NACUBO 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting

Overview

The 2020 NACUBO Virtual Annual Meeting was packed with knowledge sharing from experts in the field. By purchasing this on-demand bundle, you'll gain access to recordings of 22 sessions from the program. See the schedule below for more details on what's included.

You can also purchase access to a single day's recordings from the below links.

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Program
Webcast Workshop

CPE Information

Estimated 14 CPE Credits

Check back in the Schedule for details on Fields of Study (note: each person must register individually and participate live to earn CPEs)

NACUBO is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website www.nasbaregistry.org.

Rates

Registration assistance: 877.797.7698 or support@nacubo.org

Cancellation Policies

$349

$599

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Classic Supporters

Schedule

Day 1

1:30 PM

From Dashboards to Decisions: Empowering Leaders With Analytics

Presenter(s):

David Sullivan, Arizona State University

Carrie Robinson, Arizona State University

Michal-Anne Miller, Arizona State University

All colleges and universities have data. But how can they turn that asset into insights for decision making, particularly when resources are limited? Using one college as an example, the presenters will show how making a small investment in analytics and data visualizations can add value and efficiency. Dashboards make data accessible, allow for easy user consumption, create transparency and trust, and empower decision making at all levels of leadership.

Learning Objectives

Examine how leadership can use analytics across functional areas.
Articulate the value of investing in data visualizations to improve decision making for academics, student success, and business operations.
Translate data displayed in dashboards into actionable insights.

CPE Category: Finance

1:30 PM

What Makes a Good Cash-On-Hand Policy?

Presenter(s):

Christopher Cowen, BofA Securities, Inc

Mary Peloquin-Dodd, North Carolina State University

Charmel Maynard, University of Miami

William Jarvis, Bank of America

Since the financial crisis in 2008, liquidity has become a tantamount concern to college and university ratings agencies and other stakeholders, who want better information about how institutions manage their cash on hand. In this session, learn about the new techniques business offices can use to track information about an institution’s liquidity and overall financial picture, plus discover how to effectively communicate liquidity and other financial information to boards of directors and other constituencies.

Learning Objectives

Discover the necessity of having a comprehensive cash-on-hand policy.
Understand how leading institutions manage their cash reserves.
Establish procedures for better cash visibility.

CPE Category: Finance

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Day 2

11:00 AM

How Student Financial Services Can Lead Collaboration to Support Student Success

Presenter(s):

Chris Foster, University of North Texas

Joey Saxon, University of North Texas

Learn about the Start Green, Stay Green program launched in 2019 by the University of North Texas to improve student success. A key component: Student financial services worked beyond boundaries to serve as the catalyst for collaborative change. The speakers will demonstrate the dashboards designed to highlight students with balances, which are shared with various departments to increase communication and target outreach.

Learning Objectives

Establish student financial services as a partner in retention and enrollment initiatives.
Improve transparency, communication, and service to students, parents, and other departments.
Apply ideas from other institutions to to enhance the perception of student financial services.

11:00 AM

The Power of Financial Modeling

Presenter(s):

Alice Turbiville, Swarthmore College

Kelli Shomaker, Auburn University

Michael Nicolescu, PFM Group

Financial models can serve as the basis for telling the story of long-term changes at your institution and help identify potential problems before adverse effects occur. Hear about the benefits two institutions derived from implementing an integrated, comprehensive financial model , including the expansion of leadership’s understanding of variables pertaining to financial risk and volatility. The speakers will also discuss how a multi-year financial plan contributes to strong, robust financial management.

Learning Objectives

Enhance financial forecast to better engage senior leaders and other key stakeholders.
Describe best practices in strategic financial planning.
Explain the benefits and challenges of implementing a multi-year financial plan on campus.

CPE Category: Finance

11:00 AM

Energy Asset Monetization: Transforming Utility Cost Centers Into Strategic Assets

Presenter(s):

Sameer Qureshi, Clearway Energy

Russ Grunebach, Duquesne University

Stephen Auton-Smith, Ernst & Young LLP

Duquesne University recently monetized its energy assets under a public-private partnership and entered into a 40-year energy services agreement with Clearway Energy. Using this transaction as an example, the speakers will explore the relative merits of utility system outsourcing and monetization in both unlocking economic value and helping institutions achieve operational resilience, sustainability, and modernization of infrastructure. They’ll discuss transaction practicalities and considerations, stakeholder engagement, key challenges, and success factors for forging a long-term partnership.

