Having visited over fifty institutions during my tenure with CFO Colleague, certain themes recur enough that it makes sense to chat about them.  Pricing seems to be the most common issue, particularly when increased discounts are supposed to generate higher net tuition revenues. At one institution, even a sixty percent freshman discount rate wasn't enough […]

As a young auditor, I was admonished to avoid merely following the workpapers of the previous year.  A fresh approach or perspective often provided new insight and reflected improvements within the industry.  This was in the days before personal computers so we had volumes of personally prepared sheets in legal sized binders. And every year, […]

Imagine a manufacturing operation that is receiving the final report from a cost accounting consultant.  A new approach to applying labor costs is presented to a group that includes Vice Presidents for Production (a thirty year veteran of the industry) and HR (a recent hire from a regional hospital.) The process is described and a […]

I begin with a favorite quote : “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things; for the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm […]

When my Dad entered college in 1949, the $700 annual cost seemed daunting, compared with an annual family income that might have been $3,000.  The construction of the New York State Thruway was an opportunity for him to make enough in a summer to pay a year’s bill.  Just before his senior year, he headed […]

I reference my previous installment on student loans.  In that submission, I argue for using additional social security withholding in order to satisfy student loan payments. Attention is now turned to the responsibility of the institution itself, particularly as it applies to student loan default rates. First, a scenario. Presume that a husband stays home […]

The Doctor calls, encouraging you to head to the hospital immediately in the hope of spending a few last moments with Mom.  “She fought her cancer so bravely for so long,” he says.  You didn’t know she was sick. Sweet Briar alums and parents can be forgiven for having similar reactions upon learning that their […]

For those of us who came of age in the 1960s and 70s, the ‘Cuda, Cutlass and Cougar were legendary.  Some were heavy sellers while others had incredible style and performance.  Today, the mere two ‘Cuda convertibles that were outfitted with the 426 hemi fetch more than $1 million.  Evidently, I wasn’t alone in my […]

Every so often, one of the classic movies I enjoy has a scene from a horse race.  Here are women dressed in the most amazing outfits inaginable, with hats the size of snow saucers, accompanied by tuxedo-wearing gentlemen who arrive at the last minute, receipts in hand, ready to cheer on their new-found favorite ride. […]

As the higher education industry absorbed the impact of FASB pronouncements (changes in accounting standards) during the 1990s, many balked at adding a budget line for depreciation expense. Prior to those landmark changes, various “funds” were deployed to capture activity within the capital spending and financing arenas. It was common to call the payment of […]