Today, educational institutions, including colleges, universities, and secondary and elementary schools are rethinking their management and financial strategies. This is the result of issues surrounding increased donor and stakeholder scrutiny, endowment concerns (an impact of the economy and financial markets), investment diversification, rising health care costs, escalating energy costs, high costs of information technology and increased board and audit committee oversight.
At J.H. Cohn LLP, our Educational Institution Services Group recognizes the unique challenges that educational institutions face in today’s business and regulatory environment. Educational institutions have a variety of industry specific issues and compliance reporting requirements that need to be addressed by a team of experienced industry experts. Educational institutions deserve to be serviced by a team of professionals that are not general not-for-profit auditors, but rather a dedicated team with hands-on educational institution experience.
To best serve the needs of this industry segment, J.H. Cohn has created a group that provides services only to educational institutions. As part of our industry and service commitment, our Educational Institution Services Group can provide your institution with the necessary business intelligence and financial advice that will allow time to focus on fulfilling your mission and objectives.
SERVICES WE PROVIDE
- Audits of not-for-profit, private and public schools and colleges and proprietary schools and colleges
- OMB Circular A-133 audits
- Compliance Attestation Examination of the Title IV Student Financial Assistance Programs
- Form 990 preparation and planning
- Form 5500 preparation and planning
- Tax planning for exempt and non-exempt entities (including UBIT)
- Board fiduciary responsibilities and governance
- Internal controls
- Risk management
- Real estate transactions
- Employee benefits
- Cost and work flow efficiencies
- Information technology risk assessments
Snapshot: Educational Institutions
There are critical issues and emerging opportunities facing both public and private colleges and universities today.
- Aging faculty members
- Competition from online educational sources
- Dependence on endowments
- Expanding MBA programs that attract more executives and returning adult students
- Flat enrollments with a projected growth of 1% annual rate during the next ten years
- Increasing competition
- Liability for alcohol abuse
- Rising costs, including escalating energy and healthcare costs, IT expansion, construction and renovations, and salary increases
- Tax relief bills proposed may encourage greater college enrollment
- Tight budgets
In the United States today nearly 4,000 colleges and universities that are degree-granting generate combined annual revenue of over $200 billion, of which 60% is from public schools and 40% from private educational institutions. While some larger universities have over 100,000 students, nearly half of all universities and colleges have fewer than 1,000 students enrolled.