Higher Education & Private Schools

As an institution, your attention is right where it should be – on the academic preparedness of the students who placed their trust in your facilities and educators.

However, even the most committed educators are vulnerable to disruptions related to endowments, budgets, state funding, and constraints on specific activities such as fundraising.

When administrative and operational issues arise, you need access to a partner with experience who can help keep your academic mission on course and your students’ futures bright.

Enter Marcum. We have assembled a team with extensive experience serving educators at virtually every level, offering services beyond traditional tax and audit services.

In recognition of the sector’s unique circumstances and noble intentions, we aim to create value in each engagement by delivering innovative, cost-effective services and solutions for:

Academic medical centers
Charter schools
Colleges and universities
Independent schools
K-12 school districts

A Practical Curriculum

Overseeing assurance is the foundation of our services and supports your fiscal responsibility. For charter institutions, it’s particularly essential that you’re meeting the terms or accreditations of your authorizer and to which your institution is subject. These often reflect state and national regulations, including the Department of Education’s requirements.

Marcum provides comprehensive financial, operational, and technical services tailored to educational institutions.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO)

We have certified and experienced project managers to help you assess and implement project management practices as well as determine methodologies for repeatable processes and project success.

BUSINESS PROCESS ASSESSMENTS

We improve your operations, identify cost-saving opportunities, and create strategies that align with your business objectives. Our recommendations streamline your processes and enhance performance to boost your efficiency.

STRATEGIC SERVICES

We analyze your business model to identify cost-saving opportunities and innovative growth prospects. Our bespoke guidance blends practicality with ambition to help you achieve your vision.

Applying What You’ve Learned

Putting fiscal responsibility into practice is good for your compliance programs and your organization’s financial health. Thorough and detailed documentation is a point of emphasis because it creates a record of your institution’s actions to safeguard its ability to operate efficiently through the present and into the future. It also enables the seamless creation of effective and insightful reports for internal stakeholders and external authorities.

Key Services

Our comprehensive services span your institution’s core financial concerns, including bookkeeping, cash flow, payment, and reporting functions. Our processes help to ensure the timely completion of essential business activities and generate reports that answer not only the questions you have in mind but also those you may not have considered. Furthermore, our experienced and skilled industry teams are familiar with the intricacies of 990s, 1120s, as well as Titles I and IV to ensure your federal, state, and local filings are easy, accurate, and submitted on time.

Marcum’s administrative services professionals leverage their experience serving institutions to help your institution recruit and retain students by providing seamless support from matriculation to graduation and beyond. That includes guidance relating to recruitment and admissions, financial aid and scholarships, market and institutional research, records and registration, academic advising and support services, student accounts, housing, finance administration/budgeting, student/institutional employment, and alumni affairs.

Marcum’s professionals have helped institutions meet these needs in the following areas:

Financial and compliance audits;
Tax-Form 990, State and Local, UBIT, financial aid;
Accounting operations;
Budgeting;
Accounting outsourcing;
Sponsored program compliance;
Endowment spend and analysis; and
Financial risk assessment.

group of people smiling and looking at piece of paper

Future Proofing Your Institution

As technological advances are introduced to higher education, institutions, colleges, and universities are more attracted by the promise of potential technology for enhancing procedures such as administrative reporting, data access, and efficient day-to-day administrative operations.

Marcum’s consultants have extensive knowledge of various administrative systems spanning all applications within an institution. For example, if you need to plan, design, and deploy an ERP implementation or integrate it with other systems, our experienced team can help your project to succeed.

Marcum offers a full suite of services in the area of information technology:

Assessment and selection of technologies;
Conversions and upgrades;
Systems integration and interfaces;
Enterprise Software Revitalization; and
Packaged software enhancements.

Financial Management

Since 2015, Marcum has been providing independent Treasury services to the educational sector as an alternative to both internal school finance staff and external management companies. Our team of licensed Treasurers brings a wealth of experience in a wide range of financial management areas critical to education. By harnessing advanced financial technologies, our professionals help boost the operational efficiency of the schools we partner with.

Charts with calculator

Working in tandem with school leadership, Marcum’s Treasurers play a pivotal role in developing, implementing, and continually assessing financial policies and procedures. Grounded in solid fiscal principles and a comprehensive analysis of financial resources, our approach is designed to bolster your institution’s strategic plans and goals.

Our Treasury services are tailored to meet the individual needs of each educational client by combining financial best practices with careful consideration for the unique financial environment and regulatory requirements governing the client institution.

Marcum fosters financial stewardship within educational institutions by building its partnerships on integrity and the shared goal of achieving excellence in education.

Infractions and Penalties

In this sector, the cost of non-compliance can be high. Institutions can be investigated, audited, subject to management comment letters or Office of Field Service notices, and even have their crucial grant funding withheld if their costs are deemed questionable. We help ensure your operations and funding sources are uninterrupted by working with you to improve your compliance and grant-related requirements. In addition, we leverage extensive experience with authorizers, school districts, and the Department of Education to establish relationships built on mutual respect, efficiency, and dedication to a shared academic vision.

Institutions face heightened demand for accountability, transparency, performance, and integrity from various stakeholders, such as students, regulators, state officials, litigators, the media, faculty, trustees, management, employees, and alumni.

A risk assessment is a proactive approach for identifying, prioritizing, and monitoring risk to improve internal controls, compliance, and accountability.

To help institutions mitigate and respond to risks, Marcum offers:

Risk profile assessments;
Compliance education and training;
Risk management and remediation;
Governance and organization review;
Cultural transformation; and
Advice on effective HR policies and procedures.

Extra Curriculars

For all but the most renowned institutions – and even many of those – funding is a matter of perennial concern. In addition to assistance managing your existing financial obligations, our team is experienced in counseling organizations in education on the avenues to expanding access to funds. Typically, this is accomplished by exploring permissible forms of fundraising under the terms and regulations governing your institution’s activities. Other avenues might include using programs like E-Rate, which provides affordable telecommunications and internet access. Marcum also coordinates communications, as necessary, to reach parents, students, financial institutions, legislators, reports, and sponsors, among others, and disseminates messaging that inspires agreement and generates momentum.