The challenges facing higher education today are fundamental and will require time and careful planning. As colleges and universities navigate competing demands on mission, resources, and business models, many are developing more sophisticated long-range plans to implement strategies at acceptable levels of risk. Often, boards of trustees are mandating multi-year views that capture all funds and align with audited balance sheets and income statements.
Kaufman Hall has provided financial strategy advice to healthcare and higher education institutions for decades – financial planning is in our DNA. We take a four-step approach to assess a university’s financial history, quantify all major prospective cash sources and uses, develop robust financial projections and risk analyses, and monitor the plan over time. Our clients often cite the value of our approach to communicate with and educate stakeholders across the institution and move leadership conversations from confusion or suspicion to a shared understanding of resource constraints and the need to prioritize.
Examples of our core service offerings include:
Financial plan development
Assessment of funding options
Pro-forma financial modeling and health assessments
Credit analysis (including peer comparisons) and debt capacity
Academic program cost and subsidy analysis
Financial Strategy Development (i.e., the Financial Plan)
Reimagining Higher Education On-Demand Webinars
This on-demand webinar series focuses on the task of reimagining higher education, with sessions on strategies for growth, transformation, and affiliation, as well as sessions on the tools and leadership skills required.
FEATURED INSIGHTS ON HIGHER EDUCATION strategic financial planning
4 Best Practices in Financial Planning for Higher Education, 2nd Edition
Given the number and magnitude of external pressures in higher education, the need for robust long-range financial planning is more critical than ever. In addition, Boards are increasingly asking for improved visibility into the longer-term financial trajectory of their institutions.
eBook
Liquidity in Higher Education: Setting the Table for All Stakeholders
This is the first in a four-part series of posts designed to assist higher education CFOs as they manage and communicate their institution’s cash position. Read more!
Article
Take First Steps on the Road to Financial Recovery
We convened a panel of Kaufman Hall experts from our Management Consulting and Software divisions to discuss how the financial planning landscape is changing, how higher education finance leaders are coping, and what actions they need to take now to prepare for uncertainty ahead.
Article
Navigating the Financial Impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education
The COVID-19 pandemic and attending economic turmoil have the role of higher education CFO extraordinarily challenging. Institutions need to prepare for a wide range of possible outcomes. Read our tips on how.
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Talk with one of our experts to discuss the right path forward for your organization