EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Provision of Consultant Services toCommercial and Educational Organizations
Personal Contact Information
NAME: / MOBILE PHONE: / HOME PHONE:Arthur L. Moncrief, MBA, CCS / (334) 328-7743 / (334) 284-4740
Work Contact Information
TITLE: / WORK PHONE: / WORK FAX:President / (334) 649.8062 / (866) 460-9531
EMPLOYER & ADDRESS / WORK EMAIL:
The Cloverdale Group, Inc.
(Same as above) / 600 South Court Street
Montgomery, AL 36104 /
Relevant Employer Data
SavannahStateUniversity is an urban, public, historically black institution located in coastal Georgia driven by five planning themes/focus areas: comparative advantage, institutional capacity building, recruitment and retention, professional development, and image and communication. It is one of 35 institutions comprising the University System of Georgia. Since 1890, it has provided educational opportunities to traditional and non-traditional students regardless of race, for the betterment of the larger community. Residing on 185 acres, the university’s enrollment for Fall 2005 exceeded 3,000 students located among three colleges with more than 54% of those residing on campus. Majors range from Marine Science to Behavioral Analysis. Recently, the institution’s College of Business earned AACSB accreditation, an achievement shared by no more than 500 institutions internationally.
Looking to the future, SavannahStateUniversity proposed the re-establishment of two programs which were lost as a result of regionalization and mission creep: Teacher Education and the MBA Program. Those proposals were forwarded to the Board of Regents’ staff for review and approval. The MBA program is currently fully functioning and it is anticipated that the Teacher Education Program will begin accepting students in the near future which would add immeasurably to the stellar reputation enjoyed by this keystone institution.
Total number of students (if applicable):3,000Total number of faculty (if applicable): 104 positions filled; 30 unfilled positions
Number of academic colleges within the university (if applicable): Three (3): College of Business Administration, College of Science Technology, and College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, with a Center for Teaching, Learning, and Academic Support
Total number employees:454 filled and unfilled positions
The following is a list of areas that I managed and which reported to me: (1) Comptroller’s Office[Accounts Payable, Payroll, Procurement, Auxiliary Services, Bursar, and Accounting Services (General, Plant, Grants & Contracts, Endowment, Loan, and Financial Reporting)]; (2)Budgets (Operating and Capital); (3) Computer Services and Information Technology; (4) Human Resources;(5) PlantOperations (Logistical Services, Buildings, Grounds and Mechanical Maintenance, Facilities and Facilities Planning, and Environmental Services); and (6) Public Safety.
Direct reports or FTEs reporting to me: Six (6) FTEs
Indirect reports or FTEs reporting to me: 114 FTEs
List key organizational committees, etc. on which I served and leadership role(s) I played:
It would be instructive to list relevant organizational committees/task forces on which I have served in the last six years:
KentuckyStateUniversity
Co-Chair, Administrative Review Task Force
Member, Institutional Effectiveness Committee
Member, Planning Process Council
Member, Internal Controls Review Task Force
SavannahStateUniversity
Co-Chair, Computer Utilization & Technology Committee
Chair, Emergency Preparedness Task Force
Principal Member, Budgeting and Planning Committee
Member, Task Force on Retention and Graduation Rates
Member, President’s Cabinet
Chair, Facilities Master Planning Committee
Member, Assessment Steering Committee
University System of Georgia
Member, Regionalization Exploratory Committee
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Member, Visiting Teams for institutional reaffirmation under the new standards
Southern Association of College and University Business Officers (SACUBO)
Director-at large, 2005-2007
Chair and Board Member, ComprehensiveCollege and University Constituent Committee, 2005
National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)
Member, Comprehensive and Doctoral Constituent Council, 2005
Total budget managed: $65,622,105 (Operating Expenses, Personnel Services, Capital, and Proposed Construction for FY 2006) Note: This is the same amount as total revenue shown below.
Revenue: $65,622,105(General Operating, Auxiliary, Special Initiatives, Restricted, Capital Appropriations, and Construction Funds from State Allocations)
Capital Expenses: $915,279 (State Appropriations)Operating Expenses: $17,306,839 (including Scholarship and Fellowships);Personnel Expenses: $26,256,941 (including fringes);Proposed Construction Expenses: $21,143,046;Other: N/A
Education and Experience
Total years of college/university work experience: 26
Total years of administrative/operations management experience: 21
Total years of financial management experience: 21
Other pertinent experience (management/leadership roles, consultant work, etc.):
Treasurer and Board Member, Council Federal Credit Union, Alabama A&M University, 1995-1997
List any degrees earned or professional certifications or designations conferred:
B.S., Accounting (AlabamaStateUniversity); M.B.A. (Troy State University-Montgomery);
Certificate of Completion, College Business Management Institute, University of Kentucky;
and Certificate of Completion, Executive Management Program, PennsylvaniaStateUniversity
Career History
1. As I have progressed in my career, the following provides the background for any changes in employment from one organization to another. I will address briefly the circumstances behind any promotions, advances, transitions, or internal transfers that I have experienced and will explain specifically any gaps in employment history.
