Increased financial expertise focused on divisions, local sections, and other component groups

The Committee on Budget and Finance (B&F) in 2000 was not the same as it was in 1893 when it was first formed, and B&F in 2026 cannot be the same as it was in 2000. Global financial markets and geopolitical uncertainties mandate that the American Chemical Society has agile structures and processes to manage its complicated financial portfolio in 2026. Increased needs of member component groups—such as local sections and divisions—in managing their financial resources mandate that ACS provide easily accessible guidance and information.

B&F must continue to evolve to best serve the society, its members, and the chemistry enterprise. Two previous Comments by Natalie LaFranzo that appeared in C&EN in May 2025 and August 2025 described the process that ACS used to identify changes that could help ensure that we continue to have the resources to make a difference and, very importantly, increase our commitment to local sections, divisions, committees, and other component groups in the management of their financial resources.

The plan is based on establishing a Finance Committee and modifying the charge to B&F. The Finance Committee would oversee ACS enterprise finances and would include ACS members and external experts willing to dedicate their time to ensure that all relevant factors, internal and external, are considered in our financial decisions. We must ensure the continued financial strength of ACS for the next 150 years. The elected members of the ACS Board of Directors will continue to have the final say in budget approval.

B&F would be renamed the Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) and would focus inward on members and component groups. Among its historical duties, B&F has received, reviewed, and accepted financial reports and analyses. It also approves the annual operating budget and provides a related motion to the board of directors for approval. It’s time that members and their groups had a finance-based committee that proactively focused on them, and CFA would do just that!

B&F is a Society Committee, overseen by both ACS Council and Board of Directors, and CFA would be too. The revamped committee would be officially charged with:

• providing financial stewardship guidance to component groups.

• providing feedback and making fiscal recommendations on new society programs.

• serving as a trusted multichannel source for communication of information related to the society’s finances.

• reviewing potential financial impacts of petitions brought before ACS Council.

Rather than waiting for questions to arise or for volunteers to become frustrated as they try to solve budget-related issues on their own, CFA will proactively reach out to local sections, divisions, committees, and other groups to learn of specific needs, such as help with bank accounts and tax filings, to name a few issues. The committee realizes that different groups need different types of assistance when leadership changes and at different times during the year.

The ACS Board has indicated its support for the formation of a Finance Committee and CFA. A petition will come before Council during the March meeting in Atlanta to change the duties of B&F and rename it the Committee on Fiscal Affairs. I ask you to support us as we change the B&F remit to focus on the needs of member volunteers as they provide service in support of ACS, fellow members, and the chemistry enterprise.

Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of C&EN or ACS.