WHO IS ACCREDITED?

    Private Organization Accreditation

    Sweetser, a Maine non-profit agency operating since 1828, provides comprehensive mental and behavioral health and substance abuse treatment services. Statewide, it serves around 15,000 consumers a year, including children, adults, and families in outpatient, office-based, and residential settings.
    read more >>

    ORGANIZATION TESTIMONIAL

    Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Inc.

    Donna Mathews, Associate Director

    Becoming accredited and maintaining our accreditation through COA has helped us increase our professionalism and thereby provide better services to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence survivors.
    read more>>

    Purpose

    The for-profit organization ensures accountability through effective administration and management, and sound financial management practices that are in accord with legal and regulatory requirements.

    CA-AFM 7: Financial Planning

    Planning for the current fiscal cycle is organization-wide and involves key stakeholders. 

    Related

    Interpretation: Organizations should develop or utilize a financial planning model that provides a framework for:

    1. determining the financial impact of strategic initiatives and longer term financial goals;
    2. clarifies the linkage between planning and budget resource allocation decisions; and 
    3. supports and promotes long-term financial sustainability.  

    Rating Indicators
    1
    The organization's practices fully meet the standard, as indicated by full implementation of the practices outlined in the CA-AFM 7 Practice standards.
    2
    Practices are basically sound but there is room for improvement, as noted in the ratings for the CA-AFM 7 Practice standards.
    3
    Practice requires significant improvement, as noted in the ratings for the CA-AFM 7 Practice standard.
    4
    Implementation of the standard is minimal or there is no evidence of implementation at all, as noted in the ratings for the CA-AFM 7 Practice standards. 

    Table of Evidence

    Self-Study Evidence On-Site Evidence On-Site Activities
      • Annual budget
      • Budget planning procedures
      • List of revenue sources with percentage of each to total budget
      • Sample of monthly analysis of financial performance (CA-AFM 7.04)
      • Operating reserves policy (CA-AFM 7.04)
      • Sample of unit cost analysis and description of methodology (CA-AFM 7.05)
      • See long-term or strategic plan
      • Interview:
        1. Owner
        2. CEO or designee
        3. CFO
        4. Senior managers
        5. Finance personnel

    • CA-AFM 7.01

      An annual budget serves as a plan for managing the organization’s financial resources.

      Rating Indicators
      1
      The organization's practices reflect full implementation of the standard.
      2
      Practices are basically sound but there is room for improvement; e.g., 
      • The annual budget serves as a plan for managing the organization's financial resources but lacks sufficient information for some departments and/or programs.
      3
      Practice requires significant improvement; e.g.,
      • The written budget is insufficient in detail or clarity to serve as a plan for managing its financial resources.
      4
      The organization does not have a written budget or the budget is not sufficient to serve as a plan for managing the organization's resources.

    • CA-AFM 7.02

      The organization pursues stable, predictable sources of revenue through diversification and balance in funding streams consistent with the organization’s purpose and programs.

      Interpretation: Organizations meet the intent of the standard if they can demonstrate that they are actively pursuing stable and predictable sources of revenue, even if they have not yet achieved that goal.  

      Rating Indicators
      1
      The organization's practices reflect full implementation of the standard.
      2
      Practices are basically sound but there is room for improvement; e.g.,
      • The organization makes active efforts to diversify or strengthen resources but still relies primarily on one or two major funding sources.
      3
      Practice requires significant improvement; e.g.,
      • Minimal efforts have been made to expand, diversify or strengthen the organization’s resource base.
      4
      The organization has no “fall-back” position and has made little or no effort to protect itself from the consequences of dependence on a single source of revenue.

    • CA-AFM 7.03

      The annual planning and budget cycle includes participation of management and other relevant organization participants, and is based on: 

      1. direct and indirect operating expenditures; 
      2. contractual requirements; 
      3. changing costs and conditions; and
      4. anticipated revenue for the program year.

      Rating Indicators
      1
      The organization's practices reflect full implementation of the standard.
      2
      Practices are basically sound but there is room for improvement; e.g.,
      • Budget planning is based on priorities, a realistic appraisal of funding, and costs, but the process could be made more comprehensive or changing conditions could be better addressed.
      3
      Practice requires significant improvement; e.g., 
      • The budget planning process is not comprehensive or formalized in one of the standard's elements.
      4
      Implementation of the standard is minimal or there is no evidence of implementation at all.

    • CA-AFM 7.04

      Financial information is routinely analyzed and the information includes: 

      1. a monthly and annual analysis of financial performance against budget projection with budget-to-actual variance analyses performed on interim financial statements of activities; 
      2. cash reserves in alignment with an operating reserves policy;
      3. service revenues and actual service delivery costs; and 
      4. an annual inventory of significant assets, including securities. 

      Rating Indicators
      1
      The organization's practices reflect full implementation of the standard.
      2
      Practices are basically sound but there is room for improvement; e.g.,
      • The organization routinely analyzes financial information but is not always stringent about comparing it with data about actual service delivery costs; or
      • Financial analyses are conducted quarterly and annually.
      3
      Practice requires significant improvement; e.g.,
      • Analysis of financial performance is not performed at least quarterly; or
      • Is not done annually; or
      • The organization does not analyze service revenue information and service delivery costs.
      4
      Implementation of the standard is minimal or there is no evidence of implementation at all; e.g.,
      • The organization makes no attempt to either keep adequate service revenue information or to analyze it.

    • CA-AFM 7.05

      The organization annually conducts a cost analysis of its services and uses the information to: 

      1. analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of operations and service delivery; and
      2. monitor trends, current activities and changes in costs;

      Interpretation: Examples of measures related to cost analysis include:

      • the fixed and variable costs of each unit of service at each program and service delivery site; 
      • the average costs or charges of treatment or services for identified groups of consumers; and
      • the contribution of services to the overall revenue base.

      Rating Indicators
      1
      The organization's practices reflect full implementation of the standard.
      2
      Practices are basically sound but there is room for improvement; e.g.,
      • The organization analyzes the comprehensive unit cost of providing each of its services less than annually but at least every two years; or
      • The organization uses the information in only one of the two listed areas.
      3
      Practice requires significant improvement; e.g.,
      • The organization analyzes the unit cost of providing each of its services less regularly than every two years.
      4
      The organization does not analyze the unit cost of providing its services.
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