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Higher Education

Services to Support Higher Education

At Cherry Bekaert, we are dedicated to helping higher education institutions overcome the unique challenges they face. Our team’s deep understanding of the needs, operations, and missions of nonprofits and higher education is both personal and professional. We share your commitment to the community and strive to directly align ourselves with your mission. This allows us to offer meaningful guidance and strategic solutions that can help you identify opportunities in all facets of your organization.

Educational institutions are faced with complex financial issues such as tuition pricing and discounting, developing non-traditional revenue streams, alternative investment strategies, fundraising, accreditation, financing, and regulatory compliance. Navigating these matters requires strategic digital initiatives that drive innovation and performance as well as a structured financial reporting system and personnel who are current on industry regulations and best practices.

Our team serves a diverse cross-section of the education community, including:

  • Private Colleges & Universities
  • Public Colleges & Universities
  • Community & Technical Colleges
  • Research Foundations
  • Alumni & Athletic Associations and Foundations
  • Real Estate & Housing Foundations

Tailored Services for Higher Education

  • Accounting Support for Higher Education

    Outsourced Accounting & Accounting Advisory for Higher Education

    Cherry Bekaert’s Outsourced Accounting Services are uniquely tailored to meet the needs of organizations looking to improve efficiency, reduce costs and focus on core operations. By outsourcing your accounting to an experienced team of professionals, you will have access to specialized industry-specific knowledge, advanced technologies, and compliance support for regulatory requirements. Services include:

    • G/L Management
    • AP/AR Processing
    • Account Reconciliation
    • CFO & Controllership Services
    • Data Analytics & Insights
    • Financial Reporting
    • Forecasting & Budgeting
    • Fractional CXO Services
    • Month-End Close
    • Payroll Processing & Advisory
    • New Accounting Standard Implementation
    • Audit Remediation

    Higher Education Co-Sourced Accounting

    Cherry Bekaert’s Government & Public Sector Accounting Advisory team provides a comprehensive NFP Accounting-as-a-Service offering that helps organizations overcome staffing and technical challenges.

    Services provided as part of this offering include:

    • New Accounting Standards Implementation
    • Internal Controls Processes Review & Recommendations
    • Financial Statement Closing Assistance
    • Financial Statement Audit Readiness Assistance
    • Single Audit Readiness Assistance
    • Accounting Remediation & Support
    • Financial Statement Preparation
    • Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) Preparation
    • Training & Continuing Professional Education
    • Financial & Single Audit Finding Remediation
    • Board Governance Assessment & Recommendations
    • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation Remediation
    • Chart of Accounts Assessment & Development

    Higher Education Recruiting & Staffing

    Our industry-focused recruiting professionals specialize in offering comprehensive Recruiting & Staffing Solutions that cater to nonprofit organizations’ diverse needs within finance and accounting, human resources, and information technology. Services include:

    • Permanent Search & Placement
    • Temporary Staffing
    • Interim Senior-Level Management Placements
    • Executive Search

    With an in-depth understanding of the unique requirements of these sectors, our professionals employ a tailored approach to identify, engage and secure top-tier talent. We meticulously evaluate candidates’ skill sets, experiences, and cultural fit to provide a seamless integration into your organization.

  • Athletic Department Compliance

    As pay-for-play within college athletics continues to grow and evolve, so does the confusion around these policies. Our advisory service professionals hear recurring questions from student-athletes, coaches, and business officers on how they can best navigate the changing territory of athletics and capitalize on opportunities. Services offered to support these questions and confusion include:

    • Huddle Session: Athletics Compliance Playbook
    • Student & University Tax Compliance
    • State & Local Tax Compliance
    • Risk Assessment
    • Policy & Procedure Development
    • Training & Continuing Education
    • Reporting & Compliance
    • Digital Advisory
    • Athletics Department Cost Analysis & Planning
  • Audit & Assurance for Higher Education

    Assurance Services for Higher Education

    In an environment of falling revenues, tightening budgets, and increasingly complex compliance restrictions, it is important to have the right nonprofit accountant providing the proper technical guidance, reducing the demands on higher education staff, and allowing entities to focus on their constituents. Cherry Bekaert’s team provides innovative and effective audit, assurance, and attestation services.

