2018 Higher Education Accounting Forum

Johnson County Community College (JCCC)

Take the opportunity to explore this very unique, large college with more than 29,000 students (over 10,100 FTE). With both regional and national athletics, a strong sustainability foundation, and a world class museum of contemporary art, JCCC infuses a rich culture to the community and surrounding areas. The tour will visit areas on campus that address sustainability and other cost saving initiatives, and finish at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, which is opening specifically for this group. Please note that there will be walking involved around the campus. Plan on being at the Hotel Lobby at 9:30 am.  The bus has comfy, reclining  seats.  We will discuss the campus in route and then at the campus will have three great tour guides – Director of Accounting and Grants, Assoc. VP for Finance, and the Assoc. VP for Campus Services & Facilities Planning.  This is a great learning opportunity!
We have a few seats left,  so up until 9:30 on Sunday morning please email sgranskorsh@nacubo.org and/or call her cell phone 612-310-3881

Presenter(s):

Liz Clark, NACUBO

Explore the current state of play in the nation’s capital. Understand the political climate and implications for colleges and universities as lawmakers consider reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and impact of new tax legislation. Learn about recent regulatory and legislative actions including emerging financial responsibility proposals from the Department of Education.

Presenter(s):

Deirdre Hodgson, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Stephen Schafer, Sarah Lawrence College

Attendees will participate in an audience-driven accounting and audit “game show.” Come prepared to select topics and answer questions related to best practices for internal controls, new accounting standards, financial statement reporting issues, audit committee roles and functions, depreciable vs. expendable, operating vs. non-operating, bad debt methodologies, common tax issues, and more!

Presenter(s):

Tracy Paglia, Moss Adams LLP

Test your knowledge of all things Form 990 in a fun and interactive way. Whether you are newly introduced to the particulars of the 990 or a seasoned veteran, this session will have you thinking on your feet and collaborating with teams to address a variety of issues related to the form.

Presenter(s):

Rick Cole, BKD CPAs and Advisors

Jeffrey Mechanick, Financial Accounting Standards Board

Hear the latest developments in U.S. GAAP affecting NFPs, including recently issued and newly effective standards (ASUs), and FASB projects in process. Presenters will focus on areas of interest to colleges and universities such as grants and contracts, new liquidity disclosures, internal development costs in a cloud computing environment, leasing, and more.

Presenter(s):

Brian Caputo, College of Du Page

Pull back the due process curtain and see what lies ahead. This session will explore OPEB, fiduciary activities, the long-term evaluation of landmark Statement 34, thoughts on an operating measure for BTAs, financial statement disclosures, and more.

Presenter(s):

Maryann Terrana, NACUBO

Mary Wheeler,

Business officers new to higher education face numerous challenges. If you have worked in higher education for fewer than three years, take this opportunity to connect with colleagues and discuss the complexities of financial management in a college or university environment.

Presenter(s):

Beverly Daniel Tatum, Spelman College

The ABCs - affirming identity, building community, and cultivating leadership in a pluralistic context - are three critical components that every campus leader should understand in order to lead effectively in a diverse community.

Presenter(s):

John Affleck-Graves, University of Notre Dame

Kim Taylor, University of Chicago

John Mattie, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Lou Mezzina, KPMG LLP

Higher education experts bring their experiences to light and discuss finances, pressures, discoveries, solutions, optimism and pessimism around modern higher education.

Presenter(s):

Stuart Miller, Crowe LLP

Karen Craig,

Sharon Heinle, George Washington University

The time for procrastination is over! FASB’s standard on revenue recognition from contracts with customers is effective next year for many institutions. This session will translate the guidance for common revenue streams (tuition, housing, etc.) and focus on approaches to implementation and documentation for your external auditors. The panel will address issues and challenges identified to date.

Presenter(s):

Tom Ewing, The Ohio State University

As deals for public-private partnerships become more intricate, discerning the required accounting and reporting involves reasoning through many standards and concepts. The presenter will discuss how to apply the relevant accounting guidance in situations that could result in reporting (or not reporting) the transaction on the financial statements,  depending on the application of GAAP to the terms and conditions of various common structures.

Presenter(s):

Julia Shanahan, Columbia University in the City of New York

Joel Levenson, University of Central Florida

Join members of NACUBO’s Tax Council for a comprehensive update. This session will address operationalizing tax reform requirements and encourages questions, opinions, and interactive discussion.

Presenter(s):

David Gagnon, KPMG LLP

John Kroll, University of Chicago

Delve into the significant FASB reporting changes brought on by ASU 2016-14.

Presenter(s):

Liz Clark, NACUBO

Bryan Dickson, NACUBO

Continue the conversation from the Washington Update. We’ll take a deeper dive into issues that controllers must deal with including new financial responsibility, typical endowment questions raised by Hill staff, tax reform, single audit compliance, 1098T challenges, and more.

