This is the first in a series of blogs on what we are doing to serve our beneficiaries and community even better, how we are strengthening our work, and how our approach has become one of the preferred models for pooled special needs trusts at the national level.
Our Highest Priority: Careful Management of Beneficiary Assets
Nothing is more important to us than protecting, managing, and growing the financial assets of our beneficiaries. This, coupled with our philosophy of person-centered services (stay tuned for next month’s blog on that topic), is the core of our mission. The Shared Horizons Board of Directors and Staff are honored to serve as fiduciaries for our beneficiaries. We are committed to acting in their best interests by adhering to public and private best practices and protocols, including the following:
Beneficiary accounts are closely monitored by a Trust Administrator, Sr. Trust Administrator, Director of Trust Services, and the Director of Finance.
Beneficiary accounts are reconciled monthly by the Director of Finance, adhering to industry accounting principles, and reports are shared with Shared Horizon’s leadership team and Finance Committee.
The Board of Directors exercises extensive oversight over finances through monthly meetings of the Finance Committee. That committee reviews account reconciliations, profit and loss reports generated through the accounting system, and advisor financial statements. The Finance Committee reports to the Board of Directors, which meets bi-monthly.
The Finance Committee includes public and private business sector financial experts.
Shared Horizons engages an external accounting firm to file annual IRS forms and documents.
Shared Horizons conducts periodic and thorough financial audits through an external accounting firm.
The Shared Horizons Finance team has instituted various cross-department checks and balances to ensure beneficiary assets are protected and documented, including logging every check received by the administrative department, deposits by the finance department, and verification of receipt to the beneficiary by the trust department.
The Board of Directors enforces strict policies prohibiting conflicts of interest so that no board or staff member ever benefits personally from Shared Horizons decisions.
Shared Horizons delegates the investment of accounts to professional financial managers and advisors vetted by the Shared Horizons Finance Committee and approved by the Shared Horizons Board of Directors. Investments are managed based on the Shared Horizons Investment Policy, which conforms to the Prudent Investors Act. The Finance Committee performs reviews of these investments with our financial manager.
Shared Horizons maintains broad insurance policies that protect assets from cyber-attacks, errors and omissions, criminal activity, and commercial liabilities.
In addition to these processes and protocols, Shared Horizons prioritizes ongoing professional development at every level, and we invest time and funds to ensure the organization stays current on best practices related to pooled special needs trust management.
We look forward to continuing to serve our beneficiaries and the broader community.
Please always feel free to contact us at 202-448-1460 or by email at info@shared-horizons.org.
Visit our website at www.shared-horizons.org for more information.
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