Page 7 - Harare International School

Finance
2018-19ACTUALBUDGET 2019-20APPROVEDBUDGET
"OnceaWarthog, Alwaysa Warthog"
HIS is a not-for-profit school that is owned by an Association of parents with children enrolled at the school. All revenue goes to support student learning. The two graphs below show the expenditure for 2018-19 and the budget for 2019-20. The largest investment for the school is staffing.
We hear how much parents and teachers appreciate transparency in the use of finances and our authentic not-for-profit status. We are not part of a national or for-profit school group. With intentional, learning-driven, zero-based budgeting, we have been able to move from being a school in debt to a school that can start to build our reserves. Every decision that is made focuses on the tightrope balance between an outstanding educational experience for our students and ensures the school's long -term financial viability.
Financial Achievem ent s in 2018-2019:
Our HISboat was sinking in 2016, heading towards insolvency with a debt of over $3m. There were a number of factors that contributed to this situation. The most significant factor, was the combination of declining enrolment, increasing salaries, and unsustainable budgeting. Interim Director, John Gates, took important steps to start patching the holes in our sinking boat, reducing the debt to $1.2 M. In preparation for the 2019-20 school year, we introduced zero-based budgeting that focuses on balancing a financially viable school with intentional and student-focused spending. This will be our budgeting strategy going forward.
Spending in 2018-19 was aligned with income, and as a result, we are proud to say that as of July 2019 we achieved a balanced budget!
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