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December 16, 2009
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CFO OF THE YEAR
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| Yesterday, we attended The Oscars for accountants—the annual CFO of the Year Awards. The luncheon was held on Day 2 of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs' Not for Profit Organization Symposium at the Mayflower. So, who are the Kate Winslets and Sean Penns of the financial non-profit world? |
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The CFO Lifetime Achievement Award goes to . . . National Science Teachers Association's Moira Fathy Baker. Before Moira joined NSTA 13 years ago, the association had negative net assets. Today, it's at $14.5 million. The CFO-COO also worked with the membership dept. to set up student chapters and create discounts for new teachers. Today, there are 120 student chapters, and students and new teachers make up over 20% of membership. Her latest project: working with developers, architects, and engineers to create a new LEED Platinum headquarters.
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CFO Innovator of the Year: National Geographic Society's Chris Liedel. The CFO/EVP manages a $1 billion investment portfolio that has generated average annual returns of 14% over the last five years. He's found new business income by helping to negotiate a partnership with NewsCorp and NBC to launch the NGS's TV channel. He also helped negotiate the acquisition of publisher Hampton Brown to expand NGS's school publishing business.
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Bob Woodruff Foundation's Alexis George took the Rising Star award. (There’s Bob, former ABC World News anchor, off to the left.) This starlet joined the foundation months after its creation and developed its budgets and financial reporting system, while managing $6M in contribution and grant revenue. Alexis oversaw distribution of $3.4M in spending and has managed to keep administrative expenses to 7%. In congratulating Alexis, Bob said, "If you don't mind, I'd like you to run for President of the United States."
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Former US Comptroller General and current Peter G. Peterson Foundation CEO David Walker gave a keynote on the country's epidemic of debt. He says the real national debt, including Social Security and Medicare, is $56.4 trillion; that's $184,000/person. (David says he normally likes to make his remarks before happy hour because the audience needs a pick-me-up.) He says the US needs a constitutional limit on how much debt it can take on as a percentage of the GDP. Future generations will be footing the bill, and David hit that home by showing photos of his three grandkids: "It's not only fiscally irresponsible, it's immoral and un-American."
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CFOs of Last Year: Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute's Stephanie Murphy, Search for Common Ground's Jack Deeds, and The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington DC's Eileen Frazier. Stephanie says the way to make it from comptroller to CFO is to step outside of your comfort zone, do something new, and volunteer for anything that needs to be done. Jack adds that you need to take a customer service approach to your job, and Eileen agrees: "People don't think of CFOs as relationship people, but they need to be."
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| Send us your story ideas and holiday pictures |
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This newsletter is a journalistic news source which accepts no payment for featured interviews. It is supported by conventional advertisers clearly identified in the right hand column. You have been selected to receive it either through prior contact or professional association. If you have received it in error, please accept our apologies and unsubscribe at bottom of the newsletter. © 2009, Bisnow on Business, Inc., 1323 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036. All rights reserved.
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