Developing a comprehensive and compliant business office policies manual is no light task. The base document that NBOA created for our members spans more than 80 pages. In the age of generative AI, it may be tempting to call up a policy to add to your school’s business office manual or even develop an entire collection of policies. But can you trust what a general-purpose tool delivers? Whatever a generative AI tool spits out must be checked and vetted.
That’s why NBOA’s Controllers Council along with NBOA staff developed the Business Office Policies and Procedures resource hub, released this past summer. Scott Cohen, controller at The Madeira School, generously provided a base manual, while the Council sourced additional policies for consideration. The work has been vetted by four leading accounting firms that know independent school business — Armanino, CLA, Forvis Mazars and PFK O’Connor Davies — so members can rest assured the policies collectively and individually are sound.
If you’re looking for specific policy examples in areas such as payroll, tuition and financial aid, purchasing cards or endowment, NBOA staff has curated examples in dozens of areas from across the NBOA website, provided by fellow members and business partners.
The resulting resource page includes a Word document that can serve as a template for a new manual; a PDF with extensive comments outlining considerations and additional resources; and a checklist that helps business leaders track what policies are up to date, which need attention and which need development. If you’re looking for specific policy examples in areas such as payroll, tuition and financial aid, purchasing cards or endowment, NBOA staff has curated examples in dozens of areas from across the NBOA website, provided by fellow members and business partners.
This robust resource, the work of many months and many hands, is available exclusively to NBOA members as a member benefit. What our members have generously shared, we have organized, assessed and curated to both lighten your load and improve your processes.
