Since completing my terms of service on the SCA Board, I have refrained from attending board meetings. Yet, I attended the January meeting of the SCA Board to see and hear the presentation on the 2022 year-end financial statements. As I stated at the meeting, I found the financial statement presentations contained the right amount of detail and were in a format that a non-accountant could understand. I also found the CFO’s oral comments helpful and displayed a knowledge of “details behind the numbers”.
Once the independent audit for 2022 is complete, a comparison of the unaudited 2022 financial statements and the audited financial statements will validate the accuracy of the unaudited 2022 financial statements presented in January. Furthermore, the independent auditor’s report on internal controls will serve as a benchmark of the reliability of the SCA accounting process. Because of the work of the Audit Committee and the Finance Committee, I expect the auditor’s reports will validate both the financial statements and reliability of SCA internal controls. Until the 2022 audit is complete, I suggest keeping doubts about the unaudited financial statements or the capability of the CFO on hold. SCA has bigger fish to fry.
I agree with the criticism regarding “title inflation” at SCA. The responsibilities and work performed by SCA’s “CFO” are more consistent with those in a job description for a controller (aka chief accounting officer). But, it is unfair to blame the CFO or criticize her for the deficiency. Instead, the Board should be held accountable for the lack of a personnel policy that includes an independently developed staffing chart with appropriate job titles. It is nonsense that an inflated title is necessary to attract a qualified person to manage SCA accounting and reporting operations, particularly at SCA’s compensation levels.
Criticism needs to be more carefully aimed to hit the target. As in many case, the SCA Board of Directors should be the target.