Learning Objectives

Define energy asset monetization and key value drivers.
Investigate key transaction practicalities, challenges, and success factors from both the university and private partner perspectives.
Apply transferable lessons learned to other institutions contemplating similar transactions.

1:30 PM

Driving Innovation With a Managed Services Technology Provider

Presenter(s):

Robert Cominsky, Ellucian

Nicole Trufant, University of New England

The University of New England is growing, and with that growth come the challenges of scale. To support this growth, business processes must evolve, student experiences must improve, and technology must play a role in it all. In this session, learn how strategic partners can help transform IT into a driver of efficiency and innovation that positively impacts the bottom line and how UNE is providing itself the agility and flexibility needed to both prepare for and help shape the future landscape of higher education.

Learning Objectives

Understand how a managed services provider can help your institution achieve maximum return on technology investments.
Review key attributes to look for in a managed services technology provider.
Identify how next-generation analytics are helping higher education CFOs make smarter decisions, drive innovation, and direct resources where they have the greatest positive impact.

1:30 PM

Once Upon a Financial Statement….Telling Your Institution’s Financial Story

Presenter(s):

Leslie Brunelli, University of Denver

Mandy Kibler, University of South Carolina Columbia

Jean Bushong, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

As we move forward in higher education, telling our financial story must evolve! Considering Coronavirus, it is especially important that our stakeholders understand financial position and its impact on future decisions of the institution. Panelists from public and private institutions will address how financial stories can be illustrated through audited financial statements. Special attention will be devoted to Management’s Discussion and Analysis, understanding financial reporting audiences, what rating agencies needs to know, principles of benchmarking and the importance of KPIs, functional expenses, and explaining operating results.

Learning Objectives

List different ways to use audited financial statements to tell the financial story of your institution.
How to use benchmarks and metrics to chart the financial direction of your institution.
Contribute to the reporting transparency so that stakeholders better understand the financial decisions of your institution.

CPE Category: Accounting

1:30 PM

Hot Legal Topics: Liability Issues in the Age of COVID-19 and Update on Foreign Influence/Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting

Presenter(s):

Stephanie Gold, Hogan Lovells US LLP

James Keller, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, LLP

Join higher education legal experts for a discussion of current issues and challenges in the areas of liability issues in an era of COVID-19, and foreign influence matters/foreign gift and contract reporting. The session will provide the latest information about the range of liability issues that have arisen as institutions consider a return to campus in the future; and the latest news about foreign influence and gift reporting as colleges and universities navigate this Department of Education directive.

Learning Objectives

Examine liability issues that have emerged as campuses experienced numerous changes and challenges due to the coronavirus.
Explore legal and regulatory issues related to foreign influence concerns and the impact on campuses of required foreign gift and contract reporting.
Understand the significant impact of these new requirements on the business operations of colleges and universities.

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Day 3

11:00 AM

Looking Back at the Past Year With Lynn Valenter, NACUBO Board Chair, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations, Washington State University, Vancouver

11:15 AM

Washington Update

Presenter(s):

Emmanual Guillory, United Negro College Fund, Inc.

Steven Bloom, American Council On Education

Megan Schneider, NACUBO

Explore the current state of play in the nation’s capital. Panelists will discuss major legislative and regulatory actions that have impacted colleges and universities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding and regulatory requirements, and the potential for additional higher education relief provisions in future COVID-19 legislation. We’ll also explore other legislative and regulatory issues of importance to colleges and universities including the DACA Supreme Court decision, changes to Title IX regulations, the creation of new foreign gift reporting requirements, and more.

Learn about federal appropriations impacting higher education, what they mean for your campus, and why Congress funds the way it does.
Examine what could lie ahead for colleges and universities following the 2020 federal elections.
Gain an understanding of the latest legislative, regulatory and judicial developments impacting higher education and hear what influences lawmakers to legislate in particular ways.
Discover how you can be a better advocate for your campus with federal policymakers.

CPE Category: Specialized Knowledge

1:30 PM

Return on Mission: The University of Colorado-Boulder Financial Futures Initiative

Presenter(s):

Carla Ho-a, University of Colorado Boulder

Ann Schmiesing, University of Colorado Boulder

Launched in 2018, the Financial Futures initiative at the University of Colorado–-Boulder has generated more than 600 new ideas for revenue generation, cost savings, and cost avoidance with an estimated $90 million—and growing—in recurring annual impact. Hear how the initiative has yielded stronger collaborations among academic and financial officers, provided a new model for evaluating strategic investments of resources, improved financial resilience, and transformed the university’s culture of resource decision making. Speakers will also discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing priorities and next steps for this initiative.

