in strategy that would enable far more people affected by autism to receive the support they need, and for politicians, opinion formers, and the public at large to become more aware of the very serious issues that autism creates.
A new strategy was agreed in summer 2009 and a first major success, the establishment of an Autism Act in England and Wales achieved.
The change in strategy required a restructuring of the Strategic Management Group (SMG) and the appointment of a Chief Operating Officer to allow the CEO to spend more time on the outward facing work of the charity.
Recruitment of an Interim Finance Director
The SMG restructuring led the existing FD to review his own career objectives, and move on. The Board had not at that time finally decided on the respective roles of a CEO, COO, and FD and a decision was taken to appoint an Interim FD in order that recruitment of the new COO and the appointment of an FD could be conducted together.
An Interim Director of Finance and IT was appointed in October 2009. Clive Timms was an experienced Interim Manager and finance professional who had worked within the charity sector for many years. A clear decision was made to appoint a very experienced FD, working three days a week to lead what is a very competent team and to help the SMG adopt a collegiate style of management .
Interim Management Objectives
To lead the experienced finance, contract management, and IT teams, ensuring that they understood and were implementing the changes consequential on the changed strategy of the organisation. It was also necessary to raise awareness of the difficult financial situation that the charity may face if downward pressure on contract fee income becomes severe.
What has been achieved
NAS has successfully recruited a new permanent, full time FD, who commenced at the beginning of May. (The new COO has also been recruited and starts in mid-June.) Hand-over from Interim to Permanent FD was completed in two weeks.
The Interim FD in the six months was able to:-
- Assure the production of the year-end statutory accounts.
- Oversee the completion and approval of the 2010/11 budget
- Give direction on changes to form and format the internal management information to be in use for 2010/11 onwards, to try to ensure that management information is relevant to management decision making.
- Start the process of preparing a new Corporate Business Plan, which the new FD and COO will pick up and complete for the Board to consider as part of the next planning cycle in October.
- Implement improved cash management methods.
- Within SMG raised awareness of the financial stormy waters likely to lie ahead and encourage a focus on seeking out solutions.
- Encourage a critical review of the staffing and locations of the finance teams.
- Give direction on the development of an IT strategy and to commence the process of exploring alternatives provisioning of IT services and support.
- Assist in the recruitment of the new FD. (And separately assist in the selection of a new Trustee)
Also, as a member of SMG, Clive was able to bring his experience of working with a number of differing Senior Management Teams, both within the Charity sector and elsewhere, to encourage the team to adopt collegiate, inclusive ways of working to heal some of the differences that had arisen as a result of the strategy change and management restructure.
David Prince the Director of HR said ' Working closely with Clive allowed me to see what an inspiration he can be. Clive joined us at a very difficult time, big changes taking place and the finance team had lost a Director that they all respected at the very moment they needed stability. Clive was able to strike the balance between taking on the organisational issues as the FD as well as tending to the needs of the finance team. He quickly built up his credibility with both the Senior Management Team and with the people in his finance team. This allowed him to achieve much more than I would have expected from an interim and with greater speed. Clive has left us in a really good position to move forward and I hope that the new FD will be as good an ally as Clive has been in getting the right things, but the hard things, done.'
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