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.

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

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:

• Financial & Compliance Audits
• Employee Benefit Plan Audits
• Endowment & UPMIFA Compliance
• NCAA Agreed-Upon Procedures
• Risk Assurance & Internal Controls
• Uniform Grant Guidance (UGG) Audits & Data Collection Forms
• Form 990 Preparation
• Applications for Exempt Status
• State Filings

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

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:

• Attack & Penetration Tests/Ethical Hacking
• Cybersecurity Readiness Assessments
• Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) Compliance Requirements
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) Compliance
• IT and Cybersecurity Governance, Strategy, Security Planning and Policies & Procedures
• Risk & Vulnerability Assessments
• Security Awareness Training & Program Development
• Security Framework Assessments & Testing
• Service Organization Controls (SOC) Services

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

• Payroll Tax, Employee Benefit Plans, Executive Compensation, Employee Classification
• Energy-Efficiency Tax Credits for Nonprofits & Government Entities
• SALT Issues (Property Tax, Sales Tax, Unclaimed Property)
• International Transactions & Foreign Tax Issues