Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
About the role
The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA), the private fundraising and alumni relations organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is recruiting for a Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Responsibilities
Affords organizational performance against both the annual budget and the organization’s long-term strategy.
Develops tools and systems to provide critical financial and operational information to the President and CEO and makes actionable recommendations.
Advises the President and CEO on recommendations for key business model parameters such as the institutional advancement fees, spend plan, chargeback rates, enterprise-level liquidity management and interest payments on the short-term investment pool (STIP).
Develops financial business plans and forecasts in alignment with organizational strategy.
Advises the President and CEO on setting appropriate risk levels for the short-term investment pool (STIP) and owns the financial risk management system and processes in alignment with CEO direction.
Directs the development, implementation and maintenance of financial policies and accounting controls; ensures compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards.
Serves as an in-house compliance expert; analyzes, interprets, and implements FASB and other regulatory directives, and proposes changes to improve or enhance current accounting practices.
Coordinates closely with the Foundation’s investment team (WISIMCO) on risk management, internal controls, and compliance matters.
Oversees all financial accounts, ledgers, and reporting systems, ensuring compliance with appropriate GAAP and regulatory requirements.
Maintains internal control safeguards and coordinates all audit activities.
Oversees budgeting and the implementation of budgets to monitor progress and present financial metrics both internally and externally.
Leads, supervises, and develops staff, fostering a shared vision, acting as a role model, and demonstrating the Foundation’s values.
Works effectively across a matrixed environment, partnering with campus finance departments and other internal stakeholders to build trust, alignment, and effective gift fund stewardship.
Advise the President and CEO on the appropriate rate of growth in advancement operations and levels of reserves, while ensuring the business model can deliver on long-range objectives.
Develops and utilizes forward-looking, predictive models and activity-based financial analyses to provide insight into operations and business plans.
Designs, implements, and maintains operating policies and procedures to ensure gift/other revenue transactions are recorded in the customer relationship management (CRM) system on an accurate and timely basis, consistent with donor intent, core WFAA objectives, and industry standards.
Provides strategic oversight of the STIP and oversees consolidated investment accounting and reporting across WFAA’s investment pools, applying a strong understanding of financial markets and serving in an internal fiduciary role.
Oversees asset-liability management for the STIP, implementing approved risk parameters, including asset allocation across tiers, ensuring alignment between investment strategy, liquidity needs, and financial obligations within a complex financial environment.
Coordinates with WISIMCO on the spending distribution and liquidity planning and ensures investment results are accurately integrated into the consolidated financial statements and regulatory reporting.
Engages the President and CEO and the Budget committee of the Board of Directors to develop short, medium, and long-term financial plans and projections.
Serves as the primary liaison to the Budget and Audit Committees and STIP subcommittee.
Delivers clear financial reporting, analysis, and intuitive dashboards that translate complex data for Board members, leaders, and stakeholders, supporting informed governance and fiduciary oversight.
Leads and implements transformative initiatives, such as accounting system conversions, to improve the efficiency of financial and reporting systems.
Designs and implements effective internal controls to help ensure all gift revenue is properly recorded, reported, and receipted/acknowledged in the CRM system, as well as to help ensure the accuracy of accounting data exported to the accounting system.
Qualifications
10+ years of financial leadership experience encompassing accounting, compliance, financial reporting, and treasury management, with a strong track record of analyzing financial information and informing senior leadership decision-making.
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience required; Master’s degree and CPA preferred.