Financial Ratios / Benchmarking for Higher Education - Baker Tilly Accountants and Advisors


Higher Education Audit and Assurance Best Practices / Benchmarking Studies Board and Audit Committee Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) Construction Project Risk Management Enterprise Risk Management Financial Modeling and Decision Support Financial Ratios / Benchmarking Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigations Information Technology and Data Privacy Internal Audit Regulatory Compliance Sponsored Research Compliance Strategy and Finance Tax

Financial ratios / benchmarking

Baker Tilly provides financial ratio and benchmarking services to over 150 higher education and research institutions located throughout the United States.

We bring substantial insight into the trends affecting higher education based on our breadth of experience within the industry. Our team provides unique, customized studies which include trends based on over 30 benchmarks. This planning tool is a valuable asset to institutions positioning themselves for the future.

Client experience: Analyzing a private college DOE score
Institutional challenge The Department of Education issued regulations which revised the standards of financial responsibility. A determination is required to be made as to whether an institution is financially sound and administratively capable of providing the education it advertises. A private college was concerned that its composite score was declining and within a year or two would fall below the minimum required by the Department of Education. Capabilities provided Baker Tilly’s industry-focused higher education team provided the college with individuals who were familiar with the Department of Education’s regulations for calculating the composite score. Baker Tilly calculated the composite score under the Department of Education’s methodology for the current year. The college provided us with multiple revenue, expense, and other financial scenarios for the upcoming year. We used those scenarios and estimated the impact that each one would have on the composite score. Results The college analyzed the different scenarios and, using this information, was able to implement a strategy that allowed them to continue to exceed the Department of Education’s minimum score.
Additional benchmarking capabilities
Anti-fraud management survey Background check survey and practices Campus safety and security practices Endowment spending practices Enterprise-wide systems implementations best practices Information technology effectiveness assessments Internal audit structure and operations studies