Learning Objectives

Identify mechanisms to effect cultural change by engaging faculty, staff, and students.
Employ a data-informed approach to resource decision making and accountability.
Develop strategies for new revenue generation, cost savings, and cost avoidance.

CPE Category: Finance

1:30 PM

Successful System and Member Institutions Relationships

Presenter(s):

William Huang, University of Texas System Administration

Aaron LeMay, University of Texas Medical Branch

Vanessa Kenon, The University of Texas at San Antonio

The future of public higher education depends on finding a balance between leveraging central services provided by a system office and maintaining the member institutions’ local autonomy for decision making. Speakers will discuss initiatives the University of Texas System has implemented to reduce administrative burden, including collaborative support for technological innovation.

Learning Objectives

Review how system-wide operations can support the diverse academic, research, and health care missions of member institutions.
Identify methods for avoiding the potential pitfalls of system-wide operations.
Enhance future operations through greater collaboration or innovation.

1:30 PM

Cost Standardization: Key Considerations to Enable Advanced Analytics

Presenter(s):

Adam Raab, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott

Mark Lemon, Grant Thornton LLP

Anthony Pember, Grant Thornton LLP

Steven LaNasa, Johnson County Community College

Cost and revenue analytics help institutions to better understand their financial position, identify key management challenges, and design and deploy effective solutions. When developing such a model, leaders must consider factors such as institutional characteristics, capacity for change, and management questions being asked as each will impact the model’s complexity and precision. Panelists will outline considerations for developing a cost and revenue management model, discuss common challenges, and offer a decision matrix for designing a model that aligns with higher education cost management principles.

Learning Objectives

Appreciate the reasons an institution would develop a cost and revenue management model.
Understand common cost elements across the higher education sector.
Define key terms essential to the development of a cost and revenue analytics solution.

CPE Category: Finance

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Day 4

11:00 AM

Investing in Veterans’ Education

Presenter(s):

Amir Rahnamay-Azar, Syracuse University

Mary Anne Ocampo, Sasaki Associates, Inc.

Julia Carlton Mackay, Sasaki Associates, Inc.

J. Michael Haynie, Syracuse University

Through a case study, hear how one institution has strengthened its commitment to veterans by delivering unique programs in career, vocations, and entrepreneurship education to “serve those who have served.” Syracuse University developed its Campus Framework to guide strategic planning initiatives that support post-traditional students and their unique needs. One initiative is the National Veterans Resource Center, a capital project that houses the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, which undertakes academic research and actionable programming to advance the social, economic, and wellness concerns of veterans and their families.

Learning Objectives

Connect mission-driven enrollment goals to external revenue streams in order to mitigate the financial impact of matriculating new types of students.
Craft campus planning initiatives that support non-traditional students.
Recognize the unique needs of non-traditional students and potential opportunities or barriers on your campus.

11:00 AM

State Budget Outlook

Presenter(s):

Michael Leachman, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Liz Clark, NACUBO

Emily Brock, Government Finance Officers Association

State budgets will be squeezed by the adverse economic forces resulting from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The outlook is grim and a deep economic downturn is likely to have sizeable consequences for state funding for education and other services. This session will explore the extent to which unemployment and declines in state income and sales taxes are expected to open and deepen state budget gaps. Is additional federal relief on the way and how might federal legislative and regulatory activities impact state and local governments as they try to respond to the economic fallout?

Learning Objectives:

Understand the current outlook for state budgets
Analyze the unprecedented fiscal impact of COVID-19
Evaluate options the federal government is considering for relief
Consider advocacy priorities that can deliver effective solutions

11:00 AM

Lessons Learned: FASB Revenue Recognition and Grants

Presenter(s):

Jason Schroeder, University of Notre Dame

Karen Sodoma, University of Rochester

Rick Cole, BKD CPAs and Advisors

William Sibert, Cornell University

Now that colleges and universities FASB’s revenue recognition and grants and contributions accounting standards, it’s time for a de-brief. Hear how others across higher education are mitigating the most difficult obstacles and understand how guidance applies to CARES Act grants and programs. Speakers will revisit significant requirements and decision making on the adaption of the standards, share lessons learned, and talk about considerations for 2020 and beyond.

Learning Objectives

Describe the implementation challenges for both accounting standards.
Define new revenue recognition and grants accounting and reporting requirements.
Apply lessons learned to accounting process and reporting considerations.

CPE Category: Accounting

1:30 PM

Is it Time to Rethink our Approach to Mitigating Cybersecurity Risk?

