How has the role of CFO evolved over the past few years as a result of increased scrutiny from state and federal regulators and corporate governance requirement?
Seabury is a not-for-profit faith based continuing care retirement community. As such, we provide housing and a continuum of health care services. This industry has become highly regulated and scrutinized. As a Medicare and Medicaid licensed facility, we are subject to numerous financial audits and are required to submit a variety of annual reports to both state and federal authorities. New to the industry is the revised federal tax form 990 that has become very detailed and complex. It now takes us up to seven months after our year-end period to submit all regulatory reporting. Our board of directors has become increasingly informed about governance regulatory compliance and has required more as a result.
What talents and credentials do you perceive as essential for a CFO to be qualified and succeed in today’s business environment?
Today’s CFO must be continuously aware of what is going on in his or her industry. We do this by attending industry specific seminars, networking with peers, discussing financial issues with public auditors and other consultants, and implementing appropriate recommendations. The CFO must listen to his or her customers and respond to their concerns in a timely manner. Most importantly, the CFO must work closely with staff, fellow managers, and the board of directors and be available to assist them.
How has today’s difficult economy affected your role as CFO?
During this recession, we have been faced with decreased revenues caused by reduced earnings on our investments. To offset this, we have been minimizing our expenses in a variety of ways such as working with our vendors to eliminate or drastically reduce cost increases. We have implemented an efficiency program reducing overtime and consolidating staffing positions. Seabury has also initiated new revenue streams such as increased fund raising activity through the Seabury Charitable Foundation and we are now in the second year of our Seabury At Home program that enables seniors in the Greater Hartford Community to secure their future with life care while living in their homes.
What are the top challenges you face in your role as CFO?
In this tough economy, obviously our number one challenge is to work toward continuing the financial viability of Seabury. Church Home of Hartford Inc., our parent corporation, has been in business since 1876, and has always provided quality services and care. Historically, they have been financially sound. That legacy must be preserved by prudent financial stewardship. Equally important is to secure financial strength by responding to the changing needs of our residents. The key to our business is to maintain high occupancy. Seabury does this very well and maintains a significant wait list. Responding to our residents’ concerns is the force behind our high occupancy rate.
We are currently dealing with a unique challenge due to a fire that occurred in our community in July. Fortunately, no one was injured, but we are now working with displaced residents, their insurance companies, our insurance company, and tracking fire related lost revenue and expenses. Numerous meetings have been coordinated to ensure that all parties’ concerns are being properly attended to. Most importantly, we are focusing on displaced residents’ needs to ensure they are addressed appropriately and quickly.
An annual challenge we face is the level of work that goes into ensuring we accurately report data for our contracted actuarial study. Based on federal and accounting principles, the earnings that we report on the entrance fees we receive must be properly amortized. Developing the necessary data for this report is tedious and time consuming, but must be very precise.
A final challenge is enusring that we continue recognizing and retaining our very professional staff at Seabury. We have been successful in recruiting excellent employees. Their daily efforts and caring attitudes are what make Seabury a very special place.
What aspects of your role bring you the most job satisfaction?
It may be perceived as corny, but listening to and assisting our residents and their families with their concerns and financial questions is the most gratifying part of my work. My parents instilled in me a deep respect for my elders. Seabury has enabled me to engage this timeless character trait.
Seeing how the Seabury staff daily performs their jobs is also quite pleasing. Some of our job duties are not very glamorous, but I admire each staffer’s positive and pleasant approach to his or her tasks which makes our residents feel very comfortable and well cared for.
A final area of great enjoyment is the interaction here between residents and staff. This occurs in a variety of activities at Seabury, but the event I enjoy the most is our bi-annual resident-staff show. I have had the pleasure of writing and participating in this Seabury tradition for seventeen years. The show brings laughter and joy to everyone in the community and is an incredible morale booster and team builder. We are blessed to be able to give this gift back to our community every other year.
Name: Steven F. Yanofsky
Title: Vice President of Finance
Company: Seabury Retirement Community
Company headquarters: Bloomfield
Age: 61
Hometown: West Hartford
Education/Credentials: B.A., Mathematics, MBA, University of Maine; Certified Aging Services Professional, University of North Texas – American Association of Homes