U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)
As a result of an interview approximately three months before graduation, I was asked to join GAO-the Atlanta Regional Office - as an Auditor, GS-7. As a “grunt,” I prepared working papers, wrote the results of entrance and exit interviews; and examined data to determine compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations. Within twelve months, I was promoted to GS-9 with basically the same duties, albeit at a higher level. I decided to resign to return to school, using the remainder of my G.I. Bill benefits to defray the cost of school and other operating expenses.
AlabamaStateUniversity (ASU)
The aforementioned G.I. Bill benefits were fine, but by this time, our infant daughter demanded additional income. Accordingly, I applied and was selected as a “go-fer” in Financial Aid at ASU. Apparently, I impressed the Comptroller, who promoted me to the Directorship of Billings and Collections. In this position, I reconstructed the university’s entire Perkins Loan portfolio, interacted with a third-party billing agency, and documented all due diligence requirements. I remained in this position about 12 months.
The Comptroller decided that I had performed admirably inBillings and Collections and asked me to assume a senior accounting position in his office. Possessing what I thought were formidable “bean counting” skills, I thought at the time that I was ready for this challenge. No one prepared me for the chaos one encounters as I entered the world of fund accounting. Because this was a different type of accounting animal to which I was accustomed, I had to spend an inordinate amount of time reading all the literature I could find on accounting for colleges and universities. I must say, however, this position formed the foundation for every position I would occupy in this industry. Among other things, I prepared journal entries, calculated and journalized sales taxes entries, prepared bank reconciliations, and reconciled details to controls.
After a twelve-month period, a raise that was approved by the Vice President was rescinded by the President.I decided to accept an offer from a consulting firm after providing the university the requisite two-week notice.
Young-Robinson Associates, Inc.
In the world of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises consulting, only the strong survived. The firm’s primary business was to ensure that minority contractors (bridge builders, road builders) could eventually become operationally and financially sound.
I entered the picture as an accountant and left as the vice president for administration. My job was to travel to offices in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Florida to ensure that employees were well trained and operating at peak efficiency. In addition, during these visits,I contacted state and local officials to obtain some semblance of a guarantee that my firm would be retained upon the expiration of those contracts.
In this world, when contracts dry up due to changes in the political landscape or other reasons, one has a difficult time putting food on the table. And dry up they did. In 1987, I received a fortuitousphone call from the vice president for business and finance at AlabamaA&MUniversity requesting my services as the university’s chief accountant with a very appealing and steady salary. I accepted his offer.
AlabamaA&MUniversity (AAMU)
The ten years spent at this institution prepared me for the rest of my career in this industry. Although I thought my previous work at Alabama State University set the professional tone, I unabashedly state that the diversity of experiences gained at Alabama A&M surpassed the ASU experience and set into motion a series of professional occurrences which proved to be invaluable in my career.
One might think that I am talking about the technical events during my tenure “on Normal’s Hill.” And while that is true, it is also true that this ten-year period was the time when I began to sharpen my leadership and management skills. I believe that I encountered almost every personnel conflict extant at that time. It became a daily challenge to get people to “want to” use common sense in their everyday professional lives. My mentor and I would meet in his office every morning around 7:00 a.m. and discuss approaches to getting the work done for that day. His advice was always cloaked in maxims. For example, “Always do something today that will help you tomorrow.” And: “Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.” And the one that I will never forget: “Always manage the process; you cannot change people, but you can always change the environment.” When I thought I had become pretty good at these things, I knew it was time to seek a comptrollership. I did not have to actively do so because I received, on an unsolicited basis, an application for the assistant vice president/comptroller’s position back at my alma mater. I went through the vetting process and was ultimately chosen as the successful candidate.
AlabamaStateUniversity (ASU)
I think it was Thomas Wolfe who said, “You Can’t Go Home Again.” Well, he was right! My first comptrollership and I fell into the trap of reacquainting myself with those individuals with whom I had attended college and with whom I associated on the weekends. In a word, disastrous!
After a period of adjustment, however, and letting everyone know that I was not everybody’s friend, I set about to right the financial ship. As a result of applying management techniques and technical skills learned at AAMU, I was able to strengthen the system of internal controls, obtain a clean A-133 audits and a clean financial audit opinion for FY 1999. I did not know it at the time, but the mistakes I made during this period of employment-and I made quite a few-would become springboards for excellence later on.
In October 2000, as I walked into my office around 7:00 a.m., my assistant’s telephone rang. I answered, and it was the human resources director at KentuckyStateUniversity, asking to speak to me about the comptroller’s position at that institution. As I understood it, the vice president at the time was new to the industry and was attempting to recruit a seasoned veteran to assist him in his efforts. I turned him down, but he continued to call during the month of October. Finally, he made me an offer of a two-year contract (January 2001-December 2002) and a more than fair compensation package. I accepted his offer in November 2000.
