PKF O'Connor Davies Accountants and Advisors
PKF O'Connor Davies Accountants and Advisors
Industries

University & Higher Education Accounting & Consulting

Across the country, college and university administrators address operational challenges that grow in complexity with every graduating class. Now, their burden increases as regulatory requirements change, cybersecurity threats grow, funding shrinks and the need for investments in infrastructure and technology continues to accelerate.

Leveraging their knowledge of how public and private institutions of higher education operate, our specialists deliver customized audit, tax and advisory services to help administrators and trustees mitigate risk while strengthening financial and organizational performance. Our Partners work with our higher education clients to keep them informed of current regulatory requirements while also providing insight into current trends that assist them in making decisions that will drive student success.

Meaningful sector expertise translates into measurable results for today’s colleges and universities.

Recognized for their understanding of how state and federal regulations affect accounting and financial management at higher education institutions, our experienced specialists provide the full range of audit, tax and advisory services to public and private institutions as well as their related auxiliaries. Our endowment fund accounting services are essential for clients whose budgets and resources are stretched to the limit by time-consuming accounting, recordkeeping and reporting requirements. With our help, institutions can simplify the establishment and management of endowed gifts, which frequently helps them attract financial support.

Comprehensive Support

Decades of experience working with educational institutions enables us to provide broad-ranging support, often in a more cost-effective manner than that of many other firms. Services include:

Audit Services

  • FASB and GASB Financial Statement Audits
  • Federal and State OMB Single Audits (Uniform Guidance)
  • Pension and Employee Benefits Plan Audits
  • NCAA Agreed-Upon Procedure Audits
  • Regulatory Agreed-Upon Procedure Audits
  • Endowment Audits

Tax Services

  • Form 990 Exempt Organizations Returns
  • Form 990-T Exempt Organizations Reporting Unrelated Business Income Tax Returns
  • Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plans
  • Employee Benefit Issues
  • Payroll Tax Issues
  • Foreign Tax Filings
  • Research, Analysis and Compliance Reviews of Tax Issues Affecting Institutions of Higher Education

Advisory Services

  • IT Audit and Governance
  • Cybersecurity Programs, Vulnerability and Penetration Testing
  • Internal Audit
  • Quality Assessment Review
  • Risk Assessments
  • Forensic Litigation Valuation
  • Organizational Structure, Design and Operations Reviews
  • Internal Control Structure and Design Reviews
  • IT Design and Controls Assessments
  • Portfolio Accounting and Reporting
  • Business Process Improvement
  • Whistleblower Projects
  • Grant Compliance
  • Cost Reporting

As a leader among our peers, we combine exclusive sector concentration with a cross-functional team approach to help our higher education clients achieve their goals. To ensure that our specialists stay abreast of emerging issues, our Partners actively participate in the Association of College and University Auditors, Institute of Internal Auditors, NACUBO and EACUBO as well as state and national professional committees that address auditing, internal audit, tax and accounting issues affecting higher education institutions.