WC CFO TheStrategicCFO#44 Online NZ Final - Flipbook - Page 1
Business as EDUCATION
then you get that break
when we get to sit back
and think and put our
minds to strategy,
”
she says.
“There are not many businesses where
you get that chance.”
Leanne Smith, CFO, Ruyton Girls School, walking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu
This means keeping
across policies and
making sure the school
is compliant and meets
its duty of care, so for
something like cyber
policy this is absolutely
critical in managing the
safety of students,
she says.
”
The digital era has redefined education
as much as any sector, and is a major
focus for Leanne.
“Technology is advancing all the time
and what we have to have are adaptable
spaces and make sure the technology we
incorporate has flexibility for change in
the future,” she says.
One of the bellwethers for this
disruption was the introduction of
GST, which required schools to develop
the capability of what had been fairly
manual systems.
“When I first started in schools in 1999,
the focus was the implementation of GST
and that’s one of the first complexities
that came into our finance environment
because the GST wasn’t on everything,”
Leanne says.
Apart from the vagaries of applying
GST – for instance, there’s no GST on
school fees, but it is added to a meal
provided on a school trip – the new tax
heralded more involved accounting.
“Our systems have become much more
complex and able to deal with the
complexities of the school environment,”
she says. “Everything is integrated –
student data and parent data – all in
one place so we can pull down the info
we need to submit government grant
requirements and our financial returns.”
Organisational change is a buzz phrase
in business and the education sector
is no stranger to that. The need for
teaching and support staff to maintain
their expertise is unrelenting, given
students’ familiarity with the latest
technology.
“When I started it was Gen X, now it’s
digital age students – and they are so
far advanced in their knowledge around
technology,” Leanne says.
While the constantly evolving needs
of the school community mean a solid
workload, one of the blessings of the
Business Manager role is the seasonal
nature of the school term.
As a leader, you work
for nine or ten weeks
flat-out focusing on the
operational side, but
There is plenty to discuss on the
strategic side for Leanne: these are
exciting times for Ruyton, which will
soon launch a $30 million-plus building
project. Prior to getting the first shovels
in the ground, fundraising will figure
prominently, and with it the chance to
tackle a disparity in donations between
boys’ and girls’ schools.
Boys’ schools have been
able to establish these
large core funds through
giving of former students
and traditionally girls’
schools haven’t had that
success,
she says.
”
“Traditionally in the past men have been
responsible for the household finances
and making decisions where money goes
– but that’s not so much the case now, so
we hope to change that for our school.”
Leanne is as industrious off-campus
as she is at school: she’s a member
of the Association of School Business
Administrators (ASBA), having just
completed a two-year presidency, and
on the board of Girls Rock Melbourne,
which aims to get more women into the
music industry.
“Giving back to my industry is something
that’s really important to me and a
great opportunity to network,” she says.
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