Presenter(s):

David Swartz, American University

Douglas Kudravetz, American University

Cole Clark, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Richard Rudnicki, Deloitte & Touche

Cathy Hubbs, American University

The scope, scale, and pace of change in the cybersecurity area pose a nearly unwinnable “arms race” for higher education. In this session, speakers will share results from a recent initiative to assess the totality of the enterprise resources applied to cybersecurity and explore possible alternative approaches. They will also highlight opportunities to strategically augment cybersecurity services and, through analytics, leverage economies of scale to reduce the time from awareness to mitigation.

Learning Objectives

Discuss growing needs for cybersecurity to enable strategic initiatives and protect existing assets.
Address challenges to developing and maintaining cybersecurity talent and services.
Examine the range of alternative approaches to de-risking the cybersecurity area.

CPE Category: Information Technology

1:30 PM

An Innovative Way to Redesign a Retirement Investment Menu

Presenter(s):

Hugh Penney, Yale University

Laura Sines, TIAA

Timothy Pitney, TIAA

Retirement plan sponsors are grappling with new participant demographics, which call for an evolution in investment menu design to meet the dynamic needs of aging baby boomers, mid-career employees, and millennials. From rethinking existing options to considering new products, this session will focus on redesigning plans for future participants’ needs. Learn how Yale University recently redesigned its retirement plan’s investment default to maximize benefits, and review the plan’s metrics before and after Yale made the change.

Learning Objectives

Improve retirement plan investment design to include lifetime income for all employee demographics.
Explore default strategies that can maximize the value of employer and employee contributions.
Transform your institution’s plan with new investment design approaches and products.

CPE Category: Finance

1:30 PM

Rip Off the Band Aid: Simultaneously Deploying New Budgeting and Organizational Models

Presenter(s):

William Nunez, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

Gregory Bedell, Huron Consulting Group

James Volkmer, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

Taylor Jantz, Huron Consulting Group

One institution’s case study can serve as another institution’s blueprint for transformative change. Presenters will explore ways institutions can simultaneously combine incentive-based budgeting and organizational redesign to accelerate change. This interactive session will focus on how leaders can rally stakeholders to rip off the band-aid and tackle expansive change head on. Panelists will l describe how to implement the two models in quick succession, discuss key ingredients needed for dynamic change, and offer solutions to potential roadblocks. Audience member will hear lessons learned, benefits achieved, additional efforts needed to sustain success, and be encouraged to participate in candid conversations that assess the pros and cons of this approach.

Learning Objectives

Determine whether your campus is ready for transformative operational and organizational change.
Describe the key ingredients needed to gain large scale change buy-in including the identification of potential pitfalls.
Identify the outcomes and impacts from implementing a new budget model and organizational design structure.

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Day 5

11:00 AM

Looking Ahead With Robert Moore, Incoming NACUBO Board Chair, Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration and Treasurer, Colorado College

11:15 AM

Guided by Equity, Informed by Data

Presenter(s):

Lorelle Espinosa, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Students of color, low-income students, and those first in their family to attend college face a multitude of barriers when it comes to college enrollment and completion. Findings from the American Council on Education project, "Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education," confirm a cause for concern. Yet as sobering as such data can be, they offer opportunities for change, reasons to practice shared- and equity-minded leadership, and benchmarks to measure transformation--Actions that are especially critical given the COVID-19 pandemic and the national racial crisis. This session will provide an overview of the ACE data, and will highlight the important role that college and university leaders, including business officers, have in using data to make decisions that strengthen mission-critical efforts for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

CPE Category: Specialized Knowledge

1:30 PM

Lessons Learned From NECHE’s Pilot Program for Financial Monitoring

Presenter(s):

Roger Goodman, The Yuba Group, LLC

Paula Harbecke, New England Commission of Higher Education, Inc.

Scrutiny of financially challenged colleges and universities continues to increase. Since the abrupt closure of Mount Ida College in 2018, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) has strengthened its review of financially fragile institutions. Speakers will review a financial screening tool used for the enhanced monitoring higher education institutions’ financial health. As concerns about financially challenged institutions grow, the lessons learned from New England may prove helpful for other regions.

Learning Objectives

Understand the circumstances that require enhanced financial monitoring of private colleges.
Review components of the pilot financial monitoring program, including financial ratio screening and elements of governance training.
Identify strategies that governing boards and finance departments might employ in response to increased pressure for regulatory financial health oversight.

