As CFOs and their teams prep for the annual audit, some reflection is warranted. How much of what you are frantically trying to analyze and tie out could have been updated at an earlier time or kept current throughout the year? What keeps you from accomplishing this?  Invariably, whatever is thrown together at the eleventh hour will […]

There are certain brands that have been around for our lifetime and that of our grandparents. Think of Ford, General Electric, IBM and the venerable Harley Davidson. While each has survived decades of depression, war, energy crises, credit implosion and housing problems, a number of these household names face uncertain futures today as the pace of change […]

An attorney friend specializes in health care and higher education.  His assistance has been invaluable, ensuring that contractual provisions don’t put us in a legal trap at some future point.  He will tell you, however, that the work performed by his firm is not supposed to dictate the business arrangements.  The legal and contractual sphere is his strike zone. […]

In its April 27, 2018 edition, The Atlantic reported the following: The numbers are wild: Harvard admitted just 4.6 percent of its nearly 43,000 applicants for the class that begins this fall. Stanford accepted only 4.29 percent, and Princeton 5.5 percent. Although selective schools—those that accept fewer than half of applicants—enroll only about one-fifth of U.S. undergraduates, they account for more than […]

In an interview for an upcoming book, the author asked me to characterize the nature of private higher education at this time. It just so happened that a colleague had asked the same question about a week ago, affording time for reflection. My response is that one of three profiles typify today’s institutions; investing, harvesting or […]

Those of us who have worked in higher education dodged a bullet with tax reform. Section 117(d) remains in force, allowing employees and their dependents to receive qualified tuition reductions tax free, at least for undergraduate study. Most call this “tuition remission,” suggesting that tuition is a form of cancer that we are temporarily free of. Many […]

I cannot count the number of letters I have been asked to send to congress that adamantly predict the demise of charitable giving if either of the current tax reform proposals become law. Some claim that giving will go down forty percent or more. Let me go on the record in believing that giving could very well […]

Years ago, car salesmen kept the current month’s yellow NADA book in their desk drawer, at the ready when the value of your trade-in needed to be established. The buyer didn’t have much to go on and that lack of knowledge led to significant profits on used cars, with sizable drops in value the moment you […]

In business we talked about being “first to market” or “second champion.” This is based on the old adage, “The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.” In either case, the idea of establishing oneself as a market leader at the very front or nearly front of the line requires innovative […]

Every year, the Department of Education reveals it's list of those institutions who either failed their financial responsibility ratio or are in danger of doing so if their performance doesn't change. Those who score a 0.9 or below fail. Others who score between 1.0 and 1.4 are OK for the first two years but three […]