Presenter(s):

Ruth Satorre, University of California Office of the President

Sherri Rowland, Clemson University

Presenters will address implementation discoveries concerning GASB's OPEB (other postemployment benefits) standard.

Presenter(s):

Keith McIntosh, University of Richmond

Megan Schneider, NACUBO

In an increasingly complex campus technology environment, compounded by decentralized management, higher education institutions are facing significant responsibility for protecting their IT systems and networks from service disruption, data breaches and other malfeasance. Presenters address these challenges within the context of growing federal and international regulation in the areas of campus-based cyber security and data protection.

Presenter(s):

Jeffrey West, Salt Lake Community College

Sue Menditto, NACUBO

Charles Tegen, Clemson University

Dale Larson, Dallas Theological Seminary

Reporting expenses by function, and adding natural expense details, can help donors, legislators, granting agencies, creditors, and other financial statement users understand various mission-related activities and their relative importance. NACUBO’s chart of account structure is the foundation, but is it enough? How can institutions better tell their story and why? Panelists address their discoveries when analyzing natural and functional expense intersections, definitions, and systems. Hear and discuss the merits of new thinking on expense reporting why it’s so important for colleges and universities.

Presenter(s):

Mary Ellen Wriedt, S&P Global

Andrew Paluf, University of Notre Dame

Diane Viacava, Moody's Investors Service

Join industry experts from two ratings agencies for their take on the current status of the higher education industry and outlook for the future.

Presenter(s):

Brett Powell, Henderson State University

John Pierce, University of North Carolina at Asheville

This session will describe a benchmarking tool used by SACUBO, and this year by CACUBO institutions to compare high-level financial data for your school to peer institutions.  The tool, which is in its sixth year, uses inputs based on institutions’ financial statements. The result: a faster, easier, and more reliable way to capture and verify data. Presenters describe how their universities, and others in their region, are using this simple and flexible benchmark platform to help with decision making at their campuses.

Presenter(s):

Sue Menditto, NACUBO

Dale Larson, Dallas Theological Seminary

In November the Department of Education (ED) and an appointed subcommittee began addressing financial responsibility standards as part of its borrower defense rulemaking. In addition to long standing concerns with ED’s ratio adjustments and interpretations of GAAP, rules needed to be updated to reflect FASB ASU 2016-14, which upends the current formulas used in calculating composite scores for nonprofit institutions. The known news is good. Hear from two subcommittee members about the three month process and recommendation details that all institutions reporting under FASB must that follow.

Presenter(s):

Bryan Dickson, NACUBO

Laura Howat, University of Utah

This is the year when the rubber hits the road: all schools must report amounts paid for qualified tuition and related expenses in Box 1 on the 1098-T for 2018 forms. In the absence of new substantive guidance from IRS, schools are faced with several decision points. Are you ready? Bring your questions - and your answers - to this interactive session.

Presenter(s):

Jason Schroeder, University of Notre Dame

Robert Kuehler, University of Colorado System Office

Whether from a public or private institution, implementing new lease standards are around the corner! Although GASB and FASB diverged on their accounting requirements for leases that would formerly (currently) be classified as operating, the fundamental capitalization principles are the same. In this session public and independent institution business officers address how their schools are getting ready. Listen to approaches for gathering information – to satisfy accounting and auditor requirements. Take time to analogize to your institution and raise scenarios and challenges so that all attendees can benefit.

Presenter(s):

Sam McCall, Florida State University

Higher education institutions aspire to high standards of moral and ethical behavior. Fraudulent or unethical breaches cost money and damage reputation. This session examines real example and trends at colleges and universities. Case studies will be used to illustrate how to prevent a fraudster from raiding your campus. The role of management in promoting an ethical work environment, assessing internal controls, and evaluating risk will also be examined.

Presenter(s):

Cheryl Soper, University of Michigan

Chad Greenwell, University of Michigan

Jarrod Van Kirk, University of Michigan

This session describes the University of Michigan’s approach for integrating a recent member substitution affiliation with a not-for-profit health system.  Presenters will describe various accounting and reporting considerations from a GASB perspective, including key elements of the general ledger integration plan, composition of the cross-functional team needed to operationalize the approach and overall lessons learned.

Presenter(s):

Phil Tahey,

Ron Salluzzo, Attain, LLC

With decades of combined experience as board members, board advisors, and campus leadership, presenters use their newest publication (Bridging the Stewardship Gap toward Effective Finance Committees) as the backdrop for this session. Hear how college and university management can help boards and finance committee understand business models, accountability responsibilities, and performance results—to improve governance. This session is designed with private institution governing boards in mind.

Presenter(s):

Lisa Rudgers, Peterson Rudgers Group

Julie Peterson, Peterson Rudgers Group