Relationships Key in Strategic Plan

State Board Report

December 2015

NASBA is continuing its regular cycle of strategic and operational planning that ensures the organization stays focused on its core mission to "enhance the effectiveness and advance the common interests of the Boards of Accountancy." In late 2014, then NASBA Chair Walter C. Davenport, appointed a 14-member task force to review and revise NASBA’s strategic plan. The goal was to ensure the strategic plan reflects the current priorities and objectives of the organization and its member boards. The task force consisted of four members of the Board of Directors, four sitting State Board members, two State Board executive directors and four members of the NASBA staff. In early October 2015, the Strategic Planning Task Force completed its work, and the revised plan was presented to the NASBA Board of Directors. It was approved at the Board’s October 23, 2015 meeting in Dana Point, CA.

The updated plan adds several new areas of emphasis for NASBA. Key changes include:

• Increased emphasis on the importance of building strong relationships with the member Boards as well as other stakeholders and business partners,
• More focus on NASBA’s advocacy role on behalf of the Boards of Accountancy,
• Addition of diversity and inclusion among NASBA leadership, volunteers and member Boards as a key organizational objective,
• Expanded legislative and regulatory support,
• Addition of support for the CPA candidate pipeline,
• Addition of leadership development as a critical element in developing NASBA volunteers and member Boards,
• Emphasis on identifying and responding to emerging issues that impact the regulatory work of the boards, and the profession.

"The new strategic plan, which covers the 2016-2019 period, will guide NASBA’s internal planning efforts," President and CEO Ken L. Bishop stated. Each year NASBA engages in an operational planning program that aligns the organization’s business units efforts with the strategic plan.

As each business unit builds its annual plan it must demonstrate how its goals align with the broader mission of NASBA and the strategic priorities defined in the current strategic plan. "This planning work helps NASBA continue to be ‘mission driven – member focused’," Mr. Bishop commented.