KentuckyStateUniversity (KSU)
Having done my due diligence on the institution, I arrived on campus in January 2001 with a plan for reorganization and a corrective action plan to make numerous audit findings go away. This would be the first time that I would have the autonomy-within limits-to rebuild/reshape a department that had fallen on hard times. It would be the first time that I would be able to test my operating philosophy with the key ingredients being vision, competency, and integrity.
During this time, I made one crucial hire. I recruited a young man from Tennessee who worked at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. He became my protégé, and we worked night and day for the next year and a half to return the institution to financial respectability. Heeding those sound management principles drummed into me at AAMU, I began to apply them on a consistent basis. As a result, we were very successful, as will be discussed at another location in this executive summary.
After sixteen months, however, trouble reared its ugly head. The vice president began to display insecure characteristics as the President began to seek my advice on a frequent basis. It was at this point that I realized he would not support renewal of my contract when it expired in six months. Long story short,the appropriate thing to do was to seek employment elsewhere.
I applied for one vice presidency through a headhunter and was not given the opportunity to interview. Time was running out. But a chance meeting with a colleague at a SACUBO function changed everything. He advised me that SavannahStateUniversity was seeking a vice president and that I could call the President’s office for guidance on this matter. I did and was told that the announcement was closed-someone had been selected. Persistence paid off, however. I asked the President’s staff person if I could possibly speak to the chair of the search committee. I called the committee chair,and she informed me that, indeed, a selection had been made. To her credit, she asked that I submit my resume anyway. Needless to say, I emailed it to her that same day.
Within two weeks, the chair called me and asked me if I was still interested in the position. I replied in the affirmative and the rest is history. Accomplishments will be discussed at another location in this document.
2. In narrative form, including metrics, I will characterize the overall organization at Savannah State University, the areas or functions for which I was responsible, and the setting in which the organization operated when I first arrived.And,I will contrast this against how it changed as a direct result of my leadership. Note: [I would be more than happy to provide old and reorganized organizational charts reflecting the areas for which I was directly and indirectly responsible].
Upon my arrival in September 2002, SavannahStateUniversity had been without a full-time vicepresident for business and finance since 1999. As a result, the institution was essentially without financial direction. This caused an accumulation of State audit findings (48 current/prior years, in FY 2001) and concern about the adequacy of current policies, procedures, and controls and the abilities of the current staff to meet challenges such as the implementation of the new GASB reporting requirements and the new financial and human resources software. Nine departments were operating as separate entities; therefore, silos were created and collaboration was almost non-existent. Moreover, employee morale was low and relevant training was provided to supervisors, only.
During my tenure, those nine departments were reduced to six functional areas. Since there was dysfunctionality in financial services, I hired a Comptroller (a CPA) to consolidate and manage all financial areas. She and the other five directorswere guided by the division’s strategic planand those developed by them for their units. Each one hadmeasurable goals with action steps to assist in the achievement thereof. Additionally, each developed comprehensive, written policies and procedures to inform internal and external stakeholders about how we conducted business.
With my concurrence, the Comptroller hired an Assistant Comptroller (another CPA) to assist her in the development of a strong system of internal controls, both financially and programmatically, creating an environment of accountability and consequences. It is important to note that before my arrival and in the history of the institution, no CPAs had been hired. As a result of the fine work both have done, the institution enjoyed (during my tenure) unqualified opinions, audit ratings of “3,” up from the worst rating of “5,” and a significant reduction in audit findings. Parenthetically, all audits were conducted by the state auditor’s office.
In all areas of the university for which I was responsible, the focus was on effective and efficient management of resources: “doing the right things right,” using best practices as our guide. Each director was empowered to make decisions related to his/her department and was held accountable for those decisions going forward. Service was our watch word and we concentratedon three elements as we made every effort for continuous improvement: staying focused, staying ahead, and staying positive.
I developed an environment where targeted training was required and in which no divisional employee, including myself, would ever hold the university hostage. I, along with my direct reports, developed succession plans to ensure continuity of operations and purpose.
Throughout the organization, there was a “buzz” about business and finance’s innovations and improvements and how we stipulated that service was our hallmark. Deep and strong collaborations with counterparts in academic affairs, student affairs, and institutional advancement manifested themselves in high-quality outcomes in terms of academic programs and activities, retention and graduation rates, student leadership programs and initiatives, fund raising, and facilities and space planning.
I would be more than happy to discuss details and implications surrounding my tenure at SavannahStateUniversity with appropriate university officials.
3. The following are the 1, 2, and 3professional achievements of which I am most proud.
This brings a smile to my face. Why? Because it does not require much thought. Three events immediately come to mind. They are ranked in descending order.
(3) As mentioned previously, upon my arrival at KentuckyStateUniversity, I found chaos. Within an eighteen
month period, I was fortunate to lead a 180 degree turnaround. Three audits were completed in that time
frame; the disclaimer in FY 1999 became an unqualified opinion in FY 2001; and on-line requisitioning
became a reality. This is when I discovered that my management philosophy had legs and really worked.