Business Office Reset

Ryan Downs, Director of Institutional Research at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and Krissta Hadsell outline their shared approach to collecting the data needed for the ACTS Section of the IPEDS reporting, backfilling other duties to make space for that, and cross-campus collaboration through the process. Ryan can be reached at ryandowns.cfoc@gmail.com Krissta can be reached at krissta@cfocolle...

Jessica Ryals and Scott Spear review articles highlighted in the 1/20/26 CFO Colleague newsletter, highlighting higher education trends from varying perspectives.  Articles Referenced:   https://universitybusiness.com/here-are-5-higher-ed-predictions-for-2026/ https://www.highereddive.com/news/6-higher-education-trends-to-watch-in-2026/809045/ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-college-afford...

Join Jessica Ryals and Scott Spear as they review the first CFO Colleague newsletter articles of 2026, centered around value proposition in higher education. To subscribe to the newsletter, click here: https://cfocolleague.com/free-resources/ Articles referenced in our talk: First Article: https://universitybusiness.com/introducing-impact-how-higher-ed-can-win-the-value-battle/ Second Article: htt...

Gabby Parker shares her journey into the world of higher education finance and how her personal experience at the Institute for G.O.D. fueled her passion for the organization's mission. She details the financial hurdles faced by G.O.D. and the Institute, particularly the decline in charitable giving post-COVID. To combat these challenges, the organization has leaned into an entrepreneurial spirit...

Tony Stemen of Talent Growth Partners talks about his career journey and intersections with higher education, his top tips for recruiting new team members well, and his expertise in threading the needle of what colleges and professionals both want. Tony's contact info: Tony Stemen Talent Growth Partners Direct: 740-358-2509 Email: tony@talentgrowthpartners.com Web: www.talentgrowthpartners.com

Ryan Downs talks all things Financial Aid, and offers tips for Directors and counselors alike to provide the best service to our students.

Ryan Downs talks through the current FinAid environment (recorded prior to OBBB passage but still relevant!) and ways for departments to get ahead of the curve.

The auditor relationship is likely the most critical contractor relationship for the Business Office. Jackson Magdy from Forvis Mazars and Scott Spear from CFO Colleague talk about building a great working relationship between client and auditor. From navigating complex transactions to maintaining open lines of communication, Jackson and Scott describe what they've learned working together and way...

Dave Moja talks us through Form 990 trouble spots, what's going on with the IRS, and the One Big Beautiful Bill: what looks good for higher ed (a little) and what looks hard (a LOT)!

Suahil Housholder of Anderson (IN) talks about life after a missed debt covenant, her research with leadership in distressed institutions, and her team's tradition of "Audit Treats" to get through what could be the toughest time of year with a little fun and whimsy.

Stead Halstead from Bushnell joins Jessica and discusses the successes of his team, freeing them up to better serve customers, and a healthy approach to data.

Great things are happening at Taylor! Stephen Olson, CFO, talks about his experience over a career at the University, what he's noticed about what's going well, his exceptional team, and his tips for other CFOs navigating their own institutional spaces.

Victoria Pierce, Controller at Anderson University (SC) talks about what's going well with her team, her love for Workday, the unexpected blessings of a new, faithful footbal program, and her top tips for other Controllers to thrive.

Happy New Year! We're kicking off 2025 by covering the hottest topics we saw in higher education for 2024. Jessica Ryals covers tips, tricks, and overhauls to cash accounting that can help make bank reconciliation more manageable. Cash is king and the more on top of it we are, the better we're able to support the rest of the institution with their needs throughout the year. Hear her top tips from...

Stephanie Craig, crisis manager extraordinaire, shares the best kept secret of risk and crisis management: it happens well before the crisis. Join her for insights into the risk landscape of higher education (spoiler alert: it's reputation management!) as well as quick wins your institution can implement right away to have a significant impact.

Aaron Kuecker, President of Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL, talks through the nuances of leading through challenging times, building decisions around the mission, and drawing a community together while making tough calls.

Between Academic and Financial Leadership on campus, there tend to be the most employees, biggest reporting structures, and at times, most contentious relationships. We chat with Amy Kovach and Scott Campbell, serving at Mount Vernon Nazarene University as the VPAA and CFO, about the success they've had in collaboration with one another and tips for other CFOs in those important relationships.

Turn the microphone around to talk with Jessica Ryals about approaching the Chart of Accounts for better campus understanding and financial reporting. She provides tips from a full overhaul to small scale changes you can make today that have an impact.

For this series, we're flipping the mic! Scott Spear interviews Jessica Ryals on what she's seeing in the industry. We kick off with bank reconciliations - what's going wrong? What best practices can we implement? And most importantly, what can we change TODAY to have an impact?

Katie Booth talks through Higher Ed marketing, her higher ed career, what's great about marketing and how business offices can better relate to and interact with their marketing team. She offers great tips for using internal and external marketing resources alike!

Continuing our Tough Times series, Jeff Spear talks through some key metrics and ratios institutions can use to measure health over time, and the ways there is hope for the industry if we work toward these metrics going forward.

New series starting on Tough Times in Higher Ed, and we're kicking off with Gary Stocker. He talks through the industry situation, why he sees closures as inevitable, and the availability of his IPEDS-fueled College Viability App for employees and prospective families alike to get a picture of their institutions. Gary: www.collegeviability.com Jessica: jessica@cfocolleague.com

Have you ever wanted to pick Dave Moja's brain on the 990? As we finalize 2023 and look to 2024's filings, Dave takes us through the key areas of the form, what to watch out for, and how to spend your time on the most impactful areas. Don't miss Part 1 or Part 2 of our chat! Dave can be reached at dave@mojacpa.com. Jessica can be reached at jessica@cfocolleague.com

Have you ever wanted to pick Dave Moja's brain on the 990? As we finalize 2023 and look to 2024's filings, Dave takes us through the key areas of the form, what to watch out for, and how to spend your time on the most impactful areas. Don't miss Part 1 or Part 2 of our chat! Dave can be reached at dave@mojacpa.com. Jessica can be reached at jessica@cfocolleague.com

How do we think about the Academic Programs we offer? What do we do with faculty attrition? How can we set ourselves up to have conversations around programs that don't require radical changes? We chat with Scott Spear about new ways to think about resourcing our academic programs through data generosity and collaborative decision making.