CPE Category: Management Services

1:30 PM

Connecting Strategy and Data for Actionable Change: A Case Study in Ohio

Presenter(s):

Paul Friga, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Sheri Stoll, Bowling Green State University

Mark Polatajko, Kent State University

Ohio, like many other states, is facing declining enrollments, lower levels of state support, rising costs, and increased regulation and reporting requirements. In 2015 Governor John Kasich embarked on a state-wide experiment to make a college education more efficient and less expensive for students while maintaining or increasing quality. Results, tracked annually, point to Ohio universities recently reporting savings of more than $320 million. The presenters will reconstruct this journey toward significant savings and describe how the initiative led to positive change on their respective campuses.

Learning Objectives

Enumerate the challenges within higher education and the impact of state-wide leadership and efforts for improvement.
Connect strategic goals to initiatives and to data in order to boost institutional efficiency and effectiveness.
Confidently introduce new ways to cut costs and tuition on your campus while still improving student services and outcomes.

CPE Category: Finance

1:30 PM

Student Expectations for Fall 2020 and Implications for Higher Education

Presenter(s):

Pam Eddinger, Bunker Hill Community College

Kasia Lundy, Ernst & Young LLP

Daniel Greenstein, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education

EY-Parthenon conducted a national survey of approximately 2,000 college students that captured how student expectations for higher education participation are evolving due to COVID-19. What implications will these student expectations and behaviors have on institutional finances? How will institutions need to adjust in the short-term and in the longer-term? Our panel of higher education leaders will reflect on these broad questions and on their institutions’ individual contexts, discuss initial responses to expected enrollment impacts, and consider longer-term strategies to ensure institutional sustainability.

Learning Objectives

Evaluate factors driving students’ decisions to return to campus in the fall vs. transferring elsewhere, and understand the potential impact of these decisions on institutions.
Examine leaders’ perspectives on various return to campus scenarios, the ways institutions are engaging with their students to maximize engagement and minimize melt, and levers to address related financial challenges.
Recognize best practices for collaboration among college and university stakeholders to support changes to “traditional way of doing things” and revising financial plans.

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Upcoming

Legislative Lunchcast: A Washington Update From NACUBO (September 2020)

September 23, 2020 | 1-1:30pm ET

Closing Your Budget Gap

September 24, 2020 | 11-12pm ET

2020 Planning and Budgeting Forum

September 29–October 1, 2020 | See Schedule for Full Details | All Times in Eastern

NACUBO 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting

$349

$599

Day 1

From Dashboards to Decisions: Empowering Leaders With Analytics

Presenter(s):

What Makes a Good Cash-On-Hand Policy?

Presenter(s):

Day 2

How Student Financial Services Can Lead Collaboration to Support Student Success

Presenter(s):

The Power of Financial Modeling

Presenter(s):

Energy Asset Monetization: Transforming Utility Cost Centers Into Strategic Assets

Presenter(s):

Driving Innovation With a Managed Services Technology Provider

Presenter(s):

Once Upon a Financial Statement….Telling Your Institution’s Financial Story

Presenter(s):

Hot Legal Topics: Liability Issues in the Age of COVID-19 and Update on Foreign Influence/Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting

Presenter(s):

Day 3

Looking Back at the Past Year With Lynn Valenter, NACUBO Board Chair, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations, Washington State University, Vancouver

Washington Update

Presenter(s):

Return on Mission: The University of Colorado-Boulder Financial Futures Initiative

Presenter(s):

Successful System and Member Institutions Relationships

Presenter(s):

Cost Standardization: Key Considerations to Enable Advanced Analytics

Presenter(s):

Day 4

Investing in Veterans’ Education

Presenter(s):

State Budget Outlook

Presenter(s):

Lessons Learned: FASB Revenue Recognition and Grants

Presenter(s):

Is it Time to Rethink our Approach to Mitigating Cybersecurity Risk?

Presenter(s):

An Innovative Way to Redesign a Retirement Investment Menu

Presenter(s):

Rip Off the Band Aid: Simultaneously Deploying New Budgeting and Organizational Models

Presenter(s):

Day 5

Looking Ahead With Robert Moore, Incoming NACUBO Board Chair, Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration and Treasurer, Colorado College

Guided by Equity, Informed by Data

Presenter(s):

Lessons Learned From NECHE’s Pilot Program for Financial Monitoring

Presenter(s):

Connecting Strategy and Data for Actionable Change: A Case Study in Ohio

Presenter(s):

Student Expectations for Fall 2020 and Implications for Higher Education

Presenter(s):

Legislative Lunchcast: A Washington Update From NACUBO (September 2020)

Closing Your Budget Gap

2020 Planning and Budgeting Forum

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