As the year winds down and your finance team fields last-minute reports, board meeting materials, and budget questions, it's worth asking: is your organization's relationship with money working?

In this episode, I sit down with Sean Hale, founder of Nonprofit CFOs, to talk about what healthy financial management really looks like. We dig into why year-end is a particularly tough time for nonprofit administrative teams, why sharing bad financial news builds more trust than hiding it, and how visual dashboards can transform a disengaged board into strategic partners.

Sean also challenges some conventional wisdom that caught me off guard- like why a fifth-grade math teacher might make a better treasurer than a CPA, and when running a deficit is actually a sign of smart leadership.

Whether you're prepping for year-end board meetings or rethinking how your team engages with finances heading into the new year, this conversation is full of practical shifts you can make right now.