What is a dotted line?  It is that broken stripe in an organizational chart which implies association rather than direct reporting.  It is one of the least used yet important parts of an organization.

Well over 20 years ago I began my employment at Canisius College as the Director of Accounting.  This position is now called the Associate Controller.  Long story later, I am the Athletic Business Manager and still report to the Controller.  My dotted line connects me to the Athletic Director.  This is very unusual in the intercollegiate athletics world.  My office is located in athletics (so close to the gym I get that wonderful popcorn smell every game day) and to most they would not know the dotted line connection.

In many institutions nearly 10% of the budget is dedicated to athletic institutional support yet many schools have little or no communication between the institutional business office and athletics.  Rather than the constant conflict between Athletics and Business & Finance, I believe we have created a culture of fiscal integrity.  The coaches and staff are accountable and we are flexible in anticipation of the unique situations that arise on a regular basis in athletics.

It just does not make organizational sense to leave such a large proportion of our budget in the hands of people who may not understand the institutional accounting system or financial reporting. 

I am very curious to hear about how you handle this issue.  Do you have a dotted line?  Is your direct supervisor physically located in your office area?  Is there cooperation between institutional business and athletics or do you struggle with the relationship?

Jude Russo Caserta

AthleticBudgetCoach.com

Twitter: JudeCaserta

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