School Business Insider
Episode: The Strategic CFO: Moving Beyond Compliance
Host: John Brucato
Guest: Anaf Tamid, CFO, South Bend Community School Corporation
Date: January 13, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the evolving role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in school districts, exploring how finance leaders can move beyond traditional compliance-based functions to become strategic partners and capacity builders. Anaf Tamid shares real-world examples, challenges, and actionable strategies from his tenure as CFO in Indiana's South Bend Community School Corporation, spotlighting practical ways school business officials can drive districtwide transformation, optimize resources, and strengthen stakeholder trust.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Challenging the Traditional CFO Paradigm

• Motivation: Anaf was driven by frustration with the view of CFOs as the "department of no," merely gatekeepers ensuring compliance and saying "no" due to budget constraints. He asserts:

  “We are often viewed as the department of no... I wrote this article because I believe that is often not the only choice that we, the finance professionals, have.” (02:14)

• Shift in Mindset: He argues for seeing CFOs as strategic partners, not just "glorified accountants," actively uncovering hidden capacity in fixed budgets.

2. From Compliance to Capacity Building

• Beyond Compliance: Compliance (e.g., paying bills, payroll, audits) is the floor, not the ceiling. Focusing only on compliance causes districts to miss opportunities to optimize and reallocate resources.
• Defining Capacity:

  “I define capacity as resource optimization… ensuring you’re spending $300 million and actually getting $300 million value—or even more.” (06:10)

• Approach: Anaf's team didn’t seek new revenue, but reclaimed inefficiencies, reallocated funds from low-impact areas (e.g., overpriced contracts) to high-impact priorities (e.g., teacher salaries).

3. Strategies for Small Offices & Bandwidth Constraints

• Professional Development: Invest in continual staff learning not just on compliance, but also on strategy.
• Automation & AI:

  “We…do a lot of things using AI like Gemini or ChatGPT to automate the things we previously did manually.” (10:35)
  For example: Automating invoice processing to free up time for strategic work.

• Modern Systems: Leverage updated ERP and financial systems to enable efficient processes and mass transactions.

4. Implementing Change: Overcoming Resistance

• Case 1: Healthcare Optimization
  • Discovered double-digit annual premium hikes.
  • Switched insurance after 20 years, saving $10 million without reducing benefits (deductibles and premiums went down).
• Case 2: Custodial Insourcing
  • Ended a $21 million/year facilities contract; insourced services, saving $5 million.
• Engaging Stakeholders:

  “Open communication here is the key. We had meetings after meetings… we engaged the unions and we did it like way before time. The key here is…people are involved and they feel that, hey, I have a buy in.” (16:47)

• Building Trust: Successes built leadership capital, facilitating future buy-in for bold decisions.

5. Becoming a Strategic Partner

• Role of the CFO:

  “Being in the room when the major district decisions are being made, not just when the bill comes due.” (21:57)

• Engagement: Prepare data-driven, audience-tailored presentations for cabinet and board to ensure alignment and strategic clarity.
• Stakeholder Transparency: Conduct frequent public presentations, budget sessions, and open Q&A to build community trust.

6. Long-Range Financial Planning

• Scenario Planning: Created 5-year financial plans showing outcomes with/without ongoing tax referendum ($32 million/year set to sunset in 2028).
• Capital Projects Planning: Mapped out capital needs for aging buildings, clarifying realistic project pathways within fiscal capacity.
• Community Support:

  “This transparency…definitely helps. When taxpayers see that you are steering in the right direction, they won’t mind giving a few extra dollars and help you get a referendum renewal.” (30:32)

7. Connecting Finance to Student Outcomes

• Instructional Impact:

  “Our goal is to maximize student outcomes…everything we do has to somehow connect to better instructional outcomes and better student impact.” (32:27)

• ROI in Education: District investments (e.g., teacher raises) are directly linked to research-backed improvements in student achievement.
• Strategic Allocation: Ensure all financial decisions ultimately translate into measurable instructional gains, not just headline wins.

8. Critical Skills for the Modern Strategic CFO

• Beyond Technical Finance: Master skills in business analytics, coding, data analysis, and leverage AI tools.
• Professional Development for Teams: Fund and encourage staff to pursue certifications, analytics courses, and AI upskilling.
• Networking:

  “We’re not competing with each other…we are here to help each other out.” (40:38)
  Anaf values knowledge sharing nationally, not just within his state.

9. Advice for Starting the Shift

• Start with One Big Win: Don’t overhaul everything at once.

  “Pick one contract, one area, one inefficiency…dig deep, analyze it, utilize data driven techniques...present a solution that generates savings and connects to student outcomes.” (42:04)

• Build Political Capital: Success in one area fosters trust, enabling broader strategic initiatives.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Our job…is only to balance ledger. But I believe, I mean, those are like the floor, not the ceiling that we can and we should try to achieve.” – Anaf Tamid (04:06)
• “Compliance…gets everything by the book. But capacity is asking, is that the right option going forward?” – Anaf Tamid (13:17)
• “Once you have proven yourself that you are a strategist… it gets easier.” – Anaf Tamid (19:05)
• “Long range financial planning is very much needed…because the board and the superintendent needed to know that we will need a referendum renewal to sustain what we are doing right now.” – Anaf Tamid (25:21)
• “The strategist mindset definitely helped us… because if we were truly accountants… at the end, I mean, you will not get a referendum renewal because you were not strategic enough.” – Anaf Tamid (31:28)
• “You have to close the loop. If you only generate savings, good, but those savings have to connect to better student outcomes somehow.” – Anaf Tamid (42:19)

Key Timestamps of Important Segments

• 01:50 – 03:29: Challenging the traditional role of the CFO and introduction to capacity building.
• 06:10 – 09:08: Definition of capacity and strategies to optimize resources.
• 10:35 – 11:55: Use of AI and automation in daily finance operations.
• 12:35 – 18:23: Real-world examples: Healthcare and custodial savings, the politics of change management.
• 21:57 – 24:46: What it means to be a strategic partner with the superintendent and board.
• 25:21 – 30:32: Long-range planning, referendums, and community transparency.
• 32:27 – 36:22: Tying financial priorities to instructional outcomes.
• 36:22 – 41:38: Critical skills and professional development for staff; the importance of networking.
• 41:55 – 43:30: Practical advice for CFOs looking to break out of compliance-only mode.

Conclusion

Anaf Tamid underscores the transformative potential of school finance leadership when moving beyond compliance into strategic territory. By optimizing existing resources, investing in people and technology, engaging stakeholders transparently, and always tying financial decisions to student outcomes, CFOs can drive profound and lasting impact in their districts. The pathway to strategic influence begins with one targeted success—which breaks the inertia of compliance and establishes trust for bigger, bolder innovation.

For those who want to make the leap from accountant to strategic partner in school business, this episode provides inspiration, actionable frameworks, and proof that the journey is both possible and rewarding.