    Services include:

  • Cost & Revenue Management Services for Higher Education

    Cost & Revenue Analytics for Higher Education

    Costs across colleges are increasing while enrollment declines are putting revenue pressures on institutions. Enterprises that understand the economics of their institution and are able to meaningfully measure the impact of leadership decisions, both non-financially and financially, will have a better chance of maintaining their current and future financial sustainability.

    Achieving a cost and revenue analytics capability is about developing a systematic, repeatable approach to understanding and analyzing costs and revenues across an institution. Cherry Bekaert has multiple cost and revenue management/analytics offerings that are designed to meet the needs of any higher education institution. Our offerings range from simplified, high-level models to complex and detailed predictive models, and they provide a wealth of analysis opportunities to help institutions identify opportunities to be cost-efficient, enhance revenues, and maximize mission attainment. Our cost and revenue analytics offerings provide the foundation colleges need to create an effective cost and revenue management program and enable institutions to:

    • Make more data-informed business decisions
    • Understand the economics of their institution
    • Strategically align resources to maximize their mission
    • Understand the economic impact of key decisions

    Indirect Cost Services for Higher Education

    Higher Education institutions face the challenge of determining how to assign organization-wide shared costs (indirect costs) to the final product line or service received. Allocating indirect costs can become burdensome since it is not a one-size-fits-all calculation or strategy.

    We have a strategically built team of professionals and subject matter experts with experience working with higher education. Cherry Bekaert’s Indirect Cost & Cost Allocation Plan services include:

    • Full Cost Allocation Plan
    • 2 CFR Part 200 Cost Plan
    • Indirect Cost Rate Proposals
    • Indirect Cost Rate Proposal Negotiation
    • Indirect Cost Recovery
  • Cybersecurity Services for Higher Education

    As educational institution agencies digitalize their processes, the threat of ransomware attacks and data breaches increases. Never has the protection of an organization’s data been more important, and the threats against it more present. Cyber breaches not only affect an organization’s finances, but they can impact operations, make it harder to measure results, and perhaps, more importantly, damage an organization’s reputation. Cherry Bekaert assists clients in identifying relevant cybersecurity risks and developing realistic solutions and plans to help minimize the likelihood and impact of systems and data being compromised. These services include:

  • Department of Education Compliance

    As Department of Education regulations and compliance continue to increase year after year, Cherry Bekaert is here to help you stay up to date on the latest.

    • Student Financial Aid
    • Financial Responsibility, Ratios and Compliance
    • Single Audit Finding Remediation
    • Compliance With Ed Grants and Regulations
    • Emerging Regulation Compliance
  • Tax Compliance & Planning Services for Higher Education

    Cherry Bekaert provides thoughtful and proactive tax compliance and consulting solutions to help colleges and universities operate in the complex, rapidly evolving risk environment they face.

    We help our higher education clients plan and execute tax strategies based on industry regulations and best practices to help enhance their ability to achieve their missions. Our services include:

    Tax Compliance

    • Form 990 Series Returns (i.e., Form 990, 990-T, 990-PF, 990-EZ, 990-N)
    • State Tax Filings
    • Corporate & Partnership Returns for Affiliates
    • Foreign Information Filings, FBAR
    • Alternative Investment Review
    • IRS Representation

    Not-for-Profit Tax Consulting

    • Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) Planning & Evaluation
    • Exemption Risk from Nonexempt Activities
    • Governance & Policy Review
    • Applications for Exemption
    • Change In Public Charity/Foundation Status

    Transaction Consulting

    • Mergers, Acquisitions & Reorganizations
    • Joint Ventures With Not-for-Profit & Taxable Entities
    • Technology Transfer and other Licensing & Affiliation Agreements
    • Financing Transactions (i.e., T/E Bonds & Tax Credit Eligibility)
    • Real Estate Transactions

    Other Tax Services

Empowering Higher Education: Success Stories

Higher Education: A Pathway for Successful Cost Management

Discover how our Digital Advisory team used Pilbara Insights software to build a cost model...

Learn More

Unlocking Financial Insights: Cost and Revenue Analytics for a Higher Education Institution

Discover how we helped the higher education institution overcome financial challenges and improve resource management...

Learn More
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Matthew Socha

Assurance Services
Not-for-Profit Industry Practice Leader

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Anthony Pember

Anthony Pember

Digital Advisory Services

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Contact Our Higher Education Team