Category: Uncategorized

What can we do that you can’t?

Last week we were invited to present our regular solution to a university technical team. Lots of analytical and IT skills in the group and one of the attendees asked a very important question “What can you do that we can’t?”. What a great question and one that we should be answering all the time […]

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Activity-Based Costing Software Top 4 ‘Must Haves’

I can’t believe it has been nearly 10 years since this I wrote this article and that very little has changed with respect to my top 3 costing ‘must haves’! The article has been refreshed where needed and due to changes in technology, I’ve added a 4th point….so welcome to my ‘Top 4 Costing Requirements’. […]

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2019 NACUBO Integrating Analytics Forum

  The NACUBO Analytics Conference focusses on data management and analytics. Presenters, and participants, are driven by the importance of accurate data, efficient data collection and effective analysis. Critically, they seek out and value tools that can advance the current, and future, business needs of their higher education institutions. Regardless of their institution size, or […]

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Upcoming Pilbara Conference: Keynotes Announced

This September 3-4, we will be hosting our Pilbara Users’ Conference entitled “Preparing for Change: Data Driven Decision Making.” The two-day event was created in response to the changes taking place in Higher Education with multiple external factors putting pressure on existing business models, not just in Australia but internationally as well. We are now […]

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Why is Traditional Accounting Failing Higher Education?

With Gary Cokins Traditional or Financial Accounting is essential for statutory and regulatory reporting for government agencies and the investor community. It is guided by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). It is best referred to as “external” financial accounting. But here is the problem: Colleges know in detail how much they spend; however, the vast […]

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The Alternative to Closing/Merging – Networking!

In my last post I identified that 14% of presidents think their college will close or merge in the next five years. With over 4,000 degree-granting institutions in the US, this could potentially mean that more than 400 colleges are at risk of closure or merging. In this post, Andrew Faulkner and I dig into […]

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Hundreds of colleges fear closing or merging

In the latest Inside Higher Ed 2019 Survey of College and University Presidents it was no surprise to see that the majority of presidents are confident that their institutions will be financially stable over the next five years. What I was quite surprised to read was that 14% of college presidents say they could see […]

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Seven Weeks to Data Analysis Nirvana

Skip the Rapid Prototype and go straight to the Rapid Fully Functioning Model It’s a common situation around the globe for financial analysts working for Higher Education institutions. Some type of looming crisis, major project or big decision requires detailed financial analysis… or as has happened here in Australia, the Government now requires universities to […]

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The Great Higher Ed Financial Disconnect

The Critical Course Metric you probably don’t know about  Affordability and Financial Sustainability are primary concerns cited by Boards of Trustees of higher education institutions as stated in the latest AGB 2018 Trustee Index.    Unfortunately at most institutions there can often be a huge disconnect between affordability (price/revenue) and sustainability (cost/margins).    To determine if this is an issue at your institution, just ask this very simple […]

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