Collaborative + Innovative + Invested = Value
The math is simple. We are easy to work with. We bring new ideas to the table….and we focus on delivering value. All of this is possible because we care deeply about the impact we make with our clients. When you place your trust in us, we take it personally.
Our Higher Education Practice is part of our largest dedicated industry sector group in the Firm and includes over 40 full-time professionals. Our clients include public and private universities, colleges and related ancillary enterprises and foundations.
Our clients have come to depend on our extensive knowledge of finance, accounting, regulatory and operational matters to assist with understanding issues and developing practicable, effective and sustainable solutions.
Thought Leadership Participation
We demonstrate our commitment to the higher education industry and our clients through our involvement in various higher education related organizations, many of which our people have served in leadership positions related to Higher Education organizations. By keeping abreast of the latest industry trends and developments, our professionals speak your language and understand your perspective. Listed below are some of the higher education organizations we are active with:
- National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)
- Eastern Association of College and university Business Officers (EACUBO)
- Association of College and University Auditors (ACUA)
Your Needs + Our Services = Results
We are exceptionally versatile and our service delivery model is focused on value. We frequently identify revenue and/or cost improvements that oftentimes pay for our services multiple times over.
Our services range from traditional compliance services to a wide range of advisory services spanning the needs of the organization (administrative, academic, athletic and auxiliary).
Our Services
Assurance, Accounting & Internal Control
- Independent audit of financial statements, including Uniform Guidance, grants/awards contracts, benefit plans, and other.
- Internal audit outsource / co-source / augmentation
- Continuous audit procedures
- Fraud prevention and investigation
- Agreed upon procedures
- SOC 1 and SOC 2 examinations
- PCI compliance examinations
- Regulatory Compliance Support (FERPA/HIPAA/Export Controls/Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act/Bayh-Dole Act/Title IV and Title IX Compliance/NCAA Compliance Auditing/Clery Act Compliance/Environmental Health & Safety Compliance Reviews)
- Transaction due diligence support
- SOX/SOX-lite – internal control design assessments, documentation, and testing
- Control gap analysis and remediation assistance
Financial / Strategy / Operations
- Business intelligence solutions
- Data analytics
- Forensic, litigation and dispute support
- Financial projections, forecasting feasibility studies
- Reorganization and turnaround support
- Project management
- Cost segregation – construction management support
- Business and financial process effectiveness and efficiency reviews (Six Sigma/Lean)
- Enterprise Risk Management program development support
Exempt Tax & UBIT
- 2018 tax reform impact analysis and response
- Tax return preparation / review services (Form 990, 990T, NYS CHAR 500, Form 1120, 1120-S, 1041, 1065 etc.)
- Unrelated business income tax minimization strategies
- International tax consulting (FBAR Compliance and expat consulting, and other)
- Tangible property regulations consulting
Information Technology / Cybersecurity
- Information security assessments; full life-cycle information security program assessments including information security governance and oversight, policies and procedures, infrastructure assessments (preventative and detective controls design and assessments), vulnerability assessments/penetration testing, social engineering, user training and awareness
- Business continuity management; conducting business impact analysis, developing business continuity and disaster recovery plans, developing and assessing incident response plans
- Cloud; assessing security, availability/continuity and other operational criteria of cloud-based solutions
- IT risk management; conducting risk assessments and developing solutions/roadmaps to address identified risks (including risk prioritization, mitigation, monitoring and reporting)
- Program risk; conducting project, program and portfolio risk management and quality assurance
- Segregation of duties/identity and access management; conducting assessments of user provisioning, managing access base on roles and responsibilities and providing practical recommendations for addressing gaps
- Software selection services; developing requirements definitions, developing Request for Information and Requests for Proposals (RFI/RFP), evaluating vendors/suppliers, assisting with selecting vendors/software
- PCI Compliance
- Information Technology strategy development, governance and alignment with business objectives
- Information Technology general controls audits
- Information Technology compliance audits (e.g. HIPAA), emerging regulatory readiness assessments (e.g. HITRUST and GDPR), and certifications (e.g.: NIST, ISO, SOC1/SOC2)
- Third Party Technology Risk assessments