Your finance lead just resigned: a 30-day plan for executive directors
It happens to almost every nonprofit eventually. Your finance director gives notice, and suddenly the person who knew where everything lived is leaving. Here’s a practical plan for the next 30 days, before, during and right after their departure.
Days 1 to 5: Protect the basics
Secure access. List every system the finance lead uses: the bank, accounting software, payroll, the card program, bill pay, the donor database and state filing portals. Make sure at least two people at your organization, usually you and a board officer, have admin access. Plan to remove the departing person’s access on their last day.
Check bank signers and approvals. Who can move money? Update signers and payment approvals now, not after they leave.
Ask for a handover list. Ask for recurring tasks, deadlines, passwords stored in a shared password manager (not in an email), open issues and anything that’s behind.
Days 6 to 15: Capture what they know
Book handover sessions. Ask them to walk through the monthly close, payroll and the next 90 days of deadlines while they’re still on the team. Record the sessions if they agree.
Gather the calendar. Look for these dates:
- payroll dates and payroll tax filings
- the audit timeline and the auditor’s contact person
- the Form 990 due date
- state charitable registration renewals
- grant reports and drawdowns
- insurance and contract renewals
- board and finance committee meetings
Find the files. Make sure reconciliations, audit workpapers, grant files and budgets are saved in a shared location the organization controls, not on a personal drive.
Days 16 to 30: Keep things running
Cover the essentials. Payroll, paying bills and depositing receipts can’t stop. Decide who handles each, even temporarily.
Tell the board treasurer. Keep them informed. They can help with oversight and approvals during the gap.
Hold the close. Try to keep the monthly close going, even if it’s simpler for a month or two. Falling several months behind is much harder to fix.
Talk to your auditor. If your audit is coming up, let your auditor know about the change early.
Then: decide what you actually need
A resignation is a chance to rethink the role. Ask yourself:
- Do we need a full-time person, or senior help part-time?
- Is the problem day-to-day bookkeeping, or leadership-level work like reporting, budgeting and audit preparation?
- What does the board need that it hasn’t been getting?
Many organizations find that a part-time, senior lead plus a strong bookkeeper costs less than a full-time hire and brings more experience.
How we help
We step in as your outsourced CFO and controller. We start with a Financial Operations Assessment so nothing falls through the cracks, then we keep the close, reporting and deadlines on track.