University Business - August 2006 - (Page 61)

Getting Financials Straight I N ADDITION TO MANAGING DATABASES CONTAINING MULTIPLE layers of student, parent, alumni, and donor records, institutions of higher ed must also keep their financial databases as clean and efficiently working as possible. Many have implemented homegrown processes to keep budgets balanced and financials straight. Officials at The University of Vermont decided to look beyond the school's walls and even the higher ed industry for an appropriate product. They shopped around for tools used in the corporate arena for the best option, explains Mike Gower, the school's CFO and finance vice president. Strategic Finance from Hyperion, which lets the uni- versity unite all of its financial centers, from philanthropy to state appropriations to salaries and benefits, was selected. Financial in- formation went into a single, interrelated database that allows ad- ministrators to see how a change in one area affects others. For example, it can forecast how tuition increases will influence research awards or renovation plans. taken off campus just to get some of the perks that come with UVM had started as many schools do, with a series of Micro- managed services, though. For example, Melissa Data offers soft Excel spreadsheets tracking information in various departments, multiple options for cleaning up existing databases through the Gower notes. But complicated formulas, interlinked documents, and use of postal service databases, de-duplication programs, and complex interactions soon bogged down the system. We realized telephone records. that it was taking all our time to manage the day-to-day, he says. IHEs can spend anywhere from $1,000 for a one-time dupli- We wanted to be coming up with 10-year strategic plans that in- cate check to more than $10,000 for regular cleaning, notes Jack cluded issues like how our endowment would grow, or how different Schember, the company's marketing manager. There are many debt levels would affect us. tiers for these type of services. Universities can take advantage of In particular, officials were looking to do a significant amount of address correction features without spending much money. debt financing to support capital projects, and having proper fore- Some also appreciate the consulting expertise that comes casting tools was key. Strategic Finance, used by few universities but with buying managed services, notes Fred Siff, CIO at the Uni- scores of corporations, is a software application focused on modeling, versity of Cincinnati. When his school blended several legacy so executives can understand the financial impact of different strate- systems, Siff turned to dbaDIRECT, so staffers could focus on gies. Some corporations have used the tool to determine whether infrastructure issues rather than spend much of their time on to consolidate multiple partner entities, for example, or to create data cleansing and other routine tasks. contingency plans if market fluctuations occur. The application gives Many times, universities don't have time to aggregate data users a long-range view of decisions, showing how it might impact and think about performance issues, says John Bostick of dba- the company next year, or even next decade. DIRECT. There are a number of layers, and they might be Although it was fairly unproven in an academic setting, the ap- more interested in expanding their tactical skills instead of fo- plication could take on university-specific financial data, Gower sus- cusing on the whole data warehousing aspect of the task. pected, as well as integrate numerous spreadsheets into a compre- Whether service firms are used heavily or only occasionally, hensive whole that works well. the input from an outside source can be helpful for an IHE When you're looking at growth, you don't want to be chasing trying to manage all aspects of a major database, Siff notes. down linked spreadsheets, he says. Using financial statements as With something as complex as bringing together systems a base, UVM inputs other financial information like tuition, state like SAP and Oracle, it's helpful to have assistance in handling grants, or endowments, and does multiple projections. To keep the that transition, he says. You need to have a strong team at the university, but you should also have an expert in more broad- data clean, there are regular spot checks of major calculations, al- ranging database issues. When everyone can get together for though Gower is confident that after two years of use, the system is the effort, you'll be much more successful with implementing a working as it should. database that works for everybody. Trying to project operating capital budgets is complicated, to say the least, he says. There are so many variables. So it's useful to put a tool in place that can forecast properly, and show how changes Elizabeth Millard, a freelance writer based in Saint Louis Park, affect the entire university, not just one part of it. Minn., specializes in covering technology. universitybusiness.com August 2006 | 61 16 ddni.naelCataD MA 93:44:01 60/42/7 http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - August 2006

Contents
College Index
Advisory Board
Company Index
Editor's Note
People Watch
Sense of Place
Stats Watch
Viewpoint
Financial Aid
On the Hill
Admissions
Future Shock
An Education in AV Technology
Retention Intentions
Endowment Management
Good Data In, Good Data Out
Sticking with the Tried & True
Home, Sweet Home
Faculty Issues in Online Education
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - August 2006