Financial Management Seminars for Artistic Directors - Expressions of Interest Open
Expressions of interest are now open for a series of three half day seminars presented by John Paxinos. The seminars will cover all the financial skills needed to effectively and efficiently manage your Arts organisation.
Event Details:
Dates: Budgeting 16 July 2024 | Cashflow 23 July 2024 | Balance Sheet 30 July 2024
Session Time: All seminars run Tuesday afternoon from 1.00pm to 4.30pm
Cost: The value of each scholarship is $990, the full cost of each position will be sponsored by Auspicious Arts Projects Inc.
Venue: CY Space, Collingwood Yards - 35 Johnston St, Collingwood VIC 3066
How to apply: To apply for a free position please submit an expression of interest form by 5:00pm Friday 31 May 2024
Note: Participants need to be available for all sessions.
Successful applicants will be notified by Monday 10 June 2024.Application Link: EOI Financial Management Seminars for Artistic Directors
Session 1: Budgeting
Accurate budgeting is essential to the success of any organisation. As well as being a financial document it is the financial representation of the companies creative and strategic aspirations. To properly understand the budget process, we need to look at the internal dynamics of the company and what options there are to address the creative and financial challenges we face? Most importantly how do you plan for financial sustainability? Then once established, how do you use the budget as a financial management tool throughout the year? This session will provide you with the practical tools necessary to create and manage your essential budgets.
Session 2: Cashflow
Cashflow is often the neglected companion of budgeting. It is not really important until it is important and then it is incredibly important. To properly understand and prepare accurate Cashflow documents you need to have a solid understanding of the organisation and its Cashflow patterns. You also need to understand how various accrual accounting adjustments impact on available cash. How is it that the budget is in surplus but the company is running out of cash? And when a Cashflow crunch hits what are the strategies you need to use to work through it and come out the other side still able to operate. This session will equip you with tools and templates that can be used to create your essential Cashflow forecasts.
Session 3: The Balance Sheet
The balance sheet is the record of every transaction the organisation has made over its entire history. Not only does it show us where we are at this point in time it can show us how we got here. Understanding the individual components that make up the Balance Sheet gives insight into the financial strength and weaknesses of the company. It is also important to understand how to re-configure the Balance Sheet so as to show Working Capital and other measures of the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses. The Balance Sheet is also the focus of the Audit so we will be looking at that process in some detail. This session will equip you with the knowledge to properly understand the relationship between the Balance sheet and the Statement of Income and Expenditure and the ability to read any companies Balance Sheet.
Teaching Methodology
The course is limited to twelve participants who are in Artistic Management roles in Arts organisations but do not have any formal accounting training. John is not an accountant and this is not a series of accounting seminars. It addresses some of the management challenges facing Artistic Directors through the lens of financial management.
All sessions are conducted around the boardroom table and participants are encouraged to engage in a conversation around each topic. Case study examples are used to demonstrate how the teachings apply in a real-world context. Chatham House rules apply and participants are able to bring up issues specifically related to their organisation for discussion with the whole group or one on one with John.
About the presenter
John Paxinos began his career in Arts Management in 1980 when he was appointed as the General Manager of the Murray River Performing Group and Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury-Wodonga. He was a member of the board when the company was first established and took on the role of GM at the end of the first year of the company’s operations. He worked there for six years.
He then received funding from the Victoria Ministry for the Arts and the Australia Council to study for two years’ full time at Monash University for an MBA. The key argument for funding was that he would develop sustainable business models for arts organisations.
John Paxinos & Associates Pty Ltd was established in 1988 and has been providing management and consulting services to Arts Organisations continuously since then.
John Paxinos & Associates Pty Ltd are based in Melbourne and most of their work is here however they have undertaken work throughout Australia and New Zealand. The majority of their work is with Not-for-Profit Arts companies however they have worked in the Entertainment and Film and Television sectors. They have worked for some big arts organisations, a lot of arts companies in the small to medium sector and a number of start-ups. They have also undertaken commissions for Government Funding bodies